John Ford (On Directors)

John Ford (On Directors)

by Brian Spittles (Author)

Synopsis

John Ford is a monumental figure in Hollywood and world cinema. Throughout his long and varied career spanning the silent and sound era, he produced nearly 150 films of which Iron Horse (1924), Stagecoach (1939), The Grapes of Wrath (1940), How Green Was My Valley (1941), The Searchers (1956) and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) are classics of cinema. Ford was also an influential figure in developing, and extending Hollywood's traditions. Stylistically Ford was instrumental in developing new camera techniques, atmospheric lighting and diverse narrative devices. Thematically, long before it became conventional wisdom, Ford was exploring issues that concern us today, such as gender, race, the treatment of ethnic minorities and social outcasts, the nature of history and the relationship of myth and reality. For all these reasons, John Ford the man and his films reward thought and study, both for the general reader and the academic student. Ford's pictures express the world in which they were made, and have contributed to making what Hollywood is today. This book illustrates the excitement, importance, influence, creativity, deviousness and complexity of the man and his films.

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More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 140
Edition: 1
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 22 Jan 2002

ISBN 10: 0582424046
ISBN 13: 9780582424043
Book Overview: The themes and techniques Ford uses reveal how much he was concerned with the issues that are central to us today: gender, race, ethnicity, social outcasts, the nature of history and the relationship between myth and reality. This book is designed around a collection of ideas which provides a cohesive view of the great director's thinking and creative output.

Author Bio

Brian Spittles was formerly head of Humanities & Director of Film Studies at Ruskin College, Oxford and is currently the Director of Studies in Film Studies, University of Cambridge.