The Quiet Man - Ireland at its most beautiful

[Pilgrim]

This week with St. Patrick's day, I celebrated by watching the John Ford classic The Quiet Man.

What a wonderful film! I regard it as one of John Wayne's best performances, and it was the first time he and Maureen O'Hara were teamed up. They made a superb screen couple.

Once again, it struck me that the thing which makes John Ford's films so special is not always the story line, but the wonderful characters in each film. Every inch of fim in a Ford movie contains characters that are gems in themselves. In The Quiet Man, it begins wth the train conducter (who immediatlely starts an argument about hotw to get to Sean Thorntions' destination) and includes just about every character. Barry Fitzgerald's performance is a tour de force.

In the westerns, it has always seemed to me that the relationship between (especially) the men in the pictures is an overriding aspect. Consider The Searchers, in which Ward Bond is a preacher and an officer in the Texas Rangers...which makes his relationship with Ethan Edwards more complex. I think much of Ford's work was really an explanation of the relationships of men, especially men in the military or with a military past (think Donovan's Reef).

At any rate, as I write this I'm transferring a 50th anniversary edition from laserdisc to DVD so that I can view it in my living room. What a captivating film! :eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap

 

[Madcap72]

One of my fav's. Bought the DVD that had a TON of extras and interviews. Looks like everyone had fun making it.

 

[Mahagonny Bill]

Yes! One of my absolute favorite movies. As much as I admire all of John Ford's work, I think this one is his best. If anyone has not seen this movie, you should be ashamed of yourself and rent it immediately

 

[Panache]

A great film that I had heard of often and only viewed myself last year.

Just reading about it makes me want to watch it again.

Cheers

Jamie

 

[maggiethespy]

My Grandfather and I have spent countless hours watching John Wayne movies, and of all of them, this one is definitely my favorite, followed in a close second by The Cowboys and a third by McLintock. This was the movie that started my obsession with Maureen O'Hara and made me want to visit Ireland. I've not yet been, but I can't wait to.

I know several people don't agree with me for some reason or the other, but I think that John and Maureen have some of the best on-screen chemistry I've ever seen, and their movies together are some of my favorites... I must be a little biased, though. My grandmother bares a striking resemblance to Miss O'Hara, and John Wayne has always reminded me of Granddaddy.

*goes to look through DVDs for this one...*

 

[Pilgrim]

I have the 50th anniversary laserdisc of this movie, and I'm thinking of transferring it to DVD. In reading reviews on Amazon, I was amazed at the number of complaints about the poor quality of the existing DVD transfers. I decided to go ahead and try the laserdisc transfer and see how it looks.

Those of you who have the DVDs including the collector edition - what do you think of the quality of the video?

 

[Madcap72]

I have the 50th anniversary laserdisc of this movie, and I'm thinking of transferring it to DVD. In reading reviews on Amazon, I was amazed at the number of complaints about the poor quality of the existing DVD transfers. I decided to go ahead and try the laserdisc transfer and see how it looks.

Those of you who have the DVDs including the collector edition - what do you think of the quality of the video?

The one I have was OK, nothing to shout about. Worse than HD, better than crappy VHS-> DVD transfer.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

This movie taught me that the Irish are impressed if you break the bed on your wedding night.


.

 

[Mahagonny Bill]

Those of you who have the DVDs including the collector edition - what do you think of the quality of the video?

I have the Collector's Edition and I see nothing wrong with it. The picture is not striking, but I chalked that up to the condition of the source material. I have seen worse DVD transfers.

 

[Erik]

A great flick, which as it happens I frequently watch on St.Patrick's Day, as it is apparently the "Its a Wonderful Life" of that particular day.

 

[Belegnole]

I have always enjoyed this film and out of all the cowboy and war films John Wayne did I have always found it interesting that this was not only his best but my favorite.