Directed by John Ford (1971)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

Peter Bogdanovich

Writer:

Peter Bogdanovich (writer)

Genre:

Documentary

Plot:

A documentary on the life and films of director John Ford.

Plot Keywords:

Interview | Anecdote | Independent Film | Character Name In Title

Cast

Orson Welles	...	Narrator (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ward Bond	...	(archive footage)
Harry Carey	...	(archive footage)
Harry Carey Jr.	...	Himself
Clint Eastwood	...	Himself
Katharine Hepburn	...	Herself (archive footage)
Walter Hill	...	Himself
Jeffrey Hunter	...	(archive footage)
Maureen O'Hara	...	Herself (archive footage)
Martin Scorsese	...	Himself
Steven Spielberg	...	Himself
Richard Widmark	...	(archive footage)

Runtime:

99 min | USA:110 min (2006 version) | 110 min (restored longer 2006 version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Center for Advanced Film Studies, American Film Institute - 2021 N. Western Avenue, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

American Film Institute (AFI)

Movie Connections:

Features Mary of Scotland (1936)

Top directors look at the Fordian influence...

This is one of the best director bios I've ever seen, and I'm not even a huge John Ford fan. Personally, I've taken a dislike to the man himself after reading all the stories about his brutal treatment of people on the sets of his films. JOHN WAYNE and JAMES STEWART talk about some of the humiliating moments they suffered on Ford's sets and how he manipulated them into very embarrassing moments. Seems someone always had to be the fall guy on a Ford set. The JOHN AGAR incident during FORT APACHE is never mentioned, but Ford was notoriously unkind to the fledgling actor, addressing him on the set as "Mr. Temple."

As JAMES STEWART says: "A Ford set was never a relaxed set." And as HARRY CAREY, JR. says: "He told me I'd hate him by the time the film was over. He was wrong. I hated him after that first day." MAUREEN O'HARA has her own take on Ford, praising him for the work he accomplished but adding that he "could be the most aggravating man" and "mean and vindictive" during one of his moods.

The only thing they all agreed on: he was a master movie-maker. "He's a painter. A great painter," says Steven Spielberg who had a rather uncomfortable first meeting with Ford when Spielberg was a youngster telling the great man that some day he'd like to be a director.

The man who made over 135 films, won six Oscars and four New York Film Critics awards is certainly not an easy man to know, as anyone who has interviewed him finds out. Much can be traced to the unhappy family life in his background.

All of the incisive remarks on Ford's movie-making experiences, as related by stars and directors, are followed by clips illustrating the points they make. In fact, there's a very generous assortment of film clips from all his major films and even some from the lesser known works. All together, it's a fully rounded portrait of the man.

Highly recommended for anyone with an interest in what has to go on behind the camera, with insightful contributions from Clint Eastwood, Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg, especially.