Product: Fort Apache (Color Enhanced) [VHS] (1948)
Rating: 5.0
A hugely entertaining film, full of added interest
This is the first of Ford's cavalry trilogy, thought by many to be the best. I have nothing to add to the prior excellent summaries of this movie, but perhaps can shed a bit of light on what makes it special from the point of view of movie history. The first point of interest is the stars. Ford did many several fine movies with Fonda, in particular Young Mr Lincoln, but gradually seemed to express a preference for Wayne - probably because he was more overtly heroic - closer to Ford's mythological ideal of the Great Westerner. Fonda's heroism was more understated, often more cerebral. But, here we have a different Fonda - a bitter, incompetent misfit promoted over the head of the much more qualified, but younger, Wayne. Both actors give their best and, although Fonda's talent is rarely questioned, never let it be said that Wayne could not act. He is superb in this trilogy, playing a range of ages brilliantly - the same character in Fort Apache and Rio Grande, and the more elderly Nathan Brittles in She Wore a Yellow Ribbon. Wayne also manages to convince with his portrayal of a man who genuinely understands the plight of the Indians it is his job to police, and sympathises with them. This is, to my knowledge, Fonda's first foray into the role of the anti-hero - although fatally-flawed might be a more appropriate description. Nearly twenty years later he really made the transition in the splendid Once Upon a Time in the West.Of equal interest in this movie, and a source of great aesthetic delight, is Ford's portrayal of Monument Valley as art. Taking advantage of black and white, he shows inumerable settings of different types of sky against carefully chosen geographical profiles that are simply stunningly beautiful. The more so, as they are used to emphasise the stark isolation of this conflict between the relentless development of the United States and the centuries-old right to roam of nomadic tribesmen.Finally, another item of particular interest is that Fort Apache featured former rodeo star Ben Johnson as the riding stunt double for Henry Fonda. The horses pulling a wagon, with three men on it, stampeded. Johnson galloped after it and managed to pull it to a halt before anyone was injured. A grateful Ford promised Johnson some work for his bravery, and the quiet man from Oklahoma was anticipating a more secure few years as a stuntman. Instead, he was rewarded with a 7-year acting contract! Thus, was born the career of the inestimable Trooper Tyree; a character who, for me, gives Rio Grande and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon the edge over Fort Apache. If you want Tyree in chronological order, see Rio Grande first; not to mention dozens of other films that Johnson lifts above the ordinary.I'll tell you what; why not buy all three of the trilogy? I'm not particularly a Western buff, but I love these movies. They are allegories for life; and anyone wanting to understand America could make no better start than with John Ford and his myths.