John Ford Made Westerns: Filming the Legend in the Sound Era

Rating:
Summary: Re-examining the Legend
Review: This is an interesting book of essays on John Ford's Westerns. A number of topics are covered, such as Ford's use of music, the relationship between Ford and Frederick Remington's image of the West, the way Ford depicts different ethnic groups in his films.

By and large, the authors are sympathetic to John Ford (a good thing in my mind) and they clearly appreciate the movies. I gave the book 4 stars instead of 5 since there is some repetition among the different authors. (For example, everyone is compelled to discuss the last scene of "Fort Apache.") Still, it is a pleasure to read a jargon-free academic book on Ford's Westerns.

Rating:
Summary: Re-examining the Legend
Review: This is an interesting book of essays on John Ford's Westerns. A number of topics are covered, such as Ford's use of music, the relationship between Ford and Frederick Remington's image of the West, the way Ford depicts different ethnic groups in his films.

By and large, the authors are sympathetic to John Ford (a good thing in my mind) and they clearly appreciate the movies. I gave the book 4 stars instead of 5 since there is some repetition among the different authors. (For example, everyone is compelled to discuss the last scene of "Fort Apache.") Still, it is a pleasure to read a jargon-free academic book on Ford's Westerns.