John Ford

John Ford (1894–1973) is doubtlessly one of the outstanding personalities in the history of cinema, a masterly image stylist and virtuoso storyteller. The scope of his oeuvre – he shot more than 140 films in 60 years (of which many early ones are lost, however) – is imposing, his contribution to the development of cinematography evident, and his influence on following generations of filmmakers undeniable. Ford’s films possess great aesthetic-stylistic beauty and diversity, ranging from the expressionistic-gloomy works of the late 1920s and early 30s, in which one senses the influence of F.W. Murnau (e.g., THE INFORMER, 1935), all the way to his late, strongly reduced and straightforward westerns (e.g., THE SEARCHERS, 1956). A similarly wide range is offered by the number of different genres in which John Ford's movies are set. In addition to westerns, for which he is still most famous (although he shot only one western between 1926 and 1945 –STAGECOACH, 1939), he directed numerous war and adventure movies (THE PRISONER OF SHARK ISLAND, 1936), social dramas (THE GRAPES OF WRATH, 1940, and HOW GREEN WAS MY VALLEY, 1941), as well as comedies set in the Confederate states (THE SUN SHINES BRIGHT, 1952). Born as the last of 13 children of an Irish immigration family in Maine (USA), John Ford deals in many of his films with the pivotal moments of American history, its mythical dimensions and legends. Frequent themes include the appropriation of land, the violent reclaiming of land in the American West, the Civil War, or the founding of the nation. In Ford’s films, the world is in a state of change and reorientation, his protagonists are searching for community, a homeland and identity. Ford’s heroes are usually lonely persons, outsiders, loners, who mainly in the West, against the backdrop of a seemingly boundless nature and an overpowering landscape (expansive steppes or the claustrophobic Monument Valley), establish a community, but often fail to find one themselves. A special kind of community is what Ford developed behind the camera, repeatedly working with the same crew members and actors. The latter, including Harry Carey, Will Rogers, John Wayne, Henry Fonda or James Stewart, epitomized Ford’s torn heroes, and they often not only began their career working with Ford but also played their best roles in his movies.