A two-fisted serving of Ford
by Steve Hedgepeth, Star-Ledger Staff Tuesday December 11, 2007, 1:11 PM
Indeed, they've minded his business over and over again in a number of documentaries on the Oscar-winning director. Ford was a myth-maker, both in a cinematic sense and in a personal sense, and exploring those myths is the business of "Becoming John Ford," a new documentary that includes the above quote from the man himself.
The doc is included in the new collection "Ford at Fox."
If you happen to see a bearded, round-bellied character moaning in the emergency room with a ruptured back disc, it might be Santa himself, all done in from carrying this holiday bear around.
The price is hefty, too -- some $300 retail.
So what's in it for you?
There are 24 feature films and "Becoming John Ford." There's also a 168-page companion book, as well as reproductions of collectible period brochures for several of the films. Everything comes packaged in a handsome, heavyweight box.
The 24 features hardly represent the whole of Ford's film career, which began back when movies were mute, continued through the '60s and encompassed more than 100 shorts, features and documentaries.
Nor do the 24 represent Ford's total output at Fox (or Twentieth Century Fox after the studio's merger with Twentieth Century), which he considered his home base for some three decades, even if he made many films for other studios during that time.
However, "Ford at Fox" is a catholic demi-compendium of the director's work as he progressed from sometimes unsteady tyro to a master who had few rivals in how to paint a movie.
The silents ("Just Pals," "The Iron Horse," "3 Bad Men," "Four Sons," "Hangman's House") and early talkies ("Born Reckless," "Up the River," "Seas Beneath," "Pilgrimage," "Doctor Bull," "The World Moves On," "Judge Priest," "Steamboat 'Round the Bend" and "Prisoner of Shark Island," "Four Men and a Prayer") show a Ford still learning his craft, still influenced by other directors, including D.W. Griffith and F.W. Murnau, still searching for a personal style.
For every two steps up like "The Iron Horse," there's a step back such as "The World Moves On." Ford didn't always like the material he was given. And sometimes the studio tinkered with things after principal photography had been done.
There were happy compromises such as 1938's "Wee Willie Winkie." Ford didn't cotton to being handed an assignment to work with Depression Era moppet star Shirley Temple. But the collaboration went much better than the director expected.
"Young Mr. Lincoln" and "Drums Along the Mohawk," both in 1939, mark Ford's first collaborations with one of his favorite leading men, Henry Fonda. Three of the films in the set -- 1940's "The Grapes of Wrath," 1942's "How Green Was My Valley" and 1946's "My Darling Clementine" -- show the mature Ford at his best.
"The Grapes of Wrath" and "How My Green Was My Valley" won Ford two of his record four Oscars for directing. (The other films, not included in "Ford at Fox," are 1935's "The Informer" and 1952's "The Quiet Man").
Rounding out the set are "Tobacco Road," "When Willie Comes Marching Home" and "What Price Glory."
Up to now there's been no mention of John Wayne, who teamed with Ford in one of filmdom's longest-lived and greatest actor-director twosomes. And indeed, the collection has little to say about the Duke, who did very little with Ford at Fox.
Not that there isn't a little treasure buried within. That would be the appearance of Wayne, still very young but still very recognizable, as a cheering extra in "Hangman's House." And Peter Fonda, of all people, gives his best impression of Duke in "Becoming John Ford."
In "Becoming John Ford," the younger Fonda recalls Wayne visiting Peter's yacht, getting a bit tipsy and telling stories about having to rescue Ford from lying in his own waste amid the director's drinking binges.
Okay, so Ford, who died in 1973 in his late 70s, drank a bit. But he disciplined himself to drink only when he wasn't working. You can't direct some of the greatest films in "Ford at Fox" without a clear eye and a piercing mind.
FANTASY: "Harry Potter and the Order Of The Phoenix" Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Gary Oldman, Imelda Staunton, Michael Gambon, Helena Bonham Carter, Ralph Fiennes. Directed by David Yates. Rating: PG-13. (Warner) 138 mins., plus extras. $28.98.
Happily, the series, now five films old, can still captivate, as Harry and pals battle Lord Voldemart and a new, treacherous professor. Extras: featurettes; additional scenes; interactive games.
ACTION: "The Bourne Ultimatum" Starring: Matt Damon, David Strathairn, Joan Allen, Julia Stiles, Albert Finney, Scott Glenn, Paddy Considine. Directed by Paul Greengrass. Rating: PG-13. (Universal) 116 mins., plus extras. $29.98.
Fugitive assassin and operative Jason Bourne runs hither and yon to find out who he really is and to avoid those who know and want to kill him. The latest film in the franchise is as breakneck as the previous two. Extras: featurettes; deleted scenes; director and star commentary.
DRAMA: "December Boys" Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Lee Cormie, Christian Byers, James Fraser, Teresa Palmer, Victoria Hill, Jack Thompson. Directed by Rod Hardy. Rating: PG-13. (Warner) 105 mins., plus extras. $19.59.
Radcliffe, famous as filmdom's Harry Potter, takes on a change-of-pace role in an Australian-set coming-of-ager about a memorable summer in the lives of a group of orphans. The film has its charms, as well as flaws of pace and plot. Not for the young Harry Potter fan. Extras: additional scenes.
SPORTS BIOPIC: "The Rocket" Starring: Roy Dupuis, Stephen McHattie, Julie Le Breton, Philip Craig, Patrice Robitaille, Tony Calabretta. Directed by Charles Biname. Rating: PG. (Palm) 124 mins., plus extras. $24.99.
This Canadian-made biopic about French-Canadian ice hockey legend Maurice "The Rocket" Richard wants to be "Cinderella Man" on ice, but is much too talky and has holes big enough to skate a whole team through. Extras: featurette; deleted scenes.
Also in stores: "High School Musical 2: Extended Edition" (Disney); "Dave Attell: Captain Miserable" (HBO); "Everything's Cool: A Toxic Comedy About Global Warming" (City Lights); "Bikini Bloodbath" (MVD); "United Artists 90th Anniversary Essential Collection Gift Set" (MGM); "Mario's Story" (Westlake); "Moolaade" (New Yorker); "Ted: The Future We Will Create" (Docudrama).
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