1. In 1939, the film Stagecoach was released. The film was a directed by John ford. Between 1939 and 1941, the western picture was shown during the era that was considered to be “Great Period of American movie-making”. In the text Flashback: A Brief History of film described how family values were so significant to ford and how social order depended on family. Ford, an Irish-Catholic had strong American values and truly believed in strong family tradition and faith. When ford directed this film, he wanted to illustrate what was considered to be “Most Savage”, can be turn to be the complete opposite. The term “Most savage” was refer to when families did not practice the traditional norms. In the film, stagecoach was not the typical family picture. The film was about a group of strangers, who had nothing in common, who were able to work together as a family after a long trip together. Despite of their difference, the characters found a way to bond as a family, not as strangers.
2. This article, by the Film site Movie Review mentioned how Stagecoach was John ford first sound western film. The picture was filmed on ford’s favorite setting, “The Majestic Monument Valley of the southwest. The film was very well known for its beautiful images and powerful characters. The article also described how during this time western genre films had fallen out of favor and popularity, but ford regain it interest back because of it creativity. Film site Review as stated how the film illustrated social conflicts and values, which were tied together by fate, and made Stagecoach such a unique film.
3. This article strongly relates to the film by honoring John ford, as a great American director, who changed people minds about Western genre films losing it touch, until stagecoach. The article mentioned one of the significant attributes, which was Ford’s ability to capture beautiful settings that made the film much more unique than others. In class we learned about ford passion of western landscapes and how he was known for shooting excellent wide images. He was also best known for setting the actors behind visual western images, which made the film so interesting to watch. The Monument Valley was later known as Ford Classic working grounds.
4. After watching Stagecoach, I gained a better knowledge of what western film genre is about. Prior to viewing this partial film, I thought that western films were all about man shooting each other, horses riding all over the place, and ladies in their best behavior. However this film changed my perspective about western film during this era. I actually enjoyed the film. I loved how each and every character had a unique and powerful personality, which made the film exciting to watch. I also enjoyed watching the beautiful images in which Ford capture; it truly brought greatest to the film. I also found interesting how Ford was able to capture moment that would happen in our time, for example bringing strangers together, sticking them in one spot and making a family out it. This certain scenario happens often and it was interesting to see it in black and white. I was truly appreciate Ford’s strong family values and how is used his belief to create such a great film.
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