Fritz Lang is best-known for his chillingly brilliant contributions to the German Expressionist film movement, but one of his favourite genres was actually the western, and Western Union is one of his most acclaimed forays into the genre. Based on the novel by Zane Grey, Western Union tells the story of Vance Shaw, an outlaw on the run who is anxious to shed his criminal past. He gets his chance when Edward Creighton, the Chief Engineer in charge of constructing telegraph poles from Omaha to Salt Lake City, offers him a job protecting the workers against attacks from gangs of bandits. However Vance's dark past comes back to haunt him when his rebellious brother, Jack Slade, leads an attack on the construction line, pitting brother against brother in the Wild West of America.

Special Features:
Audio commentary by Dr Wendy Haslem, Lecturer in Film at the University of Melbourne and Dr Angela Ndalianis, Associate Professor in Film at the University of Melbourne