John Wayne-John Ford Film Collection (The Searchers Ultimate Edition / Stagecoach Two-Disc Special Edition / Fort Apache / She Wore a Yellow Ribbon / The Long Voyage Home / They Were Expendable / 3 Godfathers / The Wings of Eagles)

The eight films that are included in the John Wayne-John Ford Collection are (1)The Searchers(The Ultimate Edition) (2)Stagecoach(Two-Disc Special Edition)(3)Fort Apache(4)The Long Voyage Home(5)The Wings of Eagles(6)She Wore A Yellow Ribbon(7)They Were Expendable(8)Three Godfathers. While I would have elimated They Were Expendable and replaced it with The Horse Soldiers,Rio Grande,and/or The Quiet Man,this an excellent collection with the great addition of Fort Apache and The Long Voyage Home,heretofor neither of which had been available on DVD.Fort Apache was only available from Asia in so/so quality imports. THE SEARCHERS-AN ANTI-RACIST CLASSIC! ***** What can I say about this GREAT Anti-racist Western,by the Greatest American Director?Ever since I first saw it(on TV) 30+ tears ago,I loved it for its excellent Technicolor photography,wonderful score,outstanding performances,and hard as nails indictment of racism and bigotry,and what hatred does to a human's soul. This is the 50th anniversary of its original release and it hasn't lost any of its splendor and WB has issued a wonderful DVD presentation,including an excellent audio commetary by Peter Bogdanovich. The story opens with Ethan Edwards(John Wayne) returning home to Texas three years AFTER the Civil war has ended.Ethan was a Confederate soldier.In Texas he is reunited with his brother Walter Coy,his wife(Dorothy Jordan,who MAY have been Ethan's lover) and their 2 daughters and only son.Also in the family is Martim Pawley(Jeffery Hunter)who was rescued by Ethan after Martin's family was killed by the Comanche,Martin is also part Indian,and Ethan doesn't like " NON PURE WHITES". An Indian raid occurs on the Jorgenson (John Qualen and family)farm and Ethan, and Martin are joined by a posse lead by preacher-lawman andex-Confederate friend of Ethan's Ward Bond chase after the Comanche.While the posse is away Ethan's brother farm is raided with father,mother,and son killed,and the two daughters taken captive. Ethan,Martin,and Brad Jorgenson(Harry Carey,jr) start a search for the two girls,early on Brad is killed with Ethan and Martin carrying on.As the years go by Ethan"s hatred toward Debbie(Natalie Wood)grows and grows because by now she has probably slept with an Indian,and in Ethan's eyes she is no longer WHITE and he feels that he MUST kill her. After seeing this film how anyone can say that John Wayne can't act is beyond me,he gives a wonderful performance.In fact every cast member does an outstanding job with the exception of Ken Curtis,as a would be husband of Vera Miles,is somewhat annoying,but over the years I've come to lessen my eomewhat hard feelings towards his performance.Adding to the pleasure of watching the film is seeing many members of the"John Ford" stock company-John Qualen,Carey jr.,Olive Carey(his real-life mother),Cliff Lyons,and Hank Worden. Some people rank The Searchers as the all-time greatest Western,I think it ranks at#2 behind Ford's Fort Apache being #1,with My Darling Clementine,and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance following right behind.DVD-5 Stars The Film-5 stars. STAGECOACH-IT MADE WAYNE A STAR ***** This film made John Wayne a star!Up until 1939 "A" Westerns were a rarity,but in that year in addition to Stagecoach,Union Pacific,Dodge City,Destry Rides Again,and I believe The Oklahoma Kid (starring Cagney,with Bogart in support) were all released.Stagecoach is by far the best. I'm not going to go into many details of the story of the film,because I believe most of the readers of this review know the story.The movie may seem cliche'd today,but back in 1939,the story of,mostly,strangers who are thrown together in a dangerous situation was something new and fresh. The cast is excellent from Thomas Mitchell's druken "Doc Boone",to Claire Trevor's Dallas(and Wayne's love interest),to Donald Meek,John Carradine,and Andy Devine,as the stagecoach driver.It is these performances,under Ford's direction that raises this film above the ordinary. Included is an excellent audio commetary by Scott Eyman,who in my review of "My Darling Clementine ! was to harsh on,mainly because of his commets concerning (one of my favorites)Linda Darnell. The DVD 5 Stars The Film 5 Stars FORT APACHE THE GREATEST WESTERN OF ALL TIME ***** Fort Apache,the first of the so-called John Ford cavalry trilogy(She Wore a Yellow Ribbon and Rio Grande being the other two) is THE GREATEST WESTERN EVER MADE!Henry Fonda,playing against type,is outstanding as Col.Owen Thursday the made man who seeks glory no matter what the cost,and John Wayne also playing against type,as a less than gung-ho(liberal-?common sense) army type.This film is ford's recreation of Custer's last stand and in the filming shows the arrogance of many "whites" as epitomized by the WASP'y Thursday,who also looks down on the Irish,NEVER a good sigh in a Ford Film.Among other things Thursday does not approve of his daughter's(shirley Temple) romance with young Irish Catholic officer Michael Shannon O' Rourke(John Agar-in real life the future Mr.Temple) whose name Col.Thursday constanly gets wrong,he substitutes another Irish name. Excellent also are George O'Brien,Victor McLaglen,Anna Lee,Pedro Armendariz,Guy Kibbee,Ward Bond,and a host of othersThe DVD has one drawback-NO audio commetary.DVD 4 1/2 Stars The Film 5 Stars.--The GREATEST WESTERN EVER! THE LONG VOYAGE HOME A MASTERPIECE! ***** John Wayne with a Swedish accent? Yes! But is Thomas Mitchell's film,who as Driscoll is the core of the film,along with great support for Ian Hunter,in his finest role as "Smitty",a tormented Englishmen,Barry Fitzgerald,Arthur Shields(Barry's real-life brother)Ward Bond,John Qualen,Joe Sawyer,Carmen Morales(why didn't she have a Hollywood career,she is very beauiful and a fine"spitefire" personality)and in her film debut(later Ford regular)Mildred Natwick. This is a story of the merchant marine,updated from WW1 to WW2 from from four Eugene O'Neill playlets,their trials,tribulations,hardships,and loves and one of Ford's greatest films which is saying a lot. No audio commetary is the only drawback.I have also a separate(longer) review of this film on another page. DVD 4 1/2 Stars The film 5 stars THE WINGS OF EAGLES The "SPIG"WEAD STORY +++++ Frank "Spig" Wead was a Naval Air Pilot in WW1 and WW2 Naval Officer and in between a Hollywood screen writer.The Wings of Eagles is his life story as told by his longtime friend John Ford. As portrayed by John Wayne and director Ford, Wead is to me, a patriot yes,but also a very immature man who by his blind devotion to the Navy he is destroying his marriage to his wife Min,played touchingly by Maureen O'Hara and whose part was drastically reduced because of objections raised by the Wead family due to the showing of Min Wead's alcoholic problems.To me the cutting of the key role lessens the overall effectiveness of the motion picture,which I first saw at the TIFFIN Theatre in Chicago,in the summer of '57.Dan Dailey(as Wead's sidekick "Jughead" Carson),Ken Curtis,Ken Tobey, Ward Bond (as John"Dodge" a film director) and Sig Rumann lend an able hand. No audio commetary. DVD 4 1/2 Stars The film(dispite its flaws) 5 Stars. SHE WORE A YELLOW RIBBON WAYNE STOPS INDIAN WAR! ***** Four of the greatest Western male film roles are by one man."Tom Dunson" in "Red River","Ethan Edwards" in "The Searchers","Kirby York" in "Fort Apache" and "Nathan Brittles" in "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon",and that man is John Wayne and HE COULD ACT,maybe he needed Ford ad Hawks to guide him,but he COULD ACT,and this is coming from someone who detested Wayne's politics.She Wore a Yellow Ribbon,in glorious Technicolor,is the second leg in the Ford cavalry triolgy and the 2cd best,though many critics rank it # 1Romance,between John Agar and Joanne Dru,Indian attacks,evil Suttlers(this one played by Harry Woods,Fort Apache had Grant Withers playing a similiar and larger role) and broad Irish comedy(supplied by Victor McLaglen) are all stirred together by Ford to make an amazing cavalry Western.Such Ford regulars as Mildred Natwick,Ben Johnson,Arthur Shields,George O Brien,and Harry Carey,jr all add to the enjoyment of this beutifully photographed,by Winton Hoch,classic,No audio commetary DVD 4 1/2 Stars The Film 5 Stars THEY WERE EXPENDABLE WORD WAR 2 DRAMA 4 1/2 Stars From a screenplay by Frank "Spig" Wead,from the earlier reviewed,"The Wings of Eagles",comes a WW2 drama set in the Pacific starring John Wayne,and one of my least favorite actors,Robert Montgomery,and it is his "acting" that lowers this otherwise fine film to 4 1/2 Stars.John Ford directs with his usual skill,and Wallace Ford,Leon Ames,Wayne and Donna Reed all do nice work, in a film,based on true incidents invovling wooden PT boats,in the Phillipines,and the seemingly hopeless situtition in which the Navy men find themselves in.Montgomery's "performance' while NOT terrible ruins,to a minor extent the film for me.No audio commetart DVD 4 Stars The Film 4 1/2 Stars 3 GODFATHERS WAYNE,ARMENDARIZ,and CAREY jr.AS THREE "BAD" MEN *****John Wayne,Pedro Armendariz,and Harry Carey,Jr, rob a bank,and in their getaway their canteens are shot full of holes,and in the desert that's not good,So the bandit trio try to get to various remote train stations that have water wells,well the Marshall,played by Ward Bond stations some members of his posse,at these stations to twart the boys attemp to get water.Along the way our three badmen come across dieing young widow Mildred Natwick,who has just given birth.The boys become the "Godfathers" to the infant and the story goes on from there. Sounds a little corny and trite,right! WRONG! In Ford's hands this story which has been filmed at least 5 times,including once by Ford as a silent,is turned into a near classic.The beautiful Technicolor photography by Winton Hoch and thrilling Western score by Richard Hageman add to the visual and listening pleasure as does the performances by the 3 leads and the other players,many from the Ford "Stock Company",Bond,Ms Natwick,Mae Marsh, and Hank Worden.No audio commetary. DVD 4 1/2 Stars The Film 5 Stars

THE JOHN WAYNE JOHN FORD FILM COLLECTION is the finest DVD boxed set I have bought all year. It has almost nothing but masterpieces--not just great westerns, but great non-westerns like the Merchant Marine drama THE LONG VOYAGE HOME (1940), based on a few Eugene O'Neill one-act plays; and the World War Two PT boat adventure THEY WERE EXPENDABLE (1945), one of the great war films of all time. One watches this set over two weeks and comes away with renewed respect for John Wayne as an outstanding actor, but also downright awe for John Ford as a director. Not the nicest person, but boy could he direct westerns in Monument Valley. And the Ireland of THE QUIET MAN (1952), which is not included in this set--wrong studio.The set's crown jewel is the 50th anniversary remastering of THE SEARCHERS (1956), which includes not just a shimmering transfer of this dark and tragic masterpiece, but also a rare comic book, publicity material, lobby cards, and an audio commentary by Peter Bogdanovich. Ethan Edwards, post Civil War loner and indian hater when his niece is kidnapped and killed by Comanches, may be John Wayne's greatest performance in a sea of great performances in this DVD crown jewels box. But a little bit of Hank Worden's and Ken Curtis' unwelcome comedy relief goes a long way.I personally think STAGECOACH (1939), with Wayne's first important role as the Ringo Kid, is the equal to THE SEARCHERS. It has also been remastered and includes an audio commentary by author Scott Eyman, an "American Masters" documentary on both Wayne and Ford, a new documentary on STAGECOACH as a neglected treasure, and a radio production with Randolph Scott and Claire Trevor. The movie is about nine people traveling by stagecoach through indian territory and features an Oscar-winning score by Max Steiner--the same year he did not win for GONE WITH THE WIND!The dusty B&W FORT APACHE (1948) and brilliant Technicolor SHE WORE A YELLOW RIBBON (1949) make up 2/3 of John Ford's Cavalry trilogy with Wayne at his peak. (Part three, RIO GRANDE, is not included here because it is a different studio). APACHE has a nasty Henry Fonda as an indian-hating Commanding Officer of Fort Apache in Utah's Monument Valley. Wayne is his likeable subordinate who must carry out orders he personally disagrees with in a role that mirrors THE SEARCHERS.YELLOW RIBBON may be my personal favorite Ford Monument Valley western, even more than THE SEARCHERS. It has Wayne as a Commanding Officer about to retire after a lifetime of Army service, but not until unfriendly nearby indians settle down. Winton Hoch's magnificent color photography, inspired by Remington paintings, won a richly-deserved Oscar.Also set in Ford's beloved Monument Valley, but not a Cavalry drama, is the Technicolor 3 GODFATHERS (1949). It has Wayne, Pedro Armendariz, and newcomer Harry Carey, Jr. as outlaws out in the desert who come across an abandoned baby at Christmas time. This story is the third version of a movie done previously in 1929 and 1936 in B&W. I've seen all three versions and like Ford's the best. It also stars Ford regular Ward Bond as a sheriff out to get the three men--but with a wife who wants the baby. This is a pleasantly sentimental movie, often shown on cable at Christmas season, and reveals a soft side of a gruff filmmaker.The last of eight treasures in this Ford and Wayne DVD set is the lightweight (and color) THE WINGS OF EAGLES (1957). It is the true story of Commander Frank "Spig" Wead, a pioneer aviator in the 1920's and later screenwriter in the 1930's and 1940's. One of his finest scripts is for Ford's THEY WERE EXPENDABLE in 1945. EAGLES, also starring Dan Dailey and Maureen O'Hara, is the sentimental and labor of love story of Spig Wead's life over several decades.Almost all of these film classics come with an original theatrical trailer, if you want to see how the movies were originally promoted. That especially interests me when masterpieces like THE SEARCHERS, THE LONG VOYAGE HOME, and THEY WERE EXPENDABLE get shut out of the Oscar race, especially for Picture and Wayne's performance. But, as they say, time is the key factor with movies. And people still want to see these Ford/Wayne movie gems, long after even Best Picture Oscar winners are forgotten. Should you buy or rent these from Netflicks? It is an expensive set, in the $55-$75 range. But if you buy the set, it averages out to only about $8 a picture, a ridiculously great buy. Maybe it can be a Christmas present. Happy viewing!

The reviews for the set went on about "Stage Coach' which completely misled me. Sorry to say no Stage was in the set and I sent it back.