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A documentary on the life and films of director John Ford.A documentary on the life and films of director John Ford.A documentary on the life and films of director John Ford.
Photos
Peter Bogdanovich
- Self - Interviewer
- (uncredited)
Orson Welles
- Narrator
- (voice)
Harry Carey Jr.
- Self
- (uncredited)
Henry Fonda
- Self
- (uncredited)
James Stewart
- Self
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaSteven Spielberg's real account on how he met John Ford when he was a teenager was recreated in The Fabelmans (2022).
- Quotes
Self (2009): Ford, you know, will live forever, because his films will live forever.
Featured review
Pretty good, but it seemed to ignore so many of his lesser films as well as his personal life
This film was originally made in 1971 by Peter Bogdonovich. However, Bogdonovich and Turner Classic Movies re-edited and expanded this film for release on 11/6/06.
In general, I enjoyed this film--mostly since I love so many of Ford's films. It tends to focus mostly on actors impressions of the man--with lots of interviews with actors and actresses. Some of these interviews are quite recent and many were made around 1969-1971. They all gave some wonderful insights into the director and with my background in psychology, what WASN'T said explicitly was interesting. While no one said it, Ford seemed like a very controlling and domineering man with some self-esteem issues. And, sadly, his personal life was a mess--probably because these characteristics that helped him be a great director probably made him a lousy family man. I really, really wished the film had gone into this area further, but the focus of the film was not so much on his psychology but on what others superficially saw in him. Too bad it just didn't go deeper.
Also, I had seen a documentary about Ford years ago on American Movie Classics and it had a totally different slant. Instead of interviews, it was more a sequential overview of Ford's films. If this IS what you are looking for, the Bogdonovich documentary is not for you, as it shows clips and talks about most of the famous Ford films but ignores the rest (he did direct something like 150 films).
So overall, it was very interesting and it was nice to see interviews with so many of my dead favorites. But this must be seen as a very narrow and superficial tribute, as it ignores Ford's life story or a sequential or in-depth account of his film career.
In general, I enjoyed this film--mostly since I love so many of Ford's films. It tends to focus mostly on actors impressions of the man--with lots of interviews with actors and actresses. Some of these interviews are quite recent and many were made around 1969-1971. They all gave some wonderful insights into the director and with my background in psychology, what WASN'T said explicitly was interesting. While no one said it, Ford seemed like a very controlling and domineering man with some self-esteem issues. And, sadly, his personal life was a mess--probably because these characteristics that helped him be a great director probably made him a lousy family man. I really, really wished the film had gone into this area further, but the focus of the film was not so much on his psychology but on what others superficially saw in him. Too bad it just didn't go deeper.
Also, I had seen a documentary about Ford years ago on American Movie Classics and it had a totally different slant. Instead of interviews, it was more a sequential overview of Ford's films. If this IS what you are looking for, the Bogdonovich documentary is not for you, as it shows clips and talks about most of the famous Ford films but ignores the rest (he did direct something like 150 films).
So overall, it was very interesting and it was nice to see interviews with so many of my dead favorites. But this must be seen as a very narrow and superficial tribute, as it ignores Ford's life story or a sequential or in-depth account of his film career.
- planktonrules
- Nov 6, 2006
- Permalink
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By what name was Directed by John Ford (1971) officially released in Canada in English?
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