Three Bad Men
John Ford / US, 1926 / 92 min.
John Ford’s silent western about three bandits during the Gold Rush was, ostensibly, the inspiration for Hidden Fortress (1958), Akira Kurosawa’s second major hit after Seven Samurai. Featuring live musical accompaniment.
The literal translation of the Japanese title of Hidden Fortress is 'three bad men in a hidden fort'. Many Japanese and American critics originally derided Hidden Fortress as 'frivolous entertainment', that didn’t meet the arthouse criteria of Kurosawa’s other works. Ultimately, the film was saved from obscurity when it was recognised as an important source of inspiration for Star Wars.
Supposedly Kurosawa was inspired by Three Bad Men, John Ford’s final, silent western. When prospectors strike gold on Sioux land in 1876, a gold rush occurs in Dakota. Carlton and his daughter Lee are attacked by horse rustlers, after which Carlton is murdered. The bandits 'Bull' Stanley, Mike Costigan and 'Spade' Allen save Lee from the criminals, but when Bull’s sister is also murdered, the latter gathers up a posse to chase down the perpetrator.
Three Bad Men will be live accompanied by Daan van den Hurk (piano) and Tijn van der Sanden (guitar)
This is part of
Special screenings
Details
Director
John Ford
Production year
1926
Country
US
Original title
Three Bad Men
Length
92 min.
Language
live music, English
Subtitles
ENG
Format
DCP
Part of
Eye on Sound
With Eye on Sound, Eye focuses on the special relationship between image and sound. Expect live music to silent films, live bands from today to classics of yesteryear, brand new scores to films from the versatile Eye collection and special attention to the often neglected art of sound design.
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