Post by criterionmaster on Jan 1, 2007 18:34:09 GMT -5
"In portraying, throughout a long and prolific career, the history of the United States from the Revolutionary War to World War II, Ford continually resorted to a deeply, personal, nostalgic form of legend. If there is no doubt of his importance to the development of the Western, his uniquely sentimental, poetic glorification of the white American's conquest of the wilderness is both picturesque and reactionary." - Geoff Andrew (The Film Handbook, 1989)
"Belligerent, grandiose, deceitful and arrogant in real life, Ford seldom let these traits spill over into his films. They express at their best a guarded serenity, a sceptical satisfaction in the beauty of the American landscape, muted always by an understanding of the dangers implicit in the land, and a sense of the responsibility of all men to protect the common heritage." - John Baxter (International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers, 1991)
"Emotionalism is a strong factor in many of Ford's films which, in his later days, showed a nostalgic longing for things past and old values. These may only have existed in Ford's eyes or hazy recollection, but nonetheless they make for skilfully appealing entertainment." - David Quinlan (Quinlan's Illustrated Guide to Film Directors, 1983)
"Themes of courage, loyalty, rugged individualism, and the American spirit pervade the films of John Ford. The natural vistas in his Westerns hold a romantic view of history with the earmarks of poetic realism. Ford very well may be the greatest director of Westerns in cinema history." - William R. Meyer (The Film Buff's Catalog, 1978)
TSPDT Says:
Must-See Films: The Grapes of Wrath (1940), My Darling Clementine (1946), The Quiet Man (1952), The Searchers (1956)
Highly Recommended: The Long Voyage Home (1940), The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
Recommended: The Informer (1935), Stagecoach (1939), Drums Along the Mohawk (1939), Young Mr. Lincoln (1939), How Green Was My Valley (1941), They Were Expendable (1945), The Fugitive (1947), 3 Godfathers (1948), She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949), Rio Grande (1950), Wagon Master (1950), When Willie Comes Marching Home (1950), The Wings of Eagles (1957), The Last Hurrah (1958)
