It's made up of a whopping 21 discs - but the heart of this collection devoted to the work of director John Ford are his collaborations with producer Daryl Zanuck
If one were assigned with issuing a DVD box set of no less than 21 discs all devoted to the work a single filmmaker, for a single studio no less, only a handful of names would be considered.
In fact, put together, the candidates for such a voluminous tribute would constitute a veritable Mount Rushmore of Studio Era helmsmen: Howard Hawks, Raoul Walsh, Michael Curtiz and - the correct answer - the venerable Sean O'Feeney, alias John Ford.
Ford at Fox
The set, Ford at Fox, spawns the better part of Ford's long, prolific career, from silent triumphs like 1924's The Iron Horse through to the 1952 semi-musical What Price Glory?.
The heart of the collection, however, is Ford's work for maverick producer Daryl Zanuck, an association that began some 80 films, incredibly, into Ford's career.
Ford and Zanuck
Zanuck's love of grand scale and social statement added a healthy modicum of self-importance to Ford's work, elevating the feisty filmmaker from folksy workaholic to Superman of the People, with such subversively socialist films as The Grapes of Wrath and How Green Was My Valley.
Their collaboration began with the bastardization of history: 1938's The Prisoner of Shark Island and '39's Young Mr Lincoln. The first, about the doctor imprisoned for treating John Wilkes Booth, clearly paints its hero as an innocent man, strictly, one assumes, in the interest of replicating the box office success the Dreyfus affair had just enjoyed with The Life of Emile Zola, while the latter, Lincoln, has been debunked by every post-war historian with an interest in the movies.
Wrath and Valley
The pair fared far better with literary adaptation. In fact, it's tough to argue which is the greater, their The Grapes of Wrath or their How Green Was My Valley, each a tragic family saga alive with dimensional characterizations, plainspoken poetry, and atmospheric authenticity (though both were entirely shot on back lots!) My vote is for Wrath, a powerful précis of the Steinbeck novel by screenwriter Nunally Johnson featuring an unforgettable performance by Henry Fonda, whose sorrowful naturalism Ford always managed to mine.
My Darling Clementine
Another Ford-Fonda twinning is included in the set, the justifiably cherished My Darling Clementine. If this retelling of the O.K. Corral encounter ranks as Ford's best western (and in my view - The Searchers be damned! - it does) it's because it is devoid of so many of the things critics take issue with in his oaters: the knockabout humor, the overt sentimentality, the loutishly uninteresting supporting cast. Clementine's wit is quiet and colloquial, its heart is as humble as its hero, and its supporting characterizations full and idiosyncratic (who can forget Victor Mature as the consumptive Doc Holliday, his best ever performance?). It's a spare, dark piece of folk art, and though it doesn't rank with Wrath or Valley in terms of importance, some will undoubtedly consider it the jewel of this considerable collection.
The set, a veritable cinderblock in majestic packaging, comes with a 168 page booklet on the life and work of both director and producer.
It's a fine, filling feast of Ford, with provisions for seconds, thirds, fourths, and more.
