How Will Ford’s Westerns Change My Perspective?

It struck me last night, as I finished watching She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, that I might never be able to look at a western in the same way as I did before.

My current journey through the world of Johns Wayne and Ford has been a bit of a revelation. I’m going to mention the various discoveries I’ve made in future posts, but prior to Ribbon I hadn’t considered the impact of these films on the westerns I’ve already seen. What effect will The Wild Bunch have now? What about something like Unforgiven? Dances With Wolves?

After immersing myself in Ford’s directorial style and experiencing his often sentimental themes, what impact will Peckinpah’s style have on me?

I’ve got quite a way to go before I’m at a point where I’ll break off from Ford – I have The Searchers and Wings of Eaglesto go in the Ford/Wayne boxed set; a further Wayne set containing (amongst other things) The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance; a Henry Fonda set containing My Darling Clementine, and The Grapes of Wrath; and various individual films like The Quiet Man, and Rio Grande - but once that’s done I’m going to work my way through the Peckinpah boxed set, and I’ll probably pick up Major Dundee too.