Analysis of information sources in references of the Wikipedia article "Wagon Master" in English language version.
This wonderful film emphasizes the virtues of solidarity, sacrifice and tolerance, and shows John Ford at his most masterful, in total control of the production from the casting to the bit players to the grandeur and scope of the visual compositions. The film, with its breathtaking scenery, brilliant performances by a cast of character actors, and an engaging sense of humor, is a superlative example of the American western.
Unfortunately, this lyrical celebration of a hazardous trek west by a Mormon wagon train in the eighteen eighties was prevented by its lack of star players from achieving a wide commercial release; as a result it received almost no critical attention. Outside Britain, it seems never to have been shown in Europe at all.Anderson, a noted film director and critic, includes several essays on Ford's work as well as descriptions of their meetings over more than twenty years.
... the association of the traditionally masculine hunting horn with a female character, Sister Ledyard, another example of Ford's disruption of cultural stereotypes about gender and music.
While shooting Yellow Ribbon in southern Utah, Ford's son, Patrick, met some LDS horsemen, which led to the Wagon Master story being created around the Hole in the Rock expedition that some of the horsemen's ancestors had participated in. Though Patrick and his co-writer, Frank S. Nugent, had to research Mormonism intensively, Ford seem to understand the Mormons instinctively. 'These are the people I want', he said.For their article, Astle and Burton draw upon a lengthy, unpublished transcript of James d'Arc's April 25, 1979 interview with Patrick Ford.
Yet Ford considered it among his personal favorites, and a handful of Ford's biggest admirers consider it a neglected masterpiece. (I do too.)
The B&W image is excellent throughout and the sound is very clear. An optional Spanish language audio track is a real curiosity, as it sounds like an original and is very well done.
It was ten years before Glennon worked with Ford again, but the occasion and the project was a special one—Wagonmaster (sic). Ford told Peter Bogdanovich that Wagonmaster was one of the films that "came closest to being what I had wanted to achieve." A western masterwork written largely by Ford, the film is graced by Glennon's newsreel quality cinematography.
I read Senses of Cinema's call for contributions on "Great Directors" with interest. Among the list of directors to be profiled were Cox (Paul) and Cronenberg (David), both of whom I've met. But among the list of those for whom you were looking for "expressions of interest" I noted Ford (John), who I am delighted to say I also met and who is quite simply the greatest director of all time.For the neophyte seeking acquaintance with Ford's art, Franklin recommends viewing ten of Ford's films in a specific sequence.
Wagon Master is as much a musical as a Western: the Sons of the Pioneers contribute four songs, and there's a spirited rendition of the Mormon hymn, 'Come, Come, Ye Saints.'
Unfortunately, this lyrical celebration of a hazardous trek west by a Mormon wagon train in the eighteen eighties was prevented by its lack of star players from achieving a wide commercial release; as a result it received almost no critical attention. Outside Britain, it seems never to have been shown in Europe at all.Anderson, a noted film director and critic, includes several essays on Ford's work as well as descriptions of their meetings over more than twenty years.
The B&W image is excellent throughout and the sound is very clear. An optional Spanish language audio track is a real curiosity, as it sounds like an original and is very well done.
