Coming to DVD: Ford at Fox

This December 4th Fox is releasing a DVD set which should easily be the set of the year: Ford at Fox.

This set includes two dozen John Ford films, as well as Ford's World War II documentaries and a new documentary, BECOMING JOHN FORD.

A wonderful extra is the inclusion of 1939's FRONTIER MARSHAL, a predecessor to MY DARLING CLEMENTINE which was directed by Allan Dwan and starred Randolph Scott as Wyatt Earp and Cesar Romero as Doc Holliday. I reviewed FRONTIER MARSHAL here last November; my post includes information about the history of FRONTIER MARSHAL and MY DARLING CLEMENTINE.

Some of the films, such as THE GRAPES OF WRATH and HOW GREEN WAS MY VALLEY, are presented with the extras from their previous Fox Studio Classics DVD releases. There are many, many new extras, however, and a majority of the titles have never before been released on DVD.

I'm most excited about a commentary track for DRUMS ALONG THE MOHAWK, a colorful film I saw on TV many times as a child and which was probably the first Ford film I ever saw. Although not Ford and Henry Fonda's best-known collaboration, the movie made a huge impression on me. (The book was good too.) I already have a "plain vanilla" DVD but would love to upgrade this title.

The movies can be purchased in one huge set, or in smaller collections, such as The Essential John Ford Collection, which contains some of Ford's best-known classic titles, as well as the new documentary and FRONTIER MARSHAL. Some of the movies will also be available for sale as individual releases.

If you're a fan of classic cinema, all that can be said when looking at this list of titles and extras is "Wow!"