John Ford: The Man and His Films
Ford directed his first film in 1917, his last in 1965. Although many of his best-known movies re-create the mythos of the Old West, he directed enduring classics in other genres. Gallagher believes Ford's oeuvre can be placed in four "ages": introspection, idealism, myth, and mortality. These may mirror Ford's personal evolution, but he was an extremely private, complex man, so correlations are uncertain. Still, Gallagher has deftly interwoven detailed interpretations of Ford's major works with knowledgeable analysis of the man. There is also discussion of film theory in order to place Ford in the proper framework. Many books have been done on Ford (by Andrew Sarris, Peter Bogdanovich, et al.), but this is definitive and possibly one of the best of its kind. Highly recommended. Roy Liebman, California State Univ. Lib., Los AngelesCopyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.