Genre as a critical framework to question and assess film - "Stagecoach" from 1939

If you prefer assessing John Ford's "Stagecoach" using a genre approach you could focus on some of these points and view several scenes to decide whether Ford consciously focuses on, say, various forms of social prejudice, or whether these issues simply emerge out of the time in which the film was made. Perhaps there is something to be said for each approach. Clint Eastwood said that in "Josey Wales" (1975-6)he was not particularly conscious of his theme of social unity which could be seen as the need for Americans to unite after the Vietnam War. (See earlier posts). Yet in retrospect that is what he seems to have reflected in his film - Josey Wales is supported by the different types who, through his help, have banded together into a social group, suggesting that there is strength through social unity. Ford's film also mirrors an American society that was divided by the Depression and, perhaps, still feeling the after-effects of the Civil War from 65 years earlier.

Click on this image to enlarge.

Henry Sheehan's interview with and essay on Clint Eastwood

An interview and an essay can be found her on Clint Eastwood as a director

http://www.henrysheehan.com/interviews.html

Charlie Rose's TV interview with Clint Eastwood

"An hour with Academy Award-winning filmmaker Clint Eastwood"

Clint Eastwood
in Movies, TV & Theater
on Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Another interview worth watching to get the bigger picture on Eastwood as a director. Rose mostly focuses on "Flags of Our Fathers" and "Letters From Iwo Jima" (2006)

http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/82

Philip French's Interview with Clint Eastwood published February 27th 2007

"An Audience with Clint Eastwood" by Philip French, published on 27th of February 2007.

The discussion touches on "The Outlaw Josey Wales" and a number of Eastood's other film. French is an incisive critic and he gets Clint to reveal which directors and films he most admires and which also influenced him.

"Our conversation ranged widely, taking in the director's Iwo Jima companion pieces, his collaborations with Leone and Siegel and his masterpiece, The Outlaw Josey Wales. It even included a duet."

http://download.guardian.co.uk/sys-audio/Film/Film/2007/02/23/ClintEastwood.mp3

"The Outlaw Josey Wales" form Shooting Down Pictures

This is an excellent website for detailed information on this key film.

http://alsolikelife.com/shooting/2008/05/914-55-the-outlaw-josey-wales-1976-clint-eastwood/

Here is brief commentary on Eastwood, his star image and his work as a director. There is also a list of interviews, articles and books for detailed research on the man and his work.

http://www.filmreference.com/Actors-and-Actresses-Da-Ea/Eastwood-Clint.html

A detailed review of the DVD of "The Outlaw Josey Wales"

Click on the image to enlarge

This essay with helpful images should prove useful for a deeper understanding of this ground-breaking western from 1976; in particular how Eastwood created new conventions that were afterwards imitated by later westerns. The themes of revenge, masculinity and violence are also worth focussing on in this post. Clint Eastwood as an auteur is also present in the technical aspects of the film as well as in its vignettes, female and native indian characters. As with John Ford humor is also an important feature in Eastwood's films.

http://alsolikelife.com/shooting/2008/05/914-55-the-outlaw-josey-wales-1976-clint-eastwood/