Directed by John Ford (1971)

Directed by John Ford 
Directed by Peter Bogdanovich
Written by Peter Bogdanovich
1971 (restored and updated 2006)/USA
American Film Institute/California Arts Commission/Turner Classic Movies (2006 Restoration)
First viewing/American Documentary Film Festival

[box] I prefer the old masters, by which I mean John Ford, John Ford, and John Ford. — Orson Welles [/box]

The American Documentary Film Festival near us was having a retrospective of documentaries by Peter Bogdanovich and my husband and I caught this one.  I enjoyed it immensely.

The documentary was restored and updated in 2006 to include contemporary interviews with directors influenced by Ford, including Scorcese, Speilberg, and Eastwood. The reminiscences of actors such as John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart, Henry Fonda, Harry Carey, Jr., and Maureen O’Hara were even better.  What a cranky, difficult character Ford was!  But everyone seemed to have loved him in the end.

Watching as Ethan Edwards returns from the war – The Searchers (1956)

Better than all the talking heads, however, were the wonderful clips.  It was so awesome to see them on the big screen.  Now my mouth is watering for a rewatch of Fort Apache which is coming up soon.

This is available on DVD and is highly recommended.

Bogdanovich interview of Ford – a classic!