Directed by John Ford

Directed by John Ford is a documentary film directed by Peter Bogdanovich. Originally released in 1971, it covers the life and career of film director John Ford. Bogdanovich first met John Ford in 1963, on the set of Ford's film Cheyenne Autumn, interviewing the veteran filmmaker for a piece in Esquire magazine, one in a series of profiles of famous directors. Ford, who typically despised interviews, perversely decided to be accommodating after h... More

Directed by John Ford is a documentary film directed by Peter Bogdanovich. Originally released in 1971, it covers the life and career of film director John Ford. Bogdanovich first met John Ford in 1963, on the set of Ford's film Cheyenne Autumn, interviewing the veteran filmmaker for a piece in Esquire magazine, one in a series of profiles of famous directors. Ford, who typically despised interviews, perversely decided to be accommodating after he witnessed a production assistant warning Bogdanovich and his then-wife Polly Platt about Ford's difficult nature. Ford occasionally found himself exasperated by Bogdanovich's questions, but also enjoyed his company, and amused himself by needling the young man and pulling his leg. Bogdanovich's Esquire piece temporarily produced some measure of friction between the two, as Bogdanovich did not remove the profanity from Ford's quotes in his initial draft, to Ford's displeasure. Ford described it as "nauseating". He was also unhappy with the...

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