John Ford (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973) was an American film director. He was famous for both his westerns such as Stagecoach (1939), The Searchers (1956), and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962), and adaptations of such classic 20th-century American novels as The Grapes of Wrath (1940). His four Academy Awards for Best Director (1935, 1940, 1941, 1952) is a record, and one of those films, How Green Was My Valley (1941), also won Best Picture. In a career that spanned more than 50 years, Ford directed more than 140 films (although nearly all of his silent films are now lost) and he...
Fort Apache
In John Ford's sombre exploration the mythology of American heroes, he slowly reveals the character of Owen Thursday, who sees his new posting to the desolate Fort Apache as a chance to claim the military honour which he believes is rightfully his. Arrogant, obsessed with military form and ultimately self-destructive, Thursday attempts to destroy the Apache chief Cochise after luring him across the border from Mexico, against the advice of his subordinates. Deep into the territory of the great Apache chief, Cochise, the demoted Civil War general, Lieutenant Colonel Owen Thursday, reports for duty as a commanding officer at the remote U.S. cavalry outpost known as Fort Apache, along with his daughter, Philadelphia. There, the arrogant commander will soon lock horns with the realistic and sensible second-in-command, Captain Kirby York, who, as an expert in the local Apaches, disagrees with Thursday who wants to make a name for himself in the Arizona frontier. In the end, is it wise to engage in battle when personal glory is all you seek?
