John Ford

As The Southerner moves along, there are times when something poignantly endearing develops, concerning the virtue of the characters, their resolution, and the film’s own veneration for the subject matter.

Compared to John Ford’s studio-bound—though still highly appealing—South Seas adventure The Hurricane, recently reviewed here, Tabu: A Story of the South Seas, directed by the great German filmmaker F.W. Murnau, is a patently more realistic and wholly distinctive production.

For a film by a master who was perhaps not at his best—having already established high expectations—this is a solidly entertaining motion picture.

Another remake? Shoot me. Variety reports that the latest classic to get the remake treatment is John Ford’s 1962 film, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. The original starred John Wayne, James Stewart, Vera Miles, and Lee Marvin. While the original was set in the old west, Variety reports that the remake may be set …

Ford himself was not a fan of ‘My Darling Clementine,’ though through the years, many critics have understandably held it up as one of his finest achievements

If it were only for Wayne’s performance, which is excellent, Red River would be a vital entry into the Western genre. But there is more to this extraordinary picture. That’s why it’s not only one of the greatest Westerns ever made, it’s an American classic.

Everything about “The Hidden Fortress” clicks and falls into place: Kurosawa’s mastery of the widescreen, the amusing characters, the action, the set design, the riveting yet lighthearted plot … This is the sort of movie a natural born filmmaker can make and make look so easy, so instinctive.

John Ford’s The Quiet Man is unquestionably one of Ireland’s most well-known films. It remains, to this day, a popular Hollywood love story as well as one of the most dominant representations of Ireland in film. A worldwide success, it won audiences over with its majestic landscapes, lighthearted dialogue, and beautiful cast. Despite its enduring …

“El Dorado” is a refreshing genre classic, at once suggesting topical concerns while conserving an enduring arena for its Hollywood icons to do what they do best. It incorporates much of what distinguished Howard Hawks’ cinema: his uniform themes, style, and tone.

E. B. White once wrote, “Analyzing humor is like dissecting a frog. Few people are interested and the frog dies of it.” Analyzing trilogies seems to the same. The entire point is to enjoy them. Still, given the many sins to be found in film, there are worse things than movie trilogies but few have …

From its very beginnings as a genre, Western film has trafficked in the iconic, in the larger-than-life imagery of the tall tale and the never-ending, expansive wilderness that forms the crucial backbone to these stories. More than perhaps any other genre, Westerns deal in types, with their characters standing in for the Other, the Immigrant, …

Fort Apache Written by Frank S. Nugent, based on the story by James Warner Bellah Directed by John Ford U.S.A., 1948 It has been recognized that one of the greatest natural symbols of the United States that helped popularize the western genre is Monument Valley, located on the Utah-Arizona state line. Its rocky walls and …

As Sound on Sight’s Western month reaches its conclusion, two of the hosts of your favorite Disney movie podcast, Mousterpiece Cinema, Josh Spiegel and Gabe Bucsko met in the show’s vaunted and secretive HQ to discuss and debate what many people would claim is the greatest Western of all time: the 1956 John Ford film The …

There are few things in this world more warm and cozy than digging into a humanistic John Ford picture. Few things more downright entertaining. I’m inclined to call Ford my favorite filmmaker of all time, if I felt it necessary to make such distinctions. Steamboat Round the Bend was to be, for all intents and …

1)Nashville (1975) Robert Altman’s Masterpiece captured America in the 70s like one else: All its confusion, disappointment, and uncertainty. The film follows 24 different characters over a period of as few days in Nashville just before a political fundraising concert. We take a peak in the lives of country music superstars, hippies, aspiring singers, mothers, …