Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/75191
John Ford returned to Monument Valley to film O.K. Corral, My Darling Clementine, and the first two films in his renowned cavalry trilogy—Fort Apache (1948) and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949). Ford was back in the valley for The Searchers, even though the setting was supposed to be Texas, and then for Sergeant Rutledge and Cheyenne Autumn. With no apologies to Wayne, Ford once said, "I think you can say that the real star of my Westerns has always been the land." Ford had no bigger star than Monument Valley. The Duke seemed to understand, even suggesting it was sacrilege for other filmmakers to use Ford's valley, though quite a few have done just that. While Ford directed many kinds of movies, he will always be best remembered for his Westerns filmed among the spires and monoliths of Monument Valley. There have been no less than 53 major movie productions filmed in the area as well as commercials and documentaries. The last major film production was in 2001 called, The Windtalkers, starring Nicolas Cage, that depicts the story of the World War II Navajo Code Talkers. The film was more about combat in the Pacific; however, the opening of the story begins quietly—with widescreen aerial shots of clouds that gradually clear to reveal the beautiful mesas of Monument Valley. A bus collects Navajo volunteers, Ben Yahzee (Adam Beach) and Charlie Whitehorse (Roger Willie) to be trained as code talkers. It's 1943, and the U.S. has developed an indecipherable secret military code based on the Navajo language that was never broken during the war. There is a museum dedicated to the Code Talkers located in Tuba City, just a few short steps away from the Explore Navajo Interactive Museum. The Navajo Code Talkers Museum has actual gear and tools used in battle, victory stories, transcripts of a Code Talker and exceptionally detailed photos. It has been said that if was not for the Navajo Code Talker's, the Marines would have never taken Iwo Jima. Other memorable scenes include, Back to the Future III and Mission Impossible II. Monument Valley is also the place where Tom Hanks ended his long run in the movie, Forrest Gump. If you feel as though you've walked the floor of Monument Valley and stared up at the gigantic formations before, you probably have, at least metaphorically. If you've seen any of the classic Westerns that were filmed among the orange-red sandstone buttes of the most remarkable topography on earth then you have been there. Courtesy of Gouldings Lodge © Academy of Motion Pictures A & S Courtesy of Gouldings Lodge Henry Fonda & Crew © Academy of Motion Pictures A & S 13