Considering John Ford's reputation as one of the greatest and most influential American directors who won four Academy Awards for Best Director in the early sound era, it's about time some of his silent films were also released on DVD in a nice set which they deserve. And this new set of five films lives up to expectations with beautifully restored clear picture quality and newly created orchestral music accompaniment to match the superior quality of each film. Although well known to many as a director of Westerns with John Wayne, John Ford was also an actor, writer and producer, starting his career in films in the early 1910s, and by 1920 his skills had already been well developed, as the first film in this set, "Just Pals" clearly shows. Equally skilled in any genre, Ford can bring out the best in a story with careful attention to drama and detail which express the emotions and depths of his characters. This is perhaps most poignant in "Four Sons" which I found very moving, as well as impressive in its attention to the beautiful and detailed setting in Bavaria before and during World War I. Just as much careful attention to detail was given by the modern music composers for these DVD releases, choosing tunes, instruments and moods which make the story and scenes become vividly real. Cowboy tunes on guitar for some of the Westerns and German melodies for the setting in Bavaria are just two examples of this finely-tuned marriage of silent film and music presented on each of these discs.
No doubt one of his greatest Western epics, "The Iron Horse" is about the laying of the first railroad across the West to California, with emphasis on historic authenticity in every imaginable aspect, from featuring two of the original locomotives which were used in the real construction project, to the individual workers and their lives and personalities, at times seasoned with a touch of humour. This grand production would rival a Cecil B DeMille epic in the number of people involved, as well as the moving and exciting historical event in itself, but there are similar such impressive grand-scale scenes in the other quite different Western in this set, namely "3 Bad Men", which focuses more on individual people and their personalities, and what really defines the word `bad'. A similar examination of true characters in people is "Just Pals" about a lazy town bum and the homeless boy he takes under his wing as he tries to change his image and prove himself. Quite different in setting but also very intriguing for some of its particularly wicked characters is "Hangman's House" which is actually set in Ireland, and along with a superbly eerie old house, it has a tight and complicated plot which unfolds at an exciting pace. And for another change of pace, this time a human family drama oozing sentimentality and `old world charm', "Four Sons" is quite unforgettable, perhaps because it feels so real, and no doubt many families did indeed share a similar fate during WWI. No matter which genre or type of story, Ford's expertise as a director and also producer make this excellent selection a worthy addition to any film-lover's collection, not just for silent film enthusiasts alone.
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Ford At Fox Collection: John Ford's Silent Epics (Just Pals / Four Sons / The Iron Horse / Hangman's House / Bad Men)
IMDb6.6/10.0
$97.75$97.75
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| Genre | Feature |
| Format | Multiple Formats, Box set, Color, NTSC, Silent |
| Contributor | Lou Tellegen, Madge Bellamy, Herman Bing, Hobart Bosworth, Brian Oswald Donn-Byrne, Joseph Burke, Olive Borden, Victor McLaglen, Herman Whitaker, Larry Kent, Margaret Mann, James Hall, Charles Darnton, Charles Kenyon, Earle Foxe, I.A.R. Wylie, George O'Brien, John Ford, June Collyer, H.H. Caldwell See more |
| Language | English |
| Runtime | 9 hours and 51 minutes |
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Product Description
Disc 1: FOUR SONS Disc 2 Side A: HANGMAN'S HOUSE Disc 2 Side B: 3 BAD MEN Disc 3: JUST PALS Disc 4: THE IRON HORSE SPECIAL EDITION UK VERSION: DISC 1 Disc 5: THE IRON HORSE US VERSION: DISC 2
Product details
- Is Discontinued By Manufacturer : No
- MPAA rating : Unrated (Not Rated)
- Product Dimensions : 0.7 x 7.5 x 5.4 inches; 12 Ounces
- Item model number : FOXS2248324DVD
- Director : John Ford
- Media Format : Multiple Formats, Box set, Color, NTSC, Silent
- Run time : 9 hours and 51 minutes
- Release date : December 4, 2007
- Actors : June Collyer, Larry Kent, George O'Brien, Olive Borden, Lou Tellegen
- Language : Unqualified (DTS ES 6.1)
- Studio : 20th Century Fox
- ASIN : B000WMA6IC
- Writers : Brian Oswald Donn-Byrne, Charles Darnton, Charles Kenyon, H.H. Caldwell, Herman Bing
- Number of discs : 5
- Best Sellers Rank: #200,011 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
- #32,597 in Drama DVDs
- Customer Reviews:
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"Iron Horse:" Scoring the Past
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Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 26, 2007
15 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 9, 2007
JOHN FORD'S SILENT EPICS which is part of the much larger FORD AT FOX collection is a most welcome addition to the catalogue of available DVDs and fortuntaely for silent film fans you don't have to buy the entire set. Of the 5 films in this set THE IRON HORSE is the most famous and has already been reviewed by me so I'll focus on the remaining four films. The title SILENT EPICS is a little misleading as two of the films JUST PALS from 1920 and HANGMAN'S HOUSE from 1928 are much smaller in scope dealing as they do with smalltown America and rural Ireland. FOUR SONS (1928) with its World War I setting and 3 BAD MEN (1926), another large scale Western, are certainly more deserving of the title.
All 5 films have newly commissioned musical scores by five different composers (Christopher Caliendo, Tim Curran, Dana Kaproff, and John & Alexander Kaplan) which their respective films perfectly. 4 of the 5 films begin with a gentle warning about bringing the film to DVD using the best available source materials which is another way of saying that they haven't been fully restored. Despite some scratches early on these movies look great considering their age and the fact that no original Fox silent negatives exist anymore. While the technology does exist to completely restore these films one can't expect Fox to spend a fortune on what is clearly a niche market and we are lucky to still have these titles at all.
3 BAD MEN presages Ford's 3 GODFATHERS (1948), HANGMAN'S HOUSE is the start of his love affair with Ireland (and John Wayne's first visible film appearance), and JUST PALS is an early vehicle for ill-fated Fox star Buck Jones who would die in Boston's notorious Coconut Grove fire in 1942. It was also Ford's first film for William Fox. The real treasure here in my opinion is FOUR SONS which combines Ford's epic and intimate qualities outside of the Western. It's in the roughest shape of all the titles but still looks awfully good. The overall quality of the films, the fine new music scores, and the additional special features make this set a must have.
All 5 films have newly commissioned musical scores by five different composers (Christopher Caliendo, Tim Curran, Dana Kaproff, and John & Alexander Kaplan) which their respective films perfectly. 4 of the 5 films begin with a gentle warning about bringing the film to DVD using the best available source materials which is another way of saying that they haven't been fully restored. Despite some scratches early on these movies look great considering their age and the fact that no original Fox silent negatives exist anymore. While the technology does exist to completely restore these films one can't expect Fox to spend a fortune on what is clearly a niche market and we are lucky to still have these titles at all.
3 BAD MEN presages Ford's 3 GODFATHERS (1948), HANGMAN'S HOUSE is the start of his love affair with Ireland (and John Wayne's first visible film appearance), and JUST PALS is an early vehicle for ill-fated Fox star Buck Jones who would die in Boston's notorious Coconut Grove fire in 1942. It was also Ford's first film for William Fox. The real treasure here in my opinion is FOUR SONS which combines Ford's epic and intimate qualities outside of the Western. It's in the roughest shape of all the titles but still looks awfully good. The overall quality of the films, the fine new music scores, and the additional special features make this set a must have.
11 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 15, 2008
This is a dvd set really worth purchasing for those who love silent movies and for all vintage movie buffs. The two highlight films are "The Iron Horse" (1924) which has two versions. The international version, which is shorter than the american version, which runs two and a half hours. This truly is the first great epic western and certainly John Ford's.Tall and handsome George O'Brien stars in this and "3 Bad Men" (1926), a big star particularly in the twenties. J. Farrell MacDonald also features prominently in "The Iron Horse" and "3 Bad Men", a great charactor actor, who played a lot of irish policemen , with a sense of humour, in the thirties. The other highlight film is "Four Sons" (1928) which features James Hall, who was to later star in Howard Hughes' "Hell's Angels" (1930). I was disappointed that "Four Sons" did not have the originally recorded music and sound effects soundtrack ( which was featured in the "Hollywood" tv series in the seventies, about silent cinema), however the new score created for all the movies was excellent."Hangman's House" (1928) is also a great Ford film starring the legendary Victor McLaglen, who later starred in the classic Ford film "The Informer"(1935). Interesting to note that in "Hangman's House", featured in his first film appearance ,is John Wayne, clearly glimpsed in a crowd scene. For all those who collect John Wayne movies, I bet you don't have this one."Just Pals" (1920) is an early example of Ford's magnificent directing and shows just how far back his career really went.All movies are digitally remastered with a crystal clear picture quality , for such vintage films.I wish, though, that they had given some extra features and sound over reviews, however this dvd set is really worth getting and I know you vintage movie buffs, out there, won't be disappointed, as I was delighted.
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Top reviews from other countries
Goodsam
5.0 out of 5 stars
Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on September 30, 2015
Wonderful!
Topcat Gerry
5.0 out of 5 stars
John Ford Fans will love it
Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on March 23, 2019
just fabulous
Visa
5.0 out of 5 stars
Five Stars
Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on February 25, 2017
very nice








