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How Green Was My Valley
Studio: Twentieth Century Fox
Year: 1941
Rated: NR
Film Length: 118 minutes
Aspect Ratio: Full Frame
Subtitles: English and Spanish
Though I have told this story many times before, it
does bear repeating....although I have always been
an avid fan and collector of film, most of my childhood
was spent watching films of that period. For that
reason, I seldom explored any of the true classics
that were made prior to the 1960. DVD changed all
that. For the first time, I am discovering classics
that have been so beautifully restored to a video
format that it has become increasingly tempting to
watch as many of these films as I am able.
As with most unfamiliar films that I review, I decided
to do a little background history on How Green Was
My Valley. I discovered that this 1941 film was
based on Richard Llewellyn’s 1939 international
best-selling novel. The film won John Ford his third
Best Director Oscar, and became the Best
Picture of 1941, beating out Citizen Kane,
The Maltese Falcon and Here Comes Mr. Jordan.
I should also mention that the film received Oscars
for Best Supporting Actor (Donald Crisp), Best Art
Direction, and Best Cinematography. Quite a feat when
you consider the competition.
Told through the eyes of Huw Morgan (Roddy McDowall),
this is the story of a Welsh mining family struggling
through the social and economic changes of that time
in their tiny community. With Huw being the youngest
in the family, he shares his home with six adult
siblings--five brothers who along with his father
all work in the mine. There's also his sister,
Angharad (Maureen O'Hara), who I'll talk about more
in a moment. Though coal mining is a profession
that runs deep in this family, it is all new to
young Huw, and he sees the beauty in the belching
smokestacks and slag that have yet to blacken the
hillside. Times are tough for coal miners. With
managers cutting wages as nearby factories shut down,
a mass of workers came into the countryside, willing
to work cheap. This caused the coal miners to unionize
and go on strike, dividing not only the people of
the town, but the Morgan family itself.
In a parallel story, as new preacher (Walter Pidgeon)
tries to calm the townsfolk and give support to the
Morgan family, Angharad begins to fall in love with
him. The romance, however, is to be forbidden and
platonic as she ends up giving her heart to another
man that she does not love.
It's difficult not to get drawn emotionally into
a film like this that is so impeccably written and
performed. I have grown to enjoy my new discovery
of John Ford films. I love the fact that he has
put characters and story as main the focus of films.
The man is obviously a great storyteller and a person
with a great big heart. There is a sort of lyrical
quality to his work and I constantly find myself
emotionally moved by his stories that are captured
with stunning photography (you can't help but to
be impressed by the long, towering smoke stacks that
dominate the film's background).
I was also very happy to see none other than Barry
Fitzgerald, one of my favorite Ford character actors
from The Quiet Man. He plays Cyfartha, Dai
Banso's Partner. Speaking of which, I don't think
anyone will ever forget the scene where both take
revenge out on the school master -- certainly the
highlight of the film.
How is the transfer?
Up until today I had no idea that this film was
previously released on DVD. For that reason, I
don't have the original release to compare it to.
Based on what I see here, the transfer looks
absolutely pristine. There's no scratches or any
sort of blemishes to be found. Picture is quite
detailed with nice contrast. There is a small level
of noticeable grain, though it isn't distracting.
The benchmark has been raised with the recent release
of Sunset Boulevard, and unfortunately, this
film doesn't come quite as close. Black levels are
not as deep and picture is not as crisp. Still,
this is a highly acceptable transfer.
The film's mono soundtrack sounds quite full and
hearty here. I usually find myself having to turn
up the audio on some of these mono tracks, but this
one had enough punch for me to leave the volume dial
alone. Audio is wonderfully clean with not a hint
of background hiss anywhere. Additionally, audio
never became over modulated, and there was very
little high "shrill" to be heard.
Special Features
First up is a full-length commentary by
Anna Lee Nathan (Bronwyn Morgan) and Film Historian
Joseph McBride. The commentaries have been recorded
separately, with McBride dominating the entire length,
which is a good thing, since Anna Lee's commentary
greatly reveals here age. McBride has been a huge
fan of Ford's work since he started writing about
the filmmaker in the early 60s. He is also proud
of the fact that in 1970s he got an interview with
Ford, although the director was not very coherent.
McBride tells us that this was indeed Ford's all-time
favorite film, as the director asked that it be shown
at the last Director Guild event he attended. McBride
gives us the history of the film and the initial
setbacks that occurred due to its political theme
and the outbreak of WWII. Anna Lee talks very fondly
not only about Ford, but his style of directing where
she never felt "directed." McBride confirms the fact
that Ford was a master at directing, knowing how to
properly handle his actors -- especially his child
actors who he played like a harp. McBride walks us
through every scene, and you can tell how much he
adores this film, falling in love with its camera
angles and close-ups that he talks so admirably about.
There's a great story about the scene where Maureen
O'Hara slaps young McDowall on his ass. From stories
I have read, he was wearing underwear full of holes
that day. McBride has a slightly different version
of the story. In any case, McDowall was greatly
embarrassed and until the day he died, he often joked
about it with the actress. I could go on and on
about this terrific commentary that flows so fluidly
from the mouth of the historian McBride.
Backstory: How Green Was My Valley is a
slickly produced featurette about the creation of
one of history's greatest motion pictures. Based
on the popular book by Richard Llewellyn, the rights
were quickly bought up by Twentieth Century Fox's
Daryl F. Zanuck for a whopping figure. What is
interesting to learn is that Zanuck originally
wanted to film this as a huge 4-hour Technicolor
epic filmed in Wales. William Wyler was the first
choice to be director for the project. By 1940,
however, WWII had broken out in southern Wales
and Zanuck was forced to scrap his plans to film
overseas. Zanuck decided to move production to
Malibu California and shoot his film in B&W in
order to pass it off as a Wales countryside. There
is a remarkable story told here about a young boy
that was evacuated from Britain to America and in
two weeks was tested for the film. That young boy
was none other than Roddy McDowall. In a 1995
interview, McDowall recalls his early days at the
studio and the problems that overcame the picture's
production. When Wyler's contract at Fox ran out,
just about all hope was lost of the film ever being
made -- that is until John Ford came to the rescue.
This is a remarkable featurette that focuses mainly
on the genius of John Ford thanks to interviews
from the people that knew him best including Maureen
O'Hara, Anna Lee, Roddy McDowall and biographer
Ronald Davis. We are also treated to footage from
the 1941 Academy Awards as the Oscar is presented to
Colonel Zanuck. Fans will no doubt be touched by
this warm tribute to one of the greatest films ever
made.
(length: approx. 24 minutes)
A Still Gallery hosts approximately 55
production stills, original poster art, and rare
behind-the-scenes photography.
In addition to the film's original theatrical
trailer, there are trailers for Fox's Studio
Classics All About Eve and Gentleman's
Agreement.
Final Thoughts
I dare anyone to be unmoved by this moving portrait
of family strength and soundness. This is a film
that is a true American classic and certainly one
of the most beautiful B&W films ever made.
Don't hesitate for a moment to own this film.
Thank You, Robert Crawford, for inspiring me to
see this film and helping me with some of its
background information.
Release Date: January 14, 2003
All screen captures have been further compressed.
They are for illustrative purposes only and do not
represent actual picture quality[/size][/font]
