Joseph McBride Movies
Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Nick Redman details director John Ford's remarkable stint at Twentieth Century Fox in an intimately detailed documentary that pays special attention to the relationship between the famed Grapes of Wrath director and studio head Darryl F. Zanuck. A master of the silent film who would go on to become a true legend of American cinema, Ford was just twenty-six years old when he took the helm for Just Pals (1920). Later, when Fox merged with 20th Century in 1935, Ford went to work with the notoriously strong-willed Zanuck. If there was any filmmaker who could give Zanuck a run for his money it was Ford, and it wasn't long before the director made history by earning back-to-back Oscars. Additional input from Ford biographer Joseph McBride, film historian Rudy Behlmer, and screen legend Peter Fonda (whose father Henry had a long-running professional relationship with the filmmaker) ensure that this is one of the most painstakingly assembled profiles of Ford ever committed to film. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
In this documentary centered on legendary filmmaker John Ford's cinematic contributions to Allied morale during World War II, actor/musician Kris Kristofferson narrates as the How Green Was My Valley director turns his back on Tinseltown in order to fulfill his patriotic duty. By the time the United States became involved in World War II, John Ford was already a film legend, but when Uncle Sam came calling the veteran filmmaker eagerly packed his bags and set his sites on the frontlines. Though Ford did sustain battlefield injuries during the production of the Oscar-winning documentary The Battle of Midway, the remarkable film endeared him to patriotic American audiences across the country and his next wartime effort, 1943's December 7th, proceeded to earn the filmmaker yet another Oscar. In addition to featuring footage from these and other, lesser-known wartime films from Ford, this documentary also offers an intimate look at the complex filmmaker and explores his remarkable legacy through both archive footage and interviews with such notable directors as Oliver Stone and Peter Bogdanovich. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- 1996
Oscar-winning character actor Ben Johnson was never as well known as other stars, and yet for many industry insiders, he was the epitome of cowboy actors. Of Cherokee and Irish heritage, Johnson was born in Oklahoma and became a cowboy at age eleven. He grew up to become the only movie cowboy to win both an Oscar and a rodeo championship. This documentary tells the fascinating, colorful story of his life. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
