Friday, September 8, 2006
It's John Ford time, folks! I've rustled up a good mess of flicks for a Ford Marathon, and what better way to begin than with Stagecoach, one of the most influential and entertaining American films of all time?
The film began like all of his movies do, with a sweeping credits sequence that's crowned at the end with his name, "John Ford." In big blocked, western-style writing his name stands alone, large, and for a few seconds longer than the names before it--like any "director" credit does, yet I can't think of any other director's name that stands out so blatantly on film; his credit shot is its own part of the narrative, big and bold; it is a phenomenon in itself.
The credit sequence might be my favorite part of any Ford film, but in the case of Stagecoach it has to be the introductory shot of The Ringo Kid, that is, John Wayne. Like an inhaled breath sucking us closer to him, the camera swifts from long-shot to close-up of Wayne's mug, like he has his own gravitational pull. I knew this shot was coming, I've seen the movie plenty of times already, but fans, I urge you to watch again, to be overwhelmed by this cinematic grace that borders on the sublime. It never gets old.
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