Directed by John Ford

This is one of the best director bios I've ever seen, and I'm not even a huge John Ford fan. Personally, I've taken a dislike to the man himself after reading all the stories about his brutal treatment of people on the sets of his films. JOHN WAYNE and JAMES STEWART talk about some of the humiliating moments they suffered on Ford's sets and how he manipulated them into very embarrassing moments. Seems someone always had to be the fall guy on a Ford set. The JOHN AGAR incident during FORT APACHE is never mentioned, but Ford was notoriously unkind to the fledgling actor, addressing him on the set as "Mr. Temple."

As JAMES STEWART says: "A Ford set was never a relaxed set." And as HARRY CAREY, JR. says: "He told me I'd hate him by the time the film was over. He was wrong. I hated him after that first day." MAUREEN O'HARA has her own take on Ford, praising him for the work he accomplished but adding that he "could be the most aggravating man" and "mean and vindictive" during one of his moods.

The only thing they all agreed on: he was a master movie-maker. "He's a painter. A great painter," says Steven Spielberg who had a rather uncomfortable first meeting with Ford when Spielberg was a youngster telling the great man that some day he'd like to be a director.

The man who made over 135 films, won six Oscars and four New York Film Critics awards is certainly not an easy man to know, as anyone who has interviewed him finds out. Much can be traced to the unhappy family life in his background.

All of the incisive remarks on Ford's movie-making experiences, as related by stars and directors, are followed by clips illustrating the points they make. In fact, there's a very generous assortment of film clips from all his major films and even some from the lesser known works. All together, it's a fully rounded portrait of the man.

Highly recommended for anyone with an interest in what has to go on behind the camera, with insightful contributions from Clint Eastwood, Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg, especially.

Well. Old John was 76 when Peter B. fired up the cameras out in Monument Valley in '70. 76 in those days was more or less what we see in an 80- or 85-year-old now. They don't feel all that wonderful here and there. Their internal organs aren't hitting on all eight cylinders. Their joints ache. It's hard to care for all that long about what one used to care about. (He died two years later.)

So while this is a movie -about- John Ford, his own comments seem to reflect his stresses of the moment, and he's not all that worked up about telling -- or selling -- his own story. (This -is-, after all a man whose record speaks for itself: "The Informer," "Stagecoach," "The Grapes of Wrath," "My Darling Clementine," "Fort Apache," "Rio Grande," "Mr. Roberts," etc.)

Bogdanovich is clearly abused during his interview with The (unappreciative) Great Man, but what he makes of it -- and the other interviews -- is pret-near as good as many of the Great Man's own films.

We get to see the -man- through the eyes of icons like Stewart, Fonda, O'Hara and Wayne -- who worked directly with him -- from the '70 shoots. We get to see the significance of the man's -work- through the eyes of Eastwood, Scorcese, Hill, Spielberg, Lucas and Bogdanovich, arguably six of the most qualified observers one could hope to assemble.

Moreover, Bogdanovich selects cinematic evidence of the man's remarkable sense of how to present the story on a theater screen: Ward Bond cutting loose with John Wayne. Wayne and Jeffrey Hunter amid the tree branches in a snow storm. Richard Widmark and Jimmy Stewart on the stream's edge in a five-minute two-shot that's plain astonishing.

Spielberg makes the point that Ford knew and employed the rituals of American culture. Scorcese was surely watching closely when he did. Lucas makes the point that Ford knew how to seize the moment cinematically and stamp it indelibly upon our memories. Think of Henry Fonda as Wyatt Earp rocking on the porch with Linda Darnell in "...Clementine." Ford Knew Film. This is proof. Thanks, Pete. Thanks, -John-.

While print quality of the films it shows excerpts from, and some of the interviews is poor, the quality of the documentary itself still shines. It shows us how Ford got started in film, and what films made him a star. It also gives enough of an overview of the man, and enough complete scenes from his films, that a person like me who's only seen a handful of Ford's many many films, can respect the man and know he was one of the best. You also get to know what kind of a man he was through stories told by such Ford film regulars as John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart and Henry Fonda. Some are truly funny and let you know what a character the man himself was. There are also a few spots of interviews with Ford himself behind his famous backdrop of Monument Valley. They tool show you what a unique man Ford was. I was lucky enough to see this on AMC, if you have a chance of seeing it anywhere, I recommend it.

Directed By John Ford (2006)

**** (out of 4)

Peter Bogdanovich directs this documentary on the life and career of the legendary director. Vintage interviews with John Wayne, Henry Fonda and James Stewart are mixed with newer interviews with Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg and Clint Eastwood (among others). The doc does a great job at showing what made Ford some a great director and I really enjoyed the scenes where they'd show clips from countless films in a row, showing you how Ford liked certain themes in his films. There's one section where they cover 180 years of history shown through Ford's films. I do wish the documentary had spent more time with Ford's career in the late 1910s. There's also another segment, which I felt shouldn't have been included. There's a recorded conversation between Ford and Katharine Hepburn, which was great to hear but the recorder was left on when the two didn't know it was running. This audio recording might show Ford at a softer moment but I really didn't feel comfortable listening to it.

John Ford is one of our greatest American directors, and he is profiled in this 1971 documentary that features a hilarious interview with the man himself (Interviewer: How did you shoot that scene? Ford: With a camera) and actors who worked with him many times over the years: John Wayne, James Stewart, Henry Fonda, and Maureen O'Hara.

Narrated by Orson Welles, prominent directors talk about his influence on cinema and his gifts as a director: Martin Scorcese, Peter Bogdanovich, Steven Spielberg, and Clint Eastwood.

The most fascinating part of this documentary was the discussion - with clips - of how the master framed his shots like a painter, and the scenes shown were truly stunning.

The end of the documentary speaks to his sentimentality, belief in an afterlife and the family, demonstrated with heartwrenching scenes from "The Searchers," "How Green was My Valley," and others.

Finally there was a taped meeting between Katharine Hepburn and Ford in the year he died. The two had a great connection and perhaps even a relationship. It is most fascinating, particularly when Ford's son leaves the room and mistakenly leaves the tape recorder on.

Excellent all the way around.