"The Apaches never lost a war..."
FORT APACHE (1948)
4 films in, and I'm getting more and more in awe of John Ford.
This is another "calvary" film, his first, actually. Henry Fonda plays Lt./Col. Owen Thursday, an officer who clashes with Capt. York, played by John Wayne.
Thursday is posted to Fort Apache, an outpost near the Mexican border.
He leads his regiment against Indians in historic battles, and the first encounter is an exhilerating sequence.
John Ford really knew how to capture men on horses, whether they be American soldiers or roving bands of indians...
Shirley Temple plays Philadelphia, Thursday's daughter, who falls for an Irish officer O'Rourke, son of NCO Ward Bond.
This creates a compelling sub-plot/dynamic, and by the end Love triumphs.
When this movie started I wasn't sure if I'd like it but I was soon won over. That's because of John Ford.
No one makes westerns of this caliber. NO ONE.
a "DAD-BLASTED" good movie...
MY DARLING CLEMENTINE (1946)
Henry Fonda plays Wyatt Earp, the famous Marshall from Dodge City turned catttleman.
He and his brothers Morgan and Virgil go into the town of Tombstone to get a shave.
The barbershop gets shot up by a really drunk Indian, and Wyatt can't believe that the Marshall isn't doing anything about it.
So he steps up and does something, and is offered the job. He turns it down, but later accepts.
He encounters Doc Holliday, a sick man who basically runs the town, Marshall or no Marshall...
The Earp brothers lose James (shot in the back), and later Virgil gets killed too, leading to the famous
gunfight at the O.K. Corral.
John Ford actually knew Wyatt Earp, who visited Ford's movie sets in the 1920's.
The movie alters history slightly, all in the name of compelling cinema.
This is a classic kick-ass western.
See it. It's one of John Ford's best.
"i have not yet begun to fight!"
JOHN PAUL JONES (1959)
This is a rarely seen film, and a Great one.
Directed by Mia Farrow's father, this is a fairly lavish production. Historically, it's fairly accurate too.
You got George Washington, John Hancock, Ben Franklin and Bette Davis as Catherine the great.
I was eagerly anticipating seeing this, and I wasn't disappointed. Robert Stack plays Jones, a stern & stoic Naval Commander
who's responsible for giving the USA flag respect from Europe.
I WAS a little surprised to NOT see the Serapis, the flag that I thought was the ORIGINAL U.S. flag...Instead, we got the 13-starred banner
that looks like the current U.S. flag. The sequence of battle with the sinking of the bon Homme Richard was great.
I loved the costumes, and couldn't help but be reminded of Kubrick's Barry Lyndon, a similar period epic.
This needs a re-mastered proper DVD release PRONTO.
"No one loves poetry like a Russian..."
DOCTOR ZHIVAGO (1965)
Omar Sharif is Dr. Yuri Zhivago, a physician and poet caught up in love and the October Revolution in Russia.
David Lean directs this epic, with gorgeous cinematography despite the dour/heavy story.
Rod Steiger and Alec Guinness provide stellar support, with Julie Christie playing Lara, his forbidden love.
Yuri goes through hell, while simply trying to live.
This is a long movie (over 3 hours with an intermission) so give yourself time to take it all in.
I loved seeing Klaus Kinski in an early role, "the only free man on this train..."
I also loved the lilting balalaika music, which you hear throughout the picture.
A must-see.
It's David Lean, Mang!!