Leone vs. Ford

[cigar joe]

Poll on imdb General Western board, vote & give your reasons here:

http://www.imdb.com/board/bd0000030/thread/103344290

[dave jenkins]

This is an apple & oranges kind of thing. After all, how many Leone silents do we have to compare with Ford's? And how many Leone films were shot b&w in Academy AR? Also, the breadth of Ford's career--spanning 5 decades-- is difficult to put up against the more concentrated period in which Leone worked. Finally, Ford's career largely parallels the history of the industry he worked in; Leone's, coming later, is, at least in part, a labor of recapitulation.

[cigar joe]

You are right, you should state that on the site......

[Groggy]

I agree with Jenkins. It's a rather oblique comparison no matter how you look at it. Even if many, or even most of his works were bad to mediocre to merely good, Ford had such a deep and varied filmography that it would be impossible for Leone to compete with him. Leone had three masterpieces, one great but flawed film, one very good movie, and a mediocre but reasonably entertaining one (excluding COR of course). Ford probably had dozens that fell under all of the above categories; Stagecoach, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The Searchers, maybe My Darling Clementine all approach masterpiece status, and the number of great to entertaining films is much longer.

Also, to add here... Ford was much more versatile. He did Westerns, of course, but also biopics, war films, comedies, romances, and straight historical dramas. Other than COR and OUATIA, all of Leone's films were Westerns.

That being said, I will give the edge to Leone. Three of his films are in my top 25, which per capita is more than Ford. 

[dave jenkins]

It may be possible to compare individual films (say, The Searchers vs. OUATIA), but not their entire oeuvres.

[Groggy]

How exactly can you compare The Searchers with OUATIA? Maybe GBU or OUATITW - maybe.

[dave jenkins]

Well, I meant OUATITW. My point is, compare movies, not directors.

[Groggy]

Okay then. I can sign that.

[Groggy]

On film general there is a rating poll on OUATIA, as well:

http://us.imdb.com/board/bd0000007/nest/103425660

It's fairing pretty well so far.

[leonefan16]

Both are good.
Leone just changed the western the way that John Ford had created them.

[tucumcari bound]

It's hard for me to choose between the two. Both are very different for obvious reasons. I prefer Leone slightly though.

[Richard--W]

Some questions should never be asked, and other questions don't deserve to be answered.


Richard