Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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25 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Great Movies, Cheap Packaging..., December 10, 2007
I expected more with the release of this boxed set. In this boxed set the discs come in cheap thin cases. The box in which they are housed is thin, lightweight cardboard. My Darling Clementine has two discs (one of which is two-sided) and when the thin case is compressed, the discs can rub against each other.
Not a lot of care seems to have gone into the quality of the presentation of this set. Alan Dwan's 1939 film Frontier Marshall (which, like Clementine , is based on Stuart Lake's Wyatt Earp book) is included as a special feature with My Darling Clementine. However, on the back of the box containing the disc, it shows a picture of a movie poster of ANOTHER, earlier version of Frontier Marshall (from 1934), not the version included as the extra. This seems to be a good example of the lack of attention to detail taken with this set.
The documentary included, "Becoming John Ford", was also a disappointment. It is really only a documentary about Ford's time at Fox (and Universal before it). It is not the comprehensive documentary I had hoped for. It mentions (only in passing) Stagecoach and never, to my memory, mentions The Searchers. In fact, any western after My Darling Clementine (1946) is ignored. The documentary consists mainly of talking heads filmed from arty angles and frequently blathering while not looking directly at the camera. Pretentious in look and content.
Great movies deserved better.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A collection of John Ford's best known classics while at Fox, October 4, 2007
This is one of three boxed sets coming out in addition to the giant "Ford at Fox" set, and it contains four of John Ford's best known and most successful films that he directed while at Fox in addition to the documentary that was especially made for "Ford at Fox". Included are:
Drums Along The Mohawk (1939) (already on DVD) - stars Henry Fonda and Claudette Colbert as Gilbert and Lana Martin, newlyweds trying to make a go of a homestead in upstate New York during the American revolution. They battle the elements as well as the Indians in their attempt to build a life together.
Feature film with English Stereo or English Mono, Spanish/French Mono and Spanish/French subtitles
Commentary by Film Historians Julie Kirgo & Nick Redman
Theatrical trailer
Still galleries:
Advertising
Lobby cards
Studio portraits
Behind the scenes
Production stills
The Grapes of Wrath (1940) (on DVD under the Studio Classics series). The story of the Joads as they suffer mistreatment when they move from their repossessed Dust Bowl farm to California. The first of only two Best Actor nominations for Henry Fonda.
Feature film with English Stereo or English Mono, Spanish Mono and Spanish subtitles
Commentary by Biographer & Film Historian Joseph McBride
U.K. prologue
Biography: Daryl Zannuck: 20th Century Filmmaker
Restoration comparison
Theatrical trailer
Movie Tone News:
1934: "First Drought In Many Years Hits Mid-West"
1934: "Drought Distress Is Increasing In The Mid-West"
1934: "Mid-West Drought Distress Becomes National Disaster"
1934: "Outtakes"
1941: "Roosevelt Lauds Motion Pictures At Academy Fete"
Still gallery
How Green Was My Valley (1941) (on DVD under Studio Classics series). Stars Walter Pidgeon and Maureen O'Hara in the story of how lush Welsh countryside became an ugly strip-mined area over time. Won Best Picture.
Feature film with English Stereo or English Mono, Spanish/French Mono and Spanish subtitles
Commentary by Anna Lee Nathan and Biographer & Film Historian Joseph McBride
Backstory: How Green Was My Valley
Still gallery
Theatrical trailer
My Darling Clementine (1946) (on DVD under Studio Classics series). John Ford, who actually knew Wyatt Earp, directs Henry Fonda, who plays Wyatt Earp.
Disc One
Feature film with English Stereo or English Mono, Spanish/French Mono and Spanish subtitles
Commentary by Wyatt Earp III
Disc Two
Alternate pre-release version (Ford's cut)
What is the pre-release version featurette
Theatrical trailer
Behind the scenes
Becoming John Ford (2007)
Feature-length documentary with English Stereo and Spanish/French subtitles
The Battle of Midway (doc. 1942)
Battle of Midway - Additional Footage (1942)
December 7th (doc. 1943)
Torpedo Squadron (doc. 1942)
Ford at Fox Photo Galleries (estimated 29 to be broken out by title)
Ford at Fox Movie Poster / lobby card gallery
Pressbook Galleries
Vintage Programs: The Iron Horse, Four Sons
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
FORD AT FOX A VALUABLE CONTRIBUTION TO FILM "LITERATURE", February 8, 2008
Congratulate Fox on separating their enormous full collection of Ford's work at the studio with three smaller but potent boxes: The Classics, The Silents, and The Comedies. Although these classics have already been issued, the addition of 1939's "Frontier Marshall," which was the precursor to "My Darling Clementine," in a beautifully remastered version, and the documentary "Becoming John Ford" are worth the price of the whole set (I bought it at Amazon for $24.99!). In fact, the Ford documentary also includes "The Battle of Midway" with additional footage, "December 7th," and the much-neglected "Torpedo Squadron" (1942). Commentary has also been added to "Drums Along The Mohawk."
All these films represent "must have" classics for your collection. The packaging is compact and colorful.
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