John Ford was easily one of the greatest, most prolific and versatile directors Hollywood ever produced. Combined with a star of the caliber and magnetism of John Wayne, what emerges is pure cinematic magic. WHV now introduces a set featuring seven of the team's finest collaborations:
The Searchers: Ultimate Collector's Edition (1956): John Wayne and John Ford made The Searchers a landmark Western with an indelible image of the frontier and the men and women who challenged it.
Fort Apache (1948): Roughhouse camaraderie, sentimental vignettes of frontier life, massive action sequences staged in Monument Valley - all are part of Fort Apache. So is Ford's exploration of the West's darker side. Themes of justice, heroism and honor that Ford would revisit in later Westerns are given free rein in this moving, thought-provoking film that, even as it salutes a legend, gives reasons to question it. (Available subtitles: English, French & Spanish)
The Long Voyage Home (1940): Director John Ford and screenwriter Dudley Nichols adapted four Eugene O'Neill one-act dramas into this compelling, lyrical look at men at sea that O'Neill considered his favorite of all his filmed works. Nominated for an impessive six Academy Awards incuding Best Picture, The Long Voyage Home is a journey to remember. (Available subtitles: English, French & Spanish)
Wings of Eagles (1957): Cmdr. Frank 'Spig' Wead was a pioneer aviator, renowned screenwriter (whose work included John Ford's They Were Expendable) and a man of war. The skies beckoned Spig to action; a crippling injury ultimately left him powerless to act, propelling him to discover the power of his pen. He was talented, driven, flawed, a friend of Ford -- and the subject of this compassionate biography. (Available subtitles: English, French & Spanish)
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1948): Under makeup aging him some 20 years, Wayne inhabits the role of a wily veteran who knows the sting of war and vows to make his last mission one of peace. The ritual of outpost life, the sweep of battle, the advance of the patrol beneath ominous skies: She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, an Academy Award winner for its color cinematography, paints a memorable portrait of the honor, duty and courage in the finest tradition of the cavalry. (Available subtitles: English, French, Spanish & Portuguese)
They Were Expendable (1945): Supplies are dwindling. Troops are hopelessly outnumbered. But even in defeat, there is victory. The defenders of the Philippines -- including PT-boat skippers John Brickley (Montgomery) and Rusty Ryan (Wayne) -- will give the U.S. war effort time to regroup after the devastation of Pearl Harbor. (Available subtitles: English & French)
3 Godfathers (1948): John Ford remade one of his classic silent Westerns Marked Men (1919), a story of three bandits who come upon a dying mother and child while escaping the law. Two of them die trying to get the child to town and safety.
