John Ford: The Man and His Films / Edition 1

by Tag Gallagher

Overview

This radical re-reading of Ford's work studies his films in the context of his complex character, demonstrating their immense intelligence and their profound critique of our culture.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780520063341
Publisher:	University of California Press
Publication date:	04/20/1988
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	600
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.88(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Ted Gallagher's articles have appeared in Sight & Sound, Film Comment, Artforum, and many other publications.

Table of Contents

Preface

1. Prologue: Youth and Apprenticeship
2. First Period (1927-1935): The Age of Introspection
3. Second Period (1935-1947): The Age of Idealism
4. Third Period (1948-1961): The Age of Myth
5. Final Period (1962-1965): The Age of Mortality
6. Conclusion

Notes
Appendix: Grosses and Earnings
Filmography
Selected Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

Ford directed his first film in 1917, his last in 1965. Although many of his best-known movies re-create the mythos of the Old West, he directed enduring classics in other genres. Gallagher believes Ford's oeuvre can be placed in four ``ages'': introspection, idealism, myth, and mortality. These may mirror Ford's personal evolution, but he was an extremely private, complex man, so correlations are uncertain. Still, Gallagher has deftly interwoven detailed interpretations of Ford's major works with knowledgeable analysis of the man. There is also discussion of film theory in order to place Ford in the proper framework. Many books have been done on Ford (by Andrew Sarris, Peter Bogdanovich, et al.), but this is definitive and possibly one of the best of its kind. Highly recommended. Roy Liebman, California State Univ. Lib., Los Angeles

Library Journal