Fort Apache (BD) [Blu-ray]

I purchased this title to complete my John Ford Calvary Trilogy. The quality of the three movies in this trilogy varies on Blu-ray. None of them are formatted for HD, but it's how they were filmed. Of the three movies: Fort Apache, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, and Rio Grande only one out of three, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, is colorized. The other two, Fort Apache and Rio Grande, are in B&W. If you are looking to purchase Rio Grande then I recommend the Olive Signature Edition. It's a higher quality and has a lot of special features. I am pleased to have the trilogy on Blu-ray, but I do find it odd that the quality is different film to film.

During times of war, the size of armies grow; promotions come fast, especially for the career soldier. When the Civil War ended, the recruits went marching home; unfortunately for the career soldiers, the United States Army no longer needed so many high ranking officers; through no fault of their own, they faced humiliating loss of status and demotion. . . .If you are Lieutenant Colonel Thursday, your resentment, of what has happened to you, lies with you in every living moment; you had soared to the rank of General during the War, you wore your glory-soaked stars with pride, but now, after all you have done, you've been ordered to take command of a remote outpost in the Arizonan territories to settle some piddling Apache uprising! The only thing that alleviates your bitterness is your sweet daughter Philadelphia. . . .If you are Philadelphia, you are happy that you finally get to spend time with your father; you are not bothered in the least about the move to Fort Apache, especially after you catch sight of the shirtless 2nd Lt. O'Roark; from now on there will be two men in your life. On the night, when you and your father arrive at the post, your father barges in on a regimental celebration; he seeks Captain York. . . .If you are Captain York, you were - until that moment - the acting commander. You recognized Thursday from the war: a man with no humor, a martinet, a man who never admits mistakes, a man so certain of himself that he feels no need to listen: to you, to other competent men in the regiment, and - most tragically - to Cochise. . . .Special Feature on Monument Valley: about how it became a favorite location for filming westerns.Picture (Blu-ray): 3.5. Subtitles: English, French & Spanish. Languages: English & Spanish.

Ward Bond fans will love FORT APACHE. Here, he's Sgt. Maj. O'Rourke, and has the lilting brogue to prove it. During "the late unpleasantness," O'Rourke was a major decorated with the Medal of Honor. This allowed his son a presidential appointment to West Point.Young 2nd Lt. O'Rourke (Agar, in his screen debut) is a spit-shine officer who contrasts with everyone at his current garrison except new commander Lt. Col. Thursday, a former general and an unpleasant by-the-book martinet. Lt. O'Rourke falls in love with the colonel's daughter, but the father doesn't want under-age Philadelphia (Temple) to mix with O'Rourke, so he plans to ship her back East.That storyline is set aside for Thursday's quest after personal glory via a foolhardy attempt to destroy Cochise's Apaches once he's lured them to this side of the Mexican border. A deadly cavalry/warrior clash is the heart of this classic movie.Shot partly in Monument Valley and a loose take on Custer's Last Stand, "Fort Apache" was the first of John Ford's "Cavalry Trio," being closely followed by  SHE WORE A YELLOW RIBBON  (1949), and  RIO GRANDE  (1950).Parenthetical number preceing title is a 1 to 10 IMDb viewer poll rating.(7.6) Fort Apache (1948) - John Wayne/Henry Fonda/Shirley Temple/Ward Bond/George O'Brien/Victor McLaglen/Irene Rich/Dick Foran/Guy Kibbee/Grant Withers/Movita/Mae Busch/John Agar

Great picture!

I have another review of this GREAT John Ford classic under the "John Wayne-John Ford Collection",which includes eight(8) classic Wayne-Ford motion Pictures that include:"She Wore a Yellow Ribbon"(great Technicolor Western),"Stagecoach",(the film that made Wayne a Star and brought back the Western,along with DeMille's "Union Pacific",back to A-Level movie status)"They Were Expendable"(a WW2 film set in the Pacific,co-starring Wayne and Robert Montgomery)," 3 Godfathers"( Often filmed Western story that Ford made as a silent,starring Harry Carey,sr.,who this film is made in Memory of),"The Long Voyage Home"(nearly forgotten Ford masterpiece,derived from four (4) Eugene O'Neill playlets,adapted by Dudley Nichols),"The Wings of Eagles"(the true story of Frank "Spig" Wead,WW1-WW2 flying ace and real life pal of Ford,with Wayne-O'Hara as husband & wife,with NOT ENOUGH MAUREEN!),and a special 2-disc DVD set of that great anti- racist post-Civil-War Western, "The Searchers". In "Fort Apache", Henry Fonda,as the new commander,of Fort Apache, is an arrogant Indian hating, and Irish-Catholic disliking,WASP who seeks glory for himself,no matter what the cost maybe!Great perfomances by Fonda, Wayne,George O'Brien,Ward Bond,Anna Lee,Irene Rich,Victor McLaglen,Dick Foran(who sings very well too),Grant Withers(as a corrupt Suttler),Guy Kibbe, Pedro Armendariz,and as a very sympathetic "Cochise" Miguel Inclan!Shirley temple and John Agar provide the love interest.A GREAT MOVIE! A GREAT WESTERN!! by AMERICA'S GREATEST DIRECTOR!!!

very happy with this movie

邦題『アパッチ砦』南北戦争での失策で、将軍から大佐に降格になったサースデイ(ヘンリー・フォンダ)が、インディアン紛争が絶えないアパッチ砦の司令官として赴任する。軍の規律に厳しく、一切妥協を許さないサースデイの態度に、アパッチ砦の古参兵たちは戸惑い、時として衝突もする。特にアパッチ族に詳しいヨーク大尉(ジョン・ウェイン)は、サースデイが、アパッチ族を甘く見ていることに不安を感じていた。そんな折、軍事物資を運んでいた駅馬車が、インディアンに襲撃される事件が起き…。『 黄色いリボン 』、『 リオ・グランデの砦 』へと続くことになる、ジョン・フォードの「騎兵隊3部作」の記念すべき第1作。フォードと撮影監督のアーチー・スタウトは、青を感知しない赤外線白黒フィルムを使うことで、雲やモニュメント・ヴァレーをより美しく、効果的に捉えることに成功している。劇中で、恋人同士を演じるジョン・エイガー(本作が映画初出演)とシャーリー・テンプルは、実際に結婚していた時期だった。映画評論家ピーター・ボグダノヴィッチのインタビュー『 John Ford 』(翻訳本は『 インタビュー ジョン・フォード 』)で、フォードが、「軍隊では、たとえそれが誤ったものだとわかっていても、上官の指示には従わなくてはならないのだ」と答えているように、本作は、騎兵隊の(時として理不尽にさえみえる)規律の厳格さを描いたフォードの騎兵隊(軍隊)観が明確に出たもの。それは、サースデイ大佐(悠然とした動きで、最後まで一度も笑顔を見せないフォンダの静かな威圧感！)とヨーク大尉を始めとする古参兵たちとの対立となって作品の基調になり、作品全体に冷厳な透徹した美と緊張感が漂う。『黄色いリボン』と『リオ・グランデの砦』が、それぞれ調和や和解の物語であり、フォード的な温かみがあったことを考えると、本作は、対立の物語ということもあり、フォードの騎兵隊ものにある疑似家族的な温かさには乏しく、悲劇的な幕切れに象徴されるように、重く暗い。それでも、ヴィクター・マクラグレン演じる軍曹を頭とする4人組(ペドロ・アルメンダリス、ジャック・ペニック、ディック・フォランのフォード組)の酒絡みのエピソードは、フォードらしい荒っぽいユーモアたっぷりに描かれるし、フォードの大好きなフォーク・ダンスのシーンも、美しく典雅な味わいで描かれるなど、緊張感ある作品の中での笑いや息抜き的場面も忘れられていない。硬から軟へ。フォードの自由闊達な演出ぶりは本作にも如実に表れている。フォード組の俳優たちの演技は、いつ観ても楽しいが、本作でもフォードの厳しく細やかな演出によって、どのキャラクターも魅力的に立っている。特に、フォンダとウェインの冷戦とも言える静かな演技のぶつかり合いは観応え十分だ。そして、モニュメント・バレーの荒々しく峻厳な景観(フォードらしく、雲の表情も良い)もまた、素晴らしい俳優の一人に数えなくてはならないだろう。フォードの盤石な構図で捉えられるモニュメント・バレーと人間たちの対比の絵画のような美しさは絶品で、作品をよりドラマチックに導いている。本Blu-rayは、35mm原版よりHDテレシネされたマスターを使用したもの。丁寧で徹底したレストアのおかげで、キズがきれいに取り除かれ、白黒の諧調の良さ、ディテール表現の細やかさ(ほどよいフィルム粒子が乗った)が、存分に出た素晴らしい画質。1948年の作品ということが信じられない高画質だ。DTS-HD マスター・オーディオ(モノラル)の音声もクリアで自然。英語字幕も収録。特典には、伝記作家F・X・フィーニーによるコメンタリー、映画評論家のスコット・エイマンやジョセフ・マクブライドなどが、フォードとモニュメント・バレーの関係を語る小ドキュメンタリー"Monument Valley:John Ford Country"(約14分 SD画質)、予告編(1分45秒 SD画質)が収録。すべて、2009年に米国で発売されたボックス・セットのDVDの特典の再録だ。本Blu-rayは、北米盤ながら、R-Aなので、日本のBlu-ray プレーヤーで問題なく視聴可能。フォード・ファンならば、無条件で、既発売の北米盤DVDから買い換えると思うが、本作を冒涜するような酷い画質の国内IVC盤しか持っていない人も(マスターは、World Wide Filmというヴィデオ会社のもの)、IVC盤とは全く次元が違う画質なので、絶対に買い換えるべきだろう。 黄色いリボンリオ・グランデの砦John Fordインタビュー ジョン・フォード

Wasn’t aware it was in black & white

The first film in John Ford's Cavalry Trilogy, this one stars John Wayne alongside Henry Fonda, who plays the ranking (but inexperienced) officer appointed command over Wayne and the isolated fort in the film title.Recognised as one of the great classic western films and – of course – a distinctive movie in the filmography of both leading actors and the director, I feel no need to comment any further other than to urge any film buff to add this to their collection if you don't already have it.The standard UK DVD edition has no extras; English subtitles are available if required.

Any questions?Fort Apache is the first film of what came to be known as John Ford's US Cavalry trilogy. Just like the other two, She Wore A Yellow Ribbon & Rio Grande, this is also based on a short story by James Warner Bellah. Originally intended to be shot in colour, it was however done in black and white with Ford still making spectacular use of the Monument Valley location. The story primarily deals with opposite factions within the same army. On one hand is Lt. Col. Owen Thursday {Henry Fonda}, stiffly rigid in his beliefs, a stickler for the rules and pig ignorant and hostile towards the Indians he has been sent to control. On the other hand is Captain. Kirby York {John Wayne}, more relaxed towards those under his command, he's also knowledgeable about, and respectful towards, the Indian race. Thursday is also something of a chauvinist and a snob, he is determined to stop a burgeoning union between his daughter Philadelphia {Shirley Temple} and Lieutenant O'Rourke {John Agar}, with O'Rourke's homely family seen as too low for his daughter. All of this is played out in a far out military outpost, something else that Thursday also resents; that he was sent here instead of some place where a chance of glory was imminent.Ford's film is also intriguing in its view of army life for the women at the post. As the men go about their military chores, the women have to remain lady-like even in the face of stupidity and ignorance. And Ford also occupies much of the piece with military etiquette, rank and file and social standing. This is also one of his most overtly sympathetic movies as regards the Indians. Here it's the Apache, led by the wise and stoic Cochise, they are not painted as villains, instead they are victims of trouble stirred by vile Indian agent Meacham {Grant Wthers}. It's this thread that leads us to the fabulous last 30 minutes of the film. Ford's action sequences are a given, highly impressive as always, but it's his parting shot that leaves the indelible mark. The myths of the West and the need for heroes is given close scrutiny by the master director; food for thought as the close caption booms out of the screen. Fort Apache takes its lead from George Armstrong Custer's folly, and covers it with intelligence, wit and panoramic delights. 8.5/10