Final thoughts on John Ford

Well I hope you enjoyed my month long tribute to John Ford, even though it felt as if I didn't even scratch the surface of what this man and his films were all about. I love John Ford films more than most others, not many directors can be tough and sensitive at the same time, but Ford captured it perfectly, and even though I never got around to talking about them I strongly recommend "The Grapes of Wrath", "How Green Was My Valley", "The Informer", "My Darling Clementine", and "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance", I'm probably forgetting more but those should get one started. Meanwhile stay tuned for tomorrow when I announce October's director of the month.

It's the Cavalry!!!: Ford's Trilogy

I've been going through a lot of John Ford films this month which makes me just love them even more. Even though Ford received 4 Oscars for best director, he was never given one for any of his westerns. It's strange to think about that now since westerns were the genre Ford helped define. The first Ford films I saw were the westerns which started with "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance", then with "Stagecoach", "My Darling Clementine" and "The Searchers". But one of my favorite group of films I like to visit in Ford's work is his famed Cavalry Trilogy. When Ford made these films, he never intended to make them into a trilogy, in fact it's mostly film buffs who call them that. The third in the series was actually made out of necessity, but all three are separate stories, yet they have the similarity of all being about the U.S. cavalry, and also starring John Wayne. Here's a closer look at these three films.

1. Fort Apache: The story of an arrogant and obsessed military officer Owen Thursday (Henry Fonda) and his obsession for glory by starting an unnecessary war. For those who believe John Ford did nothing but romanticise the west and the cavalry in his films best look at this. Fonda's character was a loose characterization of General Custer and Ford goes to great lengths to show how crazed ambition can lead to tragedy. Even though John Wayne gets top billing as Captain Kirby York, he's really a supporting player, this is Fonda's film all the way, he doesn't just create a villain in this film, but he portrays someone set in his ways, but full of regret in the end. Wayne does give the film the final message at the end about false heroism, a theme that crept up in later Ford films particularly "The Man who Shot Liberty Valance."

2. She Wore a Yellow Ribbon:Considered by many to be the best of the trilogy and my personal favorite Ford western only after "The Searchers". John Wayne gives one of his best performances as Captain Nathan Brittles an aging army officer who is one week away from retirement. Brittles has one mission left to go and he wants to finish it peacefully, but things become difficult after an Indian attack. This is the only one of the trilogy that was filmed in color, it is one of the best color films ever made and even won an Oscar for best cinematography, but it's Wayne's performance that gives this film the pathos and lifts it up from being another run of the mill western story. It's hard to believe Wayne did not receive an Oscar nomination for this, but for another film he did that year "Sands of Iwo Jima". By the way, love Ben Johnson as Wayne's resourceful Sgt. Tyree.

3. Rio Grande: Usually thought of as the least of the trilogy, but it probably gets that reputation because it is the most low key focusing more on the emotions of its characters rather than a wide scope. This might be seen as a sequel to "Fort Apache" since Wayne's character is Kirby Yorke, but this time his last name is spelled with an "e" at the end so I don't know (If anyone knows let me know.) Yorke runs an outpost by the Rio Grande and is in charge of training the new recruits, one of them happens to be his son who he hasn't seen in 15 years. Along with that Yorke gets a visit from the boy's mother Kathleen (Maureen O'Hara) who he left in favor of the army. The film is an interesting take on soldier life showing more the camaraderie of the soldiers more than in the first two, and the love story between Wayne and O'Hara is quietly touching. Ford actually didn't want to do this film but he made a bargain with Republic Pictures who financed the film. They told them they would finance Ford's passion project "The Quiet Man" if he made them a western with John Wayne, well that's what he gave them and "Rio Grande" was the result. Ben Johnson is on hand again to steal his scenes as an army recruit who is hiding out from the law. The chariot horse riding he and co-star Harry Carey Jr. do might just be show boating stunt work, but impressive to say the least.

RIP Mr. Newman

What a terrible way to wake up Saturday morning finding out an acting icon passed away. Paul Newman was one of my favorite actors, I never saw him give a bad performance, but I often saw him give a tremendous performance. I cannot think of my favorite Newman performance there's just too many. He came at the end of the great 50's method movement that included Marlon Brando, James Dean, and Montgomery Clift, his movie star looks sometimes overshadowed the fact that he was a talented actor, he was nominated for 10 Academy Awards winning one for "The Color of Money". He worked with directors such as Hitchcock, Scorsese, Lumet, Altman, and The Coen Brothers. He's famous for his on-screen partnership with Robert Redford with their two hits "Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid" and "The Sting" both of which are huge entertainments. I feel like having a Newman marathon, there are so many films to choose from, I'll list a few of my favorites.

Cool Hand Luke
The Hustler
The Verdict
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
The Sting
Somebody Up There Likes Me
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Slap Shot
Nobody's Fool
Hud
Absence of Malice

Rest In Peace Mr. Newman, you were irreplaceable.

The Searchers: Loneliness, Racism, and Humanity in the West

I've watched "The Searchers" a hundred times mostly in the same setting, on the television sitting alone in my living room, I don't mind, that's the way I like most of my favorite movies, you have the time to yourself to soak it all in. The best experience watching "The Seachers" was on my dad's widescreen televison where you can really appreciate the epic scale and VistaVision of the film, to this day it is the best film I've seen on widescreen television. However the most interesting experience I had watching "The Searchers" took place in my college film class about three years ago. I came in to the film with a biased view already knowing it was one of the greatest films of all time and I was kind of excited about seeing it with a group of film students, many of whom had never seen it. I wanted to see their take on the film and was hoping for a bit of a discussion afterwards. During the film there were many strange pauses and awkward silences by the group, when the film ended I went up to the instructor and told him it was one of my favorite films. One of the students stopped me and said to me "You liked that film? Really brings the little Hitler out in you."

I was a little surprised by that remark, did this person really think that about the film and about me? Did he actually see the same film as me? That moment and that remark really stuck with me through the years, I'm not even sure if the instructor prepared everyone properly for the film, what they knew was it was a western starring John Wayne and directed by John Ford, some of the scenes were said to have influenced "Star Wars". Now I understand that perhaps they were just trying to get the younger generation excited about seeing an old John Wayne western, perhaps they weren't prepared for the strong racial overtones the film took and the unlikable characterizations of John Wayne's character, now I feel they walked away with the wrong impression of the film. But "The Searchers" has had that conflicted history all its life and people still interpret it the wrong way.

I don't believe "The Seachers" is a racist film, but a film about a racist. I also don't believe John Ford was a racist himself but he was brave enough to make a film where he chose to deal with the issues, however uncomfortable openly and honestly.

Ford was 61 years old when he made "The Searchers" he was no longer a young man, the film was a darker, edgier more pessimistic view of the world than his earlier films, I think his films never saw the world in black and white, but "The Searcher's" introduced a new complexity that wasn't in his earlier work. The story is of Ethan Edwards (Wayne) a former civil war hero who comes home to his brother's farm three years after the war ended, his whereabouts since then are left unsaid or unknown. There is also an unspoken romance between Ethan and his brother's wife Martha. Ethan lives on the farm in peace for one day until his world is turned upside down. The farm is attacked by a group of Comanche Indians led by their leader Scar (Henry Brandon). Martha is killed along with Ethan's brother and their son, the daughters have been taken prisoner and so begins the search.

We first see Ethan's racism in his reaction to his searching companion Martin Pawly (Jeffery Hunter) who is one-eighth Cherokee. We get the impression Ethan doesn't like him even though he is the one who found and saved Martin as a boy. We later see other examples of racism when the searching party finds a dead Indian hidden beneath a rock, Ethan shoots the dead man's eyes out because in Comanche custom, without their eyes they are forced to wonder the Earth unable to find the spirit land, and perhaps in the most angry and hate filled moment, when Ethan and Martin come across a herd of buffalo, Ethan shoots at them in a fit of rage in order to starve the Indians out.

Perhaps it is how we are suppose to feel about Ethan Edwards that has caused most of this film's controversy, are we suppose to hate him for his racism, pity him for his anger and loneliness, or admire him because of his bravery and heroism. John Ford takes all of these aspects and makes the film purposely ambiguous. For me Ethan Edwards has always been one of the most fascinating cinematic characters in American film, he's a conflicted human being, he loves his niece Debbie the one he's trying to find but he's driven to murderous rage at the fact that she's been living among people he despises.

I think there was also a reason Ford put the character of Martin Pawly in the film to sort of act as an audience member. At times Martin hates Ethan just as much as Ethan hates him, he almost kills him in order to protect Debbie, but at times there is a father/son bond that builds between the two and even towards the end of the film Ethan writes a will which would leave all of his belongings to Martin.

Ethan never becomes the embodiment of any one ideal like other characters in John Ford and John Wayne's canon, but I do think he becomes the embodiment of other things that make up America, some of them are good and some are still being struggled with today. Ethan is a loner which is presented perfectly in the film's final shot. It shows the inside of a home, everyone walks in it but Ethan. This shot has been talked about so many times, needless to say in it Ethan remains distant, illusive and disappearing in the western dust, he does not come in, perhaps because he cannot be accepted yet.

The Quiet Man: Ford's Irish Romance

If I could pick a favourite John Ford movie, that being one I would always be in the mood to watch it would be "The Quiet Man". The film is probably Ford's warmest picture and one that you could tell was very close to his heart. The story is concerns a former boxer from America Shaun Thornton (John Wayne) who comes to live in his native town of Innisfree Ireland. Shaun was raised in America but he remembers the wonderful memories his mother had of Innisfree and he decides to buy the old Thornton land there to live in it peacefully.

On his first day there Shaun sees Mary Kate Danaher (Maureen O'Hara) herding sheep and it's love at first site. Shaun decides to court the lovely lady with the help of the local matchmaker Michaleen Oge Flynn (Barry Fitzgerald), but things don't go as planned since Shaun became enemies with Mary Kate's brother Will (Victor McLaglen) for buying land he himself intended to buy. Michaleen along with other members of the village decide to form a conspiracy in order to trick Will into getting Shaun and Mary Kate to wed. The trick works but after the wedding Will realizes he's been duped and decides not to give Mary Kate her rightful fortune that belongs to her. This begins a conflict that hangs heavy over the entire film. Mary Kate is proud of her fortune and wants what's rightfully hers and until she gets it, she locks herself away from Shaun. This effects Shaun deeply for, after we find something out about his past we realize money means nothing to him.

I could see why "The Quiet Man" has become one of John Ford's most beloved films, it's full of love by the man who made it. Ford had a tremendous love for Ireland, the people in it, and the traditions they held dear. What's at stake in "The Quiet Man" is the happiness of a marriage and what happens when two people who are strongly in love with one another have a clash of ideals.

John Ford has had romance before and after "The Quiet Man" in his films, but this was the first and only time (As far as I know) that it took centre stage. What's keeping Shaun and Mary Kate apart has nothing to do with distance or romantic triangle like you would see in most love stories, but it has to do with a belief system the other person is unable to accept. These are very committed people and also passionate and it's refreshing to see this in a love story.

But the flavour is also important in any film, and Ford creates a palate full of great Irish vistas as the backdrop and some of the most colourful characters in film history. The townspeople which include Fitztgerald, McLaglen, Ward Bond as a Priest, Arthur Shields as a Protestant Reverand, and John Ford's brother Francis as the village elder are not bad people, they're a community who help eachother, they add a great deal of humanity in Ford's film which make it so loving, which is probably why Ford filled it with so many familiar faces.

Ford 's passion for this film was neverending, he wanted to make it so badly but none of the major studios wanted to finance it, finally he went to Republic who were known for making low-grade B-movies and told Ford if he made them a western then they would finance "The Quiet Man". The film was a tremendous success earning Ford his fourth Best Director Oscar. Today it doesn't get as much recognition as his better known films like "The Searchers" or "The Grapes of Wrath", and perhaps the way John Wayne drags Maureen O'Hara by her neck near the climax of the movie can be considered a tad un-PC, but "The Quiet Man" represents old tradition, and old story telling. I'm sure if one visits Ireland now, you probably wouldn't meet characters from the town of Innisfree, but Ford kept this ideal of Ireland alive for us, and it has become a charming world enshrined forever in Ford's cinema.

Favorite Emmy Winning Shows

The Emmy Awards are upon us and I just thought I would put in my two cents but seeing how this is a movie blog, I'll be brief. I rarely watch television anymore, not that I don't find anything wrong with it, I just don't really have time to sit and watch a show, particularly if it's a drama, lately dramas require your full attention, shows like "Lost" and "24" on ongoing serials with cliffhangers at the end almost all the time. I miss the good old days where it was ok to miss one episode every once in awhile which is why I tend to prefer my good old half hour sitcom. Anyhoo here are some of my favorite shows most of which have gone the way of the doe doe.

1. The Simpsons: If I was left on an Island with only one TV show DVD collection to choose from it would be "The Simpsons", even though I would need an extra raft to bring all the seasons over with me. "The Simpsons" remains consistently funny and out of loyalty I tend to ignore those who say the series is slipping and "Family Guy" is the new reigning champ. "The Simpsons" is the only show today I still watch consistently, it must hold the record for most Emmy wins for an animated program which is probably due to its long running number of seasons. Despite what others think, "The Simpsons" is still funnier than most sitcoms out there today.

2. Cheers: This is a close second to "The Simpsons" before everyone in the 90s decided coffee shops were the hip place to be, people would hang out in a bar to forget their troubles. "Cheers" was the first and best to start this trend. Cheers was a friendly neighborhood bar that invited you to sit down and have a cold one while the gang entertained us with their not so glamorous lives. The tradition was continued with "Frasier" which I also loved, but to me it doesn't get much better than the place where everyone knows your name.

3. Arrested Development: The show that was kinda destined to have a short run with a cult following. Each episode was full of different screwball elements and boasted the most dysfunctional family in history. The fact that "Everybody Loves Raymond" beat it one year for best sitcom shows the Emmys as the sham they are

4. MASH: Two words: Alan Alda. MASH was not a perfect show with some pretty repetitive and heavy handed episodes, but Alan Alda kept it going for 11 seasons with his pitch perfect depiction of Hawkeye. It remains my favorite show of the 70s mostly for his performance. But along with Cheers and Arrested Development it remains one of the best ensemble comedies ever. It's really the only show I would tune in simply for the characters.

5. The West Wing: Really the only drama I tuned into regularly. The Aaron Sorkin brainchild suffered a bit of a backlash after its creator jumped ship but it gained credibility again in the last season with the election of presidential hopefuls Jimmy Smits and (in his second best television role) Alan Alda. But it was really the golden Sorkin years with his Capraesque touches to politics and that fast paced walking while talking down the hallway rhythm that made this such a joy.

Honorable mentions: "The Dick Van Dyke Show" and "Get Smart" were everyday occurrences in my house as I was growing up. "Extras" with Ricky Gervais has one of my favorite finales of all time, and if those stupid studio execs just left David Lynch alone about solving who killed Laura Palmer "Twin Peaks" would be what I expect it would've been: Pitch Perfect.

Thoughts on John Ford

I've been going through a few of John Ford's films these past few days, most of them have been his late-thirties early 40s work like "Stagecoach", "The Grapes of Wrath" and "How Green was My Valley". Films like these always drew me in with its poetry, John Ford perhaps more than any other western filmmaker was a poet, I'm amazed with some long stretches of poignant silence in his films which always grabbed me. It was in "The Grapes of Wrath" in particular that really pulled me in. In one of the more famous scenes in the film, Ma Joad (played by Jane Darwell) is in the family kitchen near the wood stove burning little odds and ends the family can't afford to bring with them, she sees a pair of earrings and holds them to her ears as she sees her weary reflection in an old dusty mirror. For me it's one of the saddest images in all of cinema seeing a shadow of a woman looking at who she once was and not knowing what will come next. Ford was a master at capturing sad scenes like these so well.

There's always a reluctance in a lot of Ford films to let go of the past, the modern world looks to be an unstoppable machine which destroys a certain traditional way of life. Even though Ford has an acceptance of modern times it is a melancholy acceptance. It is because of this, Ford films keep American history alive, the characters constantly live in the past, some keep the past alive in any way they can even going to lengths of talking to the dead by their graves which was a scene Ford did more than once. My favorite of these scenes comes in "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon" where John Wayne's aging Calvary officer speaks to his wife. The way he speaks is real dialogue but it's as if it were a poem.

I sometimes get a feeling of peace out of Ford films like I do with the great Japanese filmmakers like Ozu and Kurosawa both of whom have dealt with the older generation vs the younger, Kurosawa in particular has been influenced by Ford films.

Ford has always stood apart from contemporaries like Hawks and Capra both of whom were known for speeding up their story with fast paced dialogue or montage. Ford takes his time in his films, you can really breath in his world none more significantly than in his westerns with his great monument valley backdrop, this is where he achieved mythical significance and also where he brought down some older myths themselves. Ford never sugarcoated the past, even when it came to the U.S. Calvary which he sometimes (but not all the time) romanticised. One just has to look at his "Fort Apache" and Henry Fonda's portrayal of a stubborn officer fixated on starting a win less war with the Apache.

John Ford is America's most prolific filmmaker making over 100 films, which makes me think I have only scratched the surface of what this man is all about. For those who have yet to experience John Ford, it is impossible for me to give a starting point, for me I started near the end of his career with "The Man who Shot Liberty Valance", but whether you start there or to his silent period with "The Iron Horse" the themes don't often change, but what does change perhaps is Ford himself who seems to get more wiser and more aware of the world as it changed.

The Idiots who came in from the Cold

I have a weakness for really funny movies, movies that make me laugh so hard I cry, if that happens my first instinct is to say that movie is the best movie ever. Keeping that in mind The Coen Bros latest film "Burn After Reading" is the best movie ever. Okay not really, it's not even the best Coen Bros movie ever but in my mind all I can say is it's definitely the funniest movie I have seen all year.

But out of all the milk I would've lost through my nose had I been drinking milk while watching this I think the people who were laughing the most through this movie were the Coen Bros. themselves, it is so full of their usual nonsense with a thickly plotted story which like "The Big Lebowski" before, it doesn't really matter in the end. But perhaps their is something a little deeper the Coens were going for. For one thing the comedy is interrupted by moments of extreme violence and much like the Coen's darker more intense films like "Fargo" and "No Country for Old Men" the innocent are not always spared. Granted those films dealt with their issues on a grander scale that this film only hints at. I suspect that like most of the Coen's work repeated viewings are in order to see the subtle nuances (and there are in this movie). But really it's just nice to laugh again.

For those who know the plot gets going when Osborne Cox (John Malkovich in his funniest role since "Being John Malkovich") a former CIA analyst decides to write his memoirs, when his wife (Tilda Swinton) wants a divorce she downloads his files by order of her divorce attorney and when those files are mistakenly left at a gym it is picked up by dimbulb trainer Chad (Brad Pitt) who thinks he can blackmail Cox. His partner in crime is Linda Litzke (Frances McDormand) a woman with low self-esteem and needs money for cosmetic surgery. The plot also involves Harry Pfarrer (George Clooney) who is a serial computer dater even though he's happily married, he's sleeping with Cox's wife along with seeing Linda, but he's also very paranoid and his actions soon shift the film in unseen territory.

The plot unravels on itself like a peeled on. Layer after layer is peeled until all you have left is nothing. J.K. Simmons as the CIA supervisor is our lethargic voice of reason who doesn't know what to make of this as much as we do.

The world of the Coen brothers is one of those great unique worlds that only film can dream up which is why I believe these guys are the best filmmakers working today, the mood can switch from whimsy to violence so suddenly there is no way to see it coming. Each character is perfectly cast. Malkovich is wonderfully aloof as to why two idiots are trying to blackmail him, Tilda Swinton can fit into the cold and icy bitch role like a glove but this time it's a comedic take. Clooney who is less manic and brood in this than he was in his other Coen outings gives a very fun and even touching performance as Pfarrer, a man who has a unique gift he's making in his basement which gives the biggest laugh. As Linda Litzke, McDormand is just as peppy and positive as her Marge Gundersson from "Fargo" but this time the consequences aren't so happy. And then there is Brad Pitt who makes stupidity an artform, his Chad steals every scene he's in, he's so dense he doesn't realize he's in over his head. The scenes with him and Malkovich over the phone and in the car are comic highlights for the ages. If Tom Hanks can win an Oscar for playing stupid, Pitt should seriously be considered as well.

"Burn after Reading" might not be for everyones tastes, to quote from "This is Spinal Tap" "It is a fine line between stupid and clever." What it really is The Coen Bros. at their game and when that happens it's the best movie ever.

4 stars out of 4

Classic Movie Mondays starting in Red Deer

For those of you in and around the Red Deer Alberta area, I'm happy to announce that I will be hosting a new series at The Matchbox Theatre called "Classic Movie Mondays". We will be starting this event tomorrow at 7:30pm. The first film being played will be "Casablanca".

The Matchbox is a 119-seat fully supported performance space located at#110 5301 43rd Street in the Old Brew Building in Red Deer, Alberta. Now in its second year, The Matchbox is dedicated to offering affordable rental ratesin order to give both emerging artists and established talents a venue to create in.

This Month Toronto is the Place to Be!!!

The Toronto Film Festival has kicked off yet again. This is probably my favorite festival to view upon, not only is it in my home country of Canada, but it's the place that really starts Oscar season going and even though I'm not there personally it's the best way to find out which ones are the must see movies. I'll be keeping track closely these coming days with reports from my favorite critics Roger Ebert and Jim Emerson keeping me informed.

Movie Survey

1) Your favorite musical moment in a movie
Fred and Ginger in "Swing Time", "Never gonna Dance"

2) Ray Milland or Dana Andrews
I like both, but since I just viewed "The Lost Weekend" not too long ago, I'll go with Ray

3) Favorite Sidney Lumet movie
Dog Day Afternoon for Pacino alone.

4) Biggest surprise of the just-past summer movie season
"The Dark Knight" beating "Star Wars"

5) Gene Tierney or Rita Hayworth
Lovely Rita

6) What’s the last movie you saw on DVD? In theaters?
DVD: Without Love Theatre: Tropic Thunder

7) Irwin Allen’s finest hour?
Towering Inferno because it has Paul Newman and Steve McQueen save the day and it was the only film Fred Astaire was nominated for an Oscar

8)What were the films where you would rather see the movie promised by the poster than the one that was actually made?
I'll have to get back to you on that one

9) Chow Yun-Fat or Tony Leung
Chow Yun-Fat simply because I don't know who Tony Leung is.

10) Most pretentious movie ever
Not sure although (And people may disagree with me on this) "Sideways" leered towards pretension

11) Favorite Russ Meyer movie
I have seen very little Russ Meyer, but the one I like the most is "Faster Pussycat Kill!! Kill!!"

13) Marlene Dietrich or Greta Garbo
Hard to say. Love them both, but I was entranced with Garbo's long before I knew Dietrich.

14) Best movie snack? Most vile movie snack?
I like my chocolate bars, but I detest movie hotdogs.

15) Current movie star who would be most comfortable in the classic Hollywood studio system
George Clooney, he's keeping the dream alive for all of us.

16) Fitzcarraldo—yes or no?
Haven't seen it

17) Your assignment is to book the ultimate triple bill to inaugurate your own revival theater. What three movies will we see on opening night?
Oh how I dream of this day. If I had to choose, and this was no way influenced by popularity, I would go with a Marx Brothers film say "Horse Feathers", then an Astaire/Rogers musical like "Swing Time", then cap it all off with a Capra film like "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" or if it's Christmas "It's a Wonderful Life".

18) What’s the name of your theater?
The Red Carpet

19) Favorite Leo McCarey movie
The Awful Truth

20) Most impressive debut performance by an actor/actress.
Jean-Pierre Leaud in "The 400 Blows"

21) Biggest disappointment of the just-past summer movie season
The Love Guru although it wasn't that bad.

22) Michelle Yeoh or Maggie Cheung
Michelle Yeoh again cause I don't know who the other one is.

23) 2008 inductee into the Academy of the Overrated
I simple answer would be "The Dark Knight" but I just enjoyed it so much I can't say. I would go with "Iron Man", other than Robert Downey's performance, it was mostly run of the mill comic book shenanigans

24) 2008 inductee into the Academy of the Underrated
I thin "Pineapple Express" was better than most people think it was.

25) Fritz the Cat—yes or no?
Sure

26) Trevor Howard or Richard Todd
Haven't seen any of Todd's work but I love Trevor Howard for being in two of my favorite films "Brief Encounter" and "The Third Man"

27) Antonioni once said, “I began taking liberties a long time ago; now it is standard practice for most directors to ignore the rules.” What filmmaker working today most fruitfully ignores the rules? What does ignoring the rules of cinema mean in 2008?
To me David Lynch is the kind of guy to ignore any rules, if you know what it means to ignore rules in 2008, watch "Inland Empire".

28) Favorite William Castle movie
Sorry to say I have not seen his work.

29) Favorite ethnographically oriented movie?
Again not sure sorry.

30) What’s the movie coming up in 2008 you’re most looking forward to? Why?
"Burn After Reading" because even if they strike out, I'm always up for a Coen Bros. movie.

31) What deceased director would you want to resurrect in order that she/he might make one more film?
Francois Truffaut

32) What director would you like to see, if not literally entombed, then at least go silent creatively?
Brett Ratner

33) Your first movie star crush
Jean Arthur

Directed by John Ford

This is the beginning of Peter Bogdonavich's "Directed by John Ford" which is an impecable documentary about Ford's career, if I found the whole thing I would've posted it, if you ever find it or lucky enough to see it rerun on TCM then it's worth the viewing for any movie fan.

September's Director's Spotlight: John Ford

This month I will be exploring the films of the man many people consider to be the greatest American filmmaker of all time. He's definitely tops in my book, John Ford directed some of the greatest American stories in history, he taught history through films with themes dealing with the first pioneers who settled the country to modern politics about the struggle through change. His themes somewhat culminated in his masterpiece "The Searchers" which is a film I intend to dive into. He was known as mostly a director of the western, but he branched out to family drama, passionate romance, and even a few comedies. He's one of the best directors to illustrate human drama and I hope you join me for this month in celebrating his films. Stay tuned.