Choo-choo good | The Iron Horse (The Ford at Fox Collection)

DVD: The Iron Horse (The Ford at Fox Collection) | George O'Brien, Madge Bellamy

DVDs:


	• The Iron Horse (The Ford at Fox Collection) George O'Brien, Madge Bellamy 20th Century Fox, 2007 average customer review:based on 2 reviews view larger image
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Finally On Region One DVD!

Unless you are a silent film enthusiast or an aficionado of Westerns then you are probably unfamiliar with THE IRON HORSE although the phrase describing locomotives is well known. It was made in 1924 by the Fox Film Corporation hoping to cash in on the success of Paramount's THE COVERED WAGON from the year before. Like that film, THE IRON HORSE was conceived on a grand scale using as its subject the building of the first American transcontinental railroad. It was the movie that put John Ford on the map as a filmmaker to be reckoned with where he would remain for the next 40 years.

But for years no decent print of the film was available for viewing. All early Fox Films original negatives were destroyed in a fire in 1937. This disc features both the U.S. and the International versions of the film (the U.S. is 17 minutes longer). The prints aren't perfect but are a far sight better than the old VHS version from the Killiam Collection and there is a fine new film score from Christopher Caliendo. The movie is not without its share of flaws including excessive length (the International version is more tightly edited), an uneven balance between comedy and drama, and a mixed bag of performances with Madge Bellamy being the weakest. George O'Brien as the hero and Fred Kohler as the principal villian still hold up well today and while the storyline is overly familiar to us now, it features many things that would later become cliches'.

Incidentally Kohler really had only three fingers on the one hand having lost the others in a mining accident before he became an actor. If you are at all interested in silent films or Westerns or director John Ford then THE IRON HORSE is a must have as are all the films in the JOHN FORD'S SILENT EPICS box set. The others are JUST PALS, THREE BAD MEN, FOUR SONS, and HANGMAN'S HOUSE. Thank you Fox for doing silent film fans a huge favor.

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Choo-choo good

"The Iron Horse" (Fox, 1924) is the grandfather of the Epic Western, and this film made John Ford's career. What's interesting, I think, is that what would later be cliches in this film actually became cliches later in many Western films, but they were used here first.

The print quality is superb and, more importantly, is run at the proper speed. The score is likewise very good, and the film as a whole is excellent. There are two versions included on this DVD: the US version, and the international version, which is a little longer -- why, I don't know.

This DVD is a must-have for any serious (or non-serious, take your pick) collector. While it's a part of the "Ford at Fox" boxed set, it is also (like a few others in this set) available as a single. Highly recommended!

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Studio: Tcfhe Release Date: 12/04/2007 Rating: Nr