Ford : The Man And The Machine I ran across this title the other day and it looked interesting so I went out and found it. I love historical dramas and documentaries. It’s nice to learn something (hopefully) and be entertained at the same time.
As I write this, this movie as about 25 years old already (although I remember the 80’s quite well). This movie was pleasantly and surprisingly good!
First of all I’m no Ford history expert. But I have watched at least one non-dramatic documentary et al, so I know little tidbits here and there. One doesn’t have to travel far to see a Ford car, often seeing classic Model-A and Model-Ts around town too. I couldn’t say how much is drama and how much was actual fact.
I do understand Henry Ford was quite shrewd, and that he had anti- semitic views (at least at some time), etc. Here is probably where the movie was a probably a bit overly dramatic at times. It’s kind of to be expected for the typical movie drama where there the creators mix in a good batch of exploitation here and there.
Henry might have been a tough S.O.B., but then it probably took that to push through all that he did and accomplish so much. And I’m sure the people working in his factory were glad to have a job at the time (at least once there were better labor conditions anyhow), plus all the people happy to buy affordable Ford cars and help expand the commerce of the country using Ford trucks and what not.
Plus a man is entitled to their own opinion, who am I, or anyone else to say he was wrong. And apparently (at least by the movie story) he was actually a bit of a pioneer in racial equality. The point is beside a lot of the bad stuff, he did a hell of a lot of good too.
Also a pleasant but unexpected surprise was a few spicy scenes with the beautiful Heather Thomas that you won’t want to miss if your a male.
The continuity of the movie, the set designs, locations, and in particular the acting performances were all great.
If you want to see a nice historical drama and learn about Henry Ford and the early days of Ford motors, give this movie a go!
