By Republic Pictures - source, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/inde...curid=45102952
Rio Grande - (1950)
Okay film about a Cavalry Regiment protecting settlers against Apache attacks, and a daring raid across the U.S./Mexico border to rescue kidnapped children. Seeing this after
Fort Apache and
Stagecoach makes me a little weary of Indians getting shot and falling off horses. This film was made out of necessity as Republic Pictures wanted Ford to make another Western before embarking on his next labour of love,
The Quiet Man.
6/10
By May incorporate artwork by Clement Hurel - see Nollen, Scott Allen (2013) Three Bad Men: John Ford, John Wayne, Ward Bond, McFarland, p.*352 ISBN: 9780786458547. - Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/inde...curid=18565484
The Quiet Man - (1952)
Stunningly beautiful in more ways than one - a film about a man who returns to his birthplace, allured by it's serene perfection, but somewhat nonplussed by all the traditions, rules and customs he's met by. I would have said John Wayne is a little miscast as Sean Thornton, but Danny Peary awarded him the (alternate) Oscar for best Actor - it's a great role and I'm sure he appreciated it. The Oscars it did win in all actuality were for cinematography and Ford as best director. Great love story and comedy. Really enjoyed it.
8.5/10
By "Copyright © 1962 Paramount Pictures Corporation and John Ford Productions, Inc." - Scan via Heritage Auctions. Cropped and lightly retouched from original image; see upload history below for unretouched original., Public Domain.
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance - (1962)
Wow - this might actually go down as one of my favourite Westerns, competing against the likes of
3:10 to Yuma,
High Noon and
Unforgiven. James Stewart plays Ransom Stoddard, a senator and lawyer returning to a town he once lived in - just in time for the funeral of old friend Tom Doniphon (John Wayne). Here, he's waylaid by reporters sniffing out a story, and he finally decides it's time to come clean about something he's famous for - the shooting of Liberty Valance (Lee Marvin). Stewart and Wayne are terrific as two opposite ends of a spectrum - a person who believes in the law, and the other in frontier justice - but the real standout is Marvin, oozing an evil, threatening aura to the extent that I can nearly smell his sweat along with the booze and tobacco he probably reeks of. It all comes together with great meaning and drama, the tension leaving one on the edge of their seat. The end of my little John Ford festival reaches it's climax with what I believe will be my favourite of all his films - though
Stagecoach and
The Quiet Man are right up there.
10/10
By IMP Awards / 2014 Movie Poster Gallery / The Grand Budapest Hotel Poster (#2 of 17), Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=56637353
The Grand Budapest Hotel - (2014)
My pick for a little movie day yesterday with a friend, she hadn't seen it and this in indeed one I love more than many others - charming, wonderful and oh so pretty. The best Wes Anderson has produced so far in my reckoning. More to say about this one at a later date.
10/10
By Impawards.com, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=24228730
Fantastic Mr. Fox - (2009)
I was delighted she chose to watch this next, because it's been on my watchlist for ages. A really charming family film with awesomely cute stop-motion animation. Based on the children's novel by Roald Dahl. She liked this, but felt there were some scenes that were unnecessarily extraneous. It never drags though, at a fast-paced 87 minutes. I'd love to know what kids think of this one - though it really is a film for any age.
7/10
Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3906669
Antonia's Line - (1995)
Her pick - this time one she knows and loves and which I'd never heard of.
Antonia's Line won the best foreign language Oscar in 1996. It takes place in a village which is home to Antonia (Willeke van Ammelrooy) - and to which she returns after the Second World War with her daughter. It's a strange village - it's populated by the insane (one lady howls at every full moon, one man never leaves his apartment,) the intellectually disabled and the cruel. Her mother (who is apparently all three of these things) dies and her daughter delights in imagining all the statues and religious icons coming to life. We follow Antonia's family as her daughter has a child of her own, and that child grows up and in turn has her own daughter. Being such a crazy village, there is no end of drama and death - but Antonia seems to find peace in such a place, and she dies content (that's no spoiler - the film begins with her last day on Earth.)
I'm still trying to figure out how I feel about this film - the kind of film (like
Legends of the Fall) which takes place over a great deal of time. It never drags, and is always eventful. Antonia seems a little aloof, but her family, at the very least, is a sane anchor in such an unusual place. It's worth rewatching and enjoying.
6.5/10