Abstract

Author in the true sense of the word, John Ford has created a very particular universe, which can be found in his films, through which he seeks to decode and question his usual themes such as civilization and progress, community, legends and myths in the historical construction, freedom and free will, law and order, education, and other ones that have to do with the civilizational process and its human and social dimension. Using western as his film genre of choice in the recurring approach to these themes, Ford gives his filmography, even when he leaves his comfort zone in the western, a distinctive and identifiable stamp, in which he uses masterfully the elements of filmic construction, to build a body of work cohesive and fully deserving of the classification of author cinema.
“The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance”, is one of his last and most significant films, where all these themes meet, intersecting in a critical analysis of US History, where Ford is not deterred from a moral judgment.
With the analysis of this film, it is intended to cast a glance, not only at the film in question, but also, and through the film, at the recurring themes of Ford’s universe, which are treated here with the maturity of a great filmmaker at the end of his career, who has long decanted to perfection his ability to tell meaningful stories through the seventh art.