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How Green Was My Valley
1941
In John Ford's HOW GREEN IS MY VALLEY, Huw Morgan, now a middle-aged man leaving the mining town of Cwm Rhondda, recalls the events that most impressed themselves upon his younger self (Roddy McDowall). His first memories are of the marriage of his brother, Ivor (Patric Knowles), and the burgeoning romance of his sister, .. Read more
| Starring | Walter Pidgeon, Maureen O'Hara, Roddy McDowall, Donald Crisp |
|---|---|
| Director | John Ford |
| Genres | Drama |
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How Green Was My Valley
In John Ford's HOW GREEN IS MY VALLEY, Huw Morgan, now a middle-aged man leaving the mining town of Cwm Rhondda, recalls the events that most impressed themselves upon his younger self (Roddy McDowall). His first memories are of the marriage of his brother, Ivor (Patric Knowles), and the burgeoning romance of his sister, Angharad (Maureen O'Hara), and the new preacher, Mr. Gruffydd (Walter Pidgeon). Still too young to work in the local coal mine like his father, Gwilym (Donald Crisp), and his five older brothers, he senses the seriousness of an imminent strike by the rift it creates between his father and the other boys when three of them move out of the family abode. During the tensions of the strike, Huw saves his mother (Sara Allgood) from drowning and in so doing loses the use of his legs. As Gruffydd aids in Huw's recovery, insisting on a positive attitude, he suggests that it is only the first of many trials the boy will have to face. Richard Llewellyn's nostalgic novel, with its Fordian themes of family and community, could hardly have found a better director. While the acting and writing are excellent, this is truly Ford's film, one in which his brilliantly chosen groupings and compositions are the most expressive elements. Possibly the most moving film of Ford's career, HOW GREEN IS MY VALLEY received five Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director.
| Starring | Walter Pidgeon, Maureen O'Hara, Roddy McDowall, Donald Crisp, Sara Allgood, Anna Lee, Barry Fitzgerald, Patrick Knowles, Arthur Shields, John Loder, Rhys Williams, Mae Marsh, Ann E. Todd |
|---|---|
| Director | John Ford |
| Studio | 20TH CENTURY FOX HOME ENTERTAINMENT |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 58 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Drama |
| Language | DVD: English |
| Released | DVD: 04 Mar 2002 Production year: 1941 |
| Format | DVD |
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Critics' reviews (4)
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This magnificent Oscar-winning family saga may seem a trifle dated, with its superb, but phoney, studio re-creations of the valleys of South Wales instead of actual locations. But there's no denying its power to move as well as entertain audiences, as brilliant director John Ford lovingly details life in the pits and valleys of Richard Llewellyn's famous autobiographical novel. Ford rightly won the best director Oscar and the movie won best picture, but often overlooked is the sincerity of the film's hand-picked cast, notably sturdy, top-billed Walter Pidgeon and fiery Ford regular Maureen O'Hara. The best supporting actor Oscar went to Donald Crisp's patriarch. This is precisely the kind of movie that gave Hollywood film-making dignity and supremacy in its heyday.
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Prettified and unconvincing but dramatically very effective tearjerker in the style which lasted from Cukor's David Copperfield to The Green Years. High production values here add a touch of extra class, turning the result into a Hollywood m
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Most helpful member's review
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11 out of 14 people found this review helpful
Hollywood Wales
'How Green Was My Valley' is a film that is occasionally dragged out and put on in cinemas in Wales these days for one-off showings for old-age pensioners. Seeing it described as 'a classic', hearing it won an Oscar back in 1941, and living in Wales myself, I thought I ought to watch it. Oh, dear! This film IS an 'AMERICAN classic'. It presents a Hollywood image of what they thought a working-class mining village should be like in terms of goodness and inspiration for the American people. So you don't see an authentic Welsh village of the 1890s at all. It's not even an authentic village from anywhere else in Europe. In fact, it's a place which doesn't exist and never existed. How could it. The narrator (a Yank) opens the film with a passable Welsh accent, but ten minutes later he's completely and utterly ditched it for unapologetic Yankee drawl! Meanwhile the Welsh mother, a strong leading figure in this drama, is clearly Irish. Her coal-mining sons have a range of strange accents, some attempting a little Welshness, others not trying hard enough. The style of acting is stultified and theatrical - better suited to the stage - and unsuited to the camera which immediately exposes truth or pretence in an actor. The doctor is played as a pantomime turn. Many other performances and actions are exaggerated. A postman arrives with a letter saying the village choir is invited to sing before Queen Victoria in Windsor Castle and the camera delights in showing the almost religious reverence and ecstasy that this ignites in the villagers. This was the moment when I decided I could watch no more. The English have persecuted the Welsh for countless centuries, seeking to plunder their beautiful land for themselves, but always have the Welsh resisted. Wholesale Welsh adulation of the English crown is an absurdity. I stopped this video just as the villagers launched into a strong and spontaneous rendition of 'God Save Our Gracious Queen' in four-part harmony! Actually, a soundtrack of the music of this film I could more than stomach. The frequent Welsh male-voice choral singing in the film is absolutely authentic, and the schmaltzy orchestral background music to many scenes is based on phrases from a wide range of beautiful Welsh folk-songs and Welsh hymns. But more than that, this film is a tedious lie. It rather demonstrates how Hollywood has given Yanks the impression that the rest of the world is made in their image!
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Most recent members' review
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3 out of 3 people found this review helpful
How dreary was my film
I remember my parents watching this film when I was a small child. Looking for a bit of nostalgia I thought I would watch it. How disappointed was I. I don't know if it was Irish actors playing the parts of Welsh people and not even trying to speak with a decent welsh accent. Or was it the portrayal of the Welsh mining community. I could almost hear my late father's voice - laughing out loud and saying never in my lifetime did I ever witness such scenes in my welsh village.
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News and features
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The Oscars 2008
- 25 Feb 2008
2007/8 will go down as a good vintage for American cinema, and last night the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences crowned a modern classic in the Coen brothers' No Country For Old Men: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actor. As predicted, Paul Thomas Anderson's monumental There Will Be Blood was largely shut out of the awards losing in six of its eight categories. The principal exception was of course Daniel Day-Lewis's prize for Best Actor,... Read more
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How Green Was My Valley
In John Ford's HOW GREEN IS MY VALLEY, Huw Morgan, now a middle-aged man leaving the mining town of Cwm Rhondda, recalls the events that most impressed themselves upon his younger self (Roddy McDowall). His first memories are of the marriage of his brother, Ivor (Patric Knowles), and the burgeoning ...
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