AllMovie

In this documentary centered on legendary filmmaker John Ford's cinematic contributions to Allied morale during World War II, actor/musician Kris Kristofferson narrates as the How Green Was My Valley director turns his back on Tinseltown in order to fulfill his patriotic duty. By the time the United States became involved in World War II, John Ford was already a film legend, but when Uncle Sam came calling the veteran filmmaker eagerly packed his bags and set his sites on the frontlines. Though Ford did sustain battlefield injuries during the production of the Oscar-winning documentary The Battle of Midway, the remarkable film endeared him to patriotic American audiences across the country and his next wartime effort, 1943's December 7th, proceeded to earn the filmmaker yet another Oscar. In addition to featuring footage from these and other, lesser-known wartime films from Ford, this documentary also offers an intimate look at the complex filmmaker and explores his remarkable legacy through both archive footage and interviews with such notable directors as Oliver Stone and Peter Bogdanovich.