The western was a bmovie experience during this time period, a surprising thought considering the alist talent associated with this 1939 film. This list includes some of the most important conventions for conveying meaning through particular camera and editing techniques as well as some of the specialised vocabulary of film production. John fords directing techniques in the film stagecoach by bob for cine 121 01 john fords film stagecoach from 1939 had several important hidden messages tucked away inside it. John fords stagecoach 1939 critiques the conventional. This film his first sound western was a return to his mostacclaimed film genre after a thirteen year absence following foxs three bad men 1926 and the iron horse 1924. Stagecoach is a 1939 american western film directed by john ford and starring claire trevor and john wayne in his breakthrough role. This film was responsible for reestablishing the western genre as an alist film and thus revived the genre for decades to come. The film opens as a stagecoach is set to make the perilous journey from. However it is the emphasis on hope and chance in one minor moment that moves ford into the territory of genius. Stagecoach is a 1966 american film, directed by gordon douglas between july and september 1965, as a color remake of the academy awardwinning john ford 1939 classic blackandwhite western stagecoach. Dit zou vanaf toen een geliefd decor worden voor dit genre. A free powerpoint ppt presentation displayed as a flash slide show on id.
Stagecoach 1939 eric snider 10042010 it would be hard to think of american cinema without thinking of westerns, and it would be hard to think of westerns without thinking of john wayne. Stagecoach offers plenty of cowboys, indians, shootouts, and chases, aided by yakima canutts remarkable stunt work and bert glennons majestic photography of fords beloved monument valley. For ford, it was a return after some years to a genre about which his ideas had grownthe genre in which he would make many of his greatest films. A group of people traveling on a stagecoach find their journey complicated by the threat of geronimo and learn something about each other in the process. The film stagecoach was released in 1939 to enormous critical and monetary acclaim. John fords movie stagecoach 1939 has a fair claim to be the most influential western ever made. Stagecoach 1939 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. The film was a massive success, and booth received an oscar nomination for best film editing. John ford directs the film which stars john wayne, claire trevor, andy devine. This post isnt designed to teach you how to write a film analysis. Dec, 2017 a group of people traveling on a stagecoach find their journey complicated by the threat of geronimo and learn something about each other in the process. John fords stagecoach 1939 critiques the conventional morality of the western by subverting its typical stereotypes.
Fords control and vision in this film are nothing short of masterful. The use of non diegetic sounds to enhance audience emotional investment. Stagecoach 1939 official trailer john wayne, john ford western movie hd. Although there were westerns before it, stagecoach quickly became a template for all movie westerns to come. No other film in history than the wizard of oz has more perfectly utilized every aspect of the cinematic techniques of its day. Apr 25, 2016 by 1939, john ford had been making movies for 22 years. Director john ford combined action, drama, humor, and a set of welldrawn characters in. The revolutionary western john ford built a standard that many future directors would follow with his classic 1939 film stagecoach. Stagecoach, american western film, released in 1939, that is a classic of the genre, widely considered to be the first adult western. Claire trevor westerns only charles l dick jr on dailymotion. Although there were a plethora of western films made before 1939, the film stagecoach revolutionized the western genre by elevating the genre from a b film into a more serious genre. Custers last stand, or the calvary and indian story.
It was the first sound western to be released after several decades of silent westerns. The beginning of the film briefly establishes these stereotypes as we meet the characters in town, but when they start their stagecoach journey, picking up ringo john wayne on the way, many of the characters develop counter to their. The visual medium is a storytelling device capable of strong emotions, and our community of passionate writers would like you to share in that passion as they shine their own perspective on what makes this medium so important to us all. The 1939 film is still considered a classic of the genre but why. It eventually became the most powerful and pervasive style of film. If so, share your ppt presentation slides online with. Fords approach to filmmaking ford cuts dialog to a minimum and focuses on action and visual detail. Stagecoach is a film in which two great careers were renewed. Ford and wayne both made westerns before this, of course, but their collaboration on this film sparked something bold and unusual that would breathe new life into the genre and help shape it for the next two decades, the golden. Based on ernest haycoxs story stage to lordsburg, john fords stagecoach 1939 is considered one of the first great westerns, ranked 63rd on the american film institutes list of the top 100 films. Recently, i made a master list of films from directors that are required viewing for cinephiles. The mise en scene while dorothy is in kansas is completely different than while in oz which adds to the dramatic impact of dorothy in oz.
The wizard of oz was one of if not the first full length movie to incorporate two completely different mise en scenes within one movie. Sep 06, 2011 stagecoach 1939 theatrical trailer classictrailerguy. The film has everything from social injustice to alcoholism, prostitution, gambling, and even working class people in general. Nov 19, 2019 john fords stagecoach 1939 critiques the conventional morality of the western by subverting its typical stereotypes. An eclectic group of settlers boards a stagecoach in tonto, arizona territory. Her talents would not go unnoticed, as booth soon became the studios editorinchief in 1939. The film stagecoach was directed by john ford and released in 1939. A very influential and innovative film, not only did it turn john wayne into a star, but it also elevated the western film s status.
The film follows a group of strangers riding on a stagecoach through dangerous apache territory. Ford believes, the main thing about motion pictures is to photograph the peoples eye. Philip french on the topicality of the 1939 film stagecoach. In the front, sit buck the driver and marshal curley wilcox, who is riding shotgun to protect the stage from hostile indians and from the plummer brothers, a vicious band of outlaws. Stagecoach john fords stagecoach of 1939 is a movie that tries to reflect the realities of the time in the country. In 1855, the overland stage from tonto to lordsburg leaves town with eight people on board. Oct 09, 2016 united artists released stagecoach to theaters on march 3, 1939. John ford s directing techniques in the film stagecoach by bob for cine 121 01 john ford s film stagecoach from 1939 had several important hidden messages tucked away inside it. By 1939, john ford had been making movies for 22 years. Mar 02, 2020 stagecoach, american western film, released in 1939, that is a classic of the genre, widely considered to be the first adult western. Feb 21, 2009 i ts now accepted that the first great western of the sound era, john fords seminal stagecoach 1939, which opened 70 years ago this week, was an allegory about the united states. The passengers on the coach include a drunken doctor, two women, a bank manager who has taken off with his clients money, and the famous ringo kid, among others. Robert wise this highlyrated classic masterpiece from directorstarproducer orson welles brought together many cinematic and narrative techniques and experimental innovations in photography, editing, and sound to reconstruct the title character like building a. The stagecoach, far from the confines of the town, develops into its own moral community that reveals the hypocrisies of some of the characters.
In the meantime, he had produced the superb, oscar. John ford, stagecoach 1939 based on ernest haycoxs story stage to lordsburg, john fords stagecoach 1939 is considered one of the first great westerns, ranked 63rd on the american film institutes list of the top 100 films. Nov 28, 2014 fords camera doesnt just film the titular stagecoach as it moves horizontally on a line, but it places it in a spot on the screen to show depth and length. Stagecoach may be incredibly quaint compared to the best westerns as we know them in retrospect, but the film must be examined in context with the year it was released and not with the great westerns that came after it. I repeat myself in keeping with orson welles who after viewing stagecoach 1939 40 times before embarking on citizen kane 1941 said he was influenced by the old guys. Compiling publicity photos and in the broad history of cinema, 1939 stands out as one of the most important years. Stagecoach 1939 the best movies in cinematic history.
Many a native american attack and shotgun showdown have flowed from it, yet decades of appropriations, remakes, and. Fords camera doesnt just film the titular stagecoach as it moves horizontally on a line, but it places it in a spot on the screen to show depth and length. Stagecoach movies 1939 john ford action western movies. Eighty years ago, director john ford and screenwriter dudley nichols combined their talents, and those of star characteractors claire trevor, thomas mitchell, john carradine and newcomer john wayne, and made stagecoach, a movie that would forever alter western film history. Although he had appeared before in many films, as an extra, a stuntman and then an actor in b films, this was john waynes first starring role in a film by john ford. The film had a total of 8 nominations, and won the oscar for best picture. How john fords 1939 western classic transformed the dying genre into the epitome of american cinema. The stagecoach is not the object in these frames, it is an element integrated into the object. With reference to at least two cinematic techniques, analyze one scene to discuss how stagecoach subverts the character stereotypes and moral conventions of the western. This is the first ford film shot in monument valley, utah. Because the great, great, great john ford made so many films and so many great films his canon is virtually unassailable. Stagecoach saw john ford master what he called the invisible technique. For ford, it was a return after some years to a genre about which his ideas had grownthe genre in which he would. A vivid, horizonscanning cultural pilgrimage, stagecoach also lingers as folklore theater with recurring songs like bury me not on the lone prairie and i dream of jeanie adding to the mood, allegory for a world right before the war, and catholic redemption play.
While most of the films during this time were majorly focused on entertainment. A national catholic register videodvd picks film sdg. Stagecoach is perhaps best known today for being the film orson welles studied while making citizen kane 1941. That is, the special effects techniques used had created the film in future times.
The screenplay by dudley nichols is an adaptation of the stage to lordsburg, a 1937 short story by ernest haycox. Stagecoach was the first film to unite director john ford with both his iconic genre, the western, and the actor who would come to be his most iconic star, john wayne. The screenplay, written by dudley nichols, is an adaptation of the stage to lordsburg, a 1937 short story by ernest haycox. Stagecoach is a fine western and a truly exceptional film.
Ford has said that he preferred shooting scenes in one take and that may account for the feeling of genuine spontaneity that permeates stagecoach. Stagecoach 1939 a one of the 15 films listed in the category art on the vatican film list. Stagecoach 1939 is a classic western from film auteur john ford. Media in category stagecoach 1939 film the following 4 files are in this category, out of 4 total. A very influential and innovative film, not only did it turn john wayne into a star, but it also elevated the western films status. In his critically acclaimed stagecoach 1939, ford uses a variety of techniques that must have seemed new at the time, including the fast cutting crisscross effect on the chase scene about to be discussed. Ford and wayne both made westerns before this, of course, but their collaboration on this film sparked something bold and unusual that would breathe new life into the genre and help shape it for the next two decades, the golden age of the. Unlike the original version which listed its ten leading players in order of importance, the major stars are billed in alphabetical order. One of director john fords defining movies, it also elevated john wayne to stardom.
Feb 14, 2017 stagecoach 1939 movie script screenplays for you. Stagecoach was my first john ford film, and i suppose i had lowered expectations for it considering its age and how it was his first important film. The afi top 100 challenge stagecoach 1939 chris mizerak. Type of film also a system of signs used by producers. The nation was just coming out of the economic depression of the 30s. Ppt stagecoach 1939 powerpoint presentation free to. The cinematic techniques of the movie wizard of oz. Classical hollywood cinema is a term used in film criticism to describe both a narrative and visual style of film making which became characteristic of american cinema between the 1910s rapidly after world war i and the 1960s. While most of the films during this time were majorly focused on entertainment, this one captured the real happenings within the then society.
This now iconic western won several of the academy awards that year, scooping up the best supporting actor and best music and scoring, while also being nominated. Yet stagecoach is one of the films that initiated these conventions and perhaps has lost some of its freshness only through subsequent imitation of later works. Robert wise this highlyrated classic masterpiece from directorstarproducer orson welles brought together many cinematic and narrative techniques and experimental innovations in photography, editing, and sound to reconstruct the title character like building a jigsaw puzzle. Stagecoach 1939 is the property of its rightful owner. It was a time when studio contract players, writers and directors were cranking out dozens of pictures a year, and when sound, music, makeup, colorphotography, matte painting, optical printing, process photography. Jul 03, 2012 the film stagecoach was directed by john ford and released in 1939. Stagecoach was deliberately crafted in a precise fashion that limited any chance for a technical failure. Stagecoach 1939 theatrical trailer classictrailerguy. Stagecoach 1939 the definition of depression giggles is pretty fluid in my class because were touching on every genre which hit theaters during the 1930s. Whats truly startling is how fresh the film remains after all these years. Two notable westerns were released in 1939 that transcended the bmovie cheapie status that had defined that genre for ten years or more.
The film has everything from social injustice to alcoholism, prostitution, gambling, and even working class people in. A simple stagecoach trip is complicated by the fact that geronimo is on the warpath in the area. Like the characters in last stage to lordsburg, the characters in the film stagecoach are stereotypes, but, except for gatewood, they acquire a depth and humanity that haycoxs characters dont. Notes for viewing john fords stagecoach the movie is set in 1885. Whether we choose to read something along those lines into the film or not, monument valley is at least a captivating presence in the film, although for me, the cinematography could have been better technically, especially considering that stagecoach was made at the same time as the wizard of oz 1939. Therefore, the sequence of dorothy leaving kansas and arriving in oz in the clip of the wizard of oz has been chosen to illustrate three cinematic techniques used in the film. It was the directors first attempt into the genre since 1926 and his first to be shot against the impressive scenery of monument valley. Vieiras book, majestic hollywood, the author brings together fifty of the most notable films from 1939 to pay homage to this remarkable year in film. The images he captures are sophisticated and occasionally profound. Ppt stagecoach 1939 powerpoint presentation free to view. The community developed among the stagecoach passengers, driver, and sheriff.
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