John Ford

few classic American directors that have the distinction to be called one of the greatest of all time, and John Ford is in that esteem category. His talent of perfectly illustrating on film the American Frontier (1800s to early 1900s) is not just entertaining, exciting, and romanticized, but his films are laced with folklore, cultural relevance, and history that make him a one-of-a-kind director in the western genre. Back in the Golden Age of Hollywood, Ford established himself early on as a top auteur of western films, and made some of the best movies that represented American values. In Ford’s extraordinary take on the classic story of Wyatt Earp, he constructs the film in a new direction. “Most westerns puts the emphasis…

Howard Hawks and John ford were both American film directors of the late twentieth century classic Hollywood era. Howard Hawks worked on many film genres from screwball comedy to western. Howard Hawks most notable films each served as an excellent representation of each genre he worked on. Credit for hawks’ success could be due to his freedom as an independent producer, making a number of films in his own manner. Most of Howard Hawks films centered on the themes of friendship, trust, and…

Film Review: The Theme of Vengeance and Racism in The Searchers (1957) by John Ford This film review will examine the themes of vengeance and racism in the western film The Searchers by John Ford. Ford’s film defines the racism of 19th century white settlers that sought to commit genocide against Native Americans due to skin color and cultural differences. The main character of this film, Ethan Edwards (John Wayne), is a former Confederate officer that returns to West Texas to stay with his…

other great western directors like John Ford or Anthony Mann, but Howard Hawks had an eye for character driven stories, had an expert sense of visual style, and knew how to use actors better than most. Hawks was one of those classic Hollywood directors that could easily orchestrate the action and compelling aspects that make a great western, and Red River is one. The film Red River (1948) opens from the pages of a book, reads more like someone’s personal diary, retelling the historical account…

“The American is a new man, who acts upon new principles. He must therefore entertain new ideas and form new opinions” (Crevecoeur, 1782). A few generations later, one romanticized version America’s new man, with new principles, new ideas, and opinions is the man depicted in the Hollywood Western. That man, or person, is the settler, cowboy, or lonesome traveler who traverses the Western frontier in search of his place in and the promise of America. As America expands its frontier to the West…

Changing the Western Hero and Women The hero in the Western is as iconic as apple pie in America (Dirks, part 1). He represents the west and all its mystery. In, film the hero has been represented as the wholesome man with ethics and also the antihero starting in the late fifties with all his gruff and attitude. As Western films progressed, the hero became different. Film viewers were looking for a different kind of hero along with the changing times in America. In Gary Cooper’s character,…

John M. Ford was an American game designer, poet, science fiction and fantasy writer, and wrote essays like Eventful History: Version 1.x. This essay, written in 19951, was written not too much earlier than Y2K. Y2K was the fear of all computers going berserk after the transition from the year 1999 to the year 2000, due to the uncertainty of computers using two-digit programs interpreting the number 2000, or 00, as 1900. This would have caused huge trouble for places like banks, who would be…

Making an exceedingly high amount of profit is usually viewed as being majorly successful, two industrialists that fall under this specification are Henry Ford and John D. Rockefeller. Both of their prosperous businesses positively impacted the nation yet sequentially negatively impacted the nation. From this the terms “captain of industry” and “robber baron” are created. Henry Ford was an American automobile producer who invented the Ford Model T car and later developed the assembly line style…

‘Star Wars’ Stars Harrison Ford and John Boyega’s Nigerian Meal At Peckham Stars of ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Harrison Ford and John Boyega shared a distinctively Nigerian meal at Peckham at the end of a day’s filming at Pinewood Studios. Being an old Peckham resident of Nigerian descent, the 805 restaurant at Old Kent Road in London was Boyega’s choice. Naturally, the place went into a tizzy at seeing Han Solo and Finn casually stroll in. The diner’s manager Emmanuel James recalls:…

There is nothing more classical in film then the Western, and no one tackled the Western better than John Ford. Shawn Dwyer a classic movie expert states, “if there was ever a director-actor tandem that defined the Western genre, it was John Ford and John Wayne” (Dwyer 1). His film Stagecoach was the first of it’s kind in the film industry as being the first talking picture in the Western genre. The film included everything known to the classic Western, however, Ford wanted to question some…