Among my dirtiest secrets as a cinema hound is that I've never warmed up to 1952's The Quiet Man. Where others saw spirited characters, I saw a bunch of insufferably stubborn jerks; where others saw a story steeped in Irish tradition, I saw one annoying contrivance after the next keeping the plot from moving forward. But I'm definitely in the minority on this one, for the picture has yielded legions of admirers in the sixty-plus years since its release, not the least of which was its own director: John Ford. Though the old guy could be a fearsome figure who rarely (if ever) let his emotional guard down, there was something about this particular project that touched something within him. It wasn't just another movie; it was a means of paying tribute to his roots and the very land with which he felt a deep connection. The new documentary John Ford: Dreaming the Quiet Man covers the process of putting together what many have called the man's most personal and outright best film ever. While the flick itself is a long way off from fully swaying me with its charms, one needn't be a fan to be interested in this story of how it came to be.

John Ford, as obstinate as they came, was a man of few words, especially when it involved his own legendary filmmaking career; Peter Bogdanovich made an entire documentary about the guy, and he still barely made a peep. But if there was one movie which Ford poured his heart and soul into, it was The Quiet Man. Based on a story by Maurice Walsh, this tale of a fighter from America who returned to his ancestral home to start life over struck a particular chord with Ford, the son of Irish immigrants, who felt compelled to show the whole world the lush beauty of his people's land. Still, even for a man who racked up critical acclaim with films like Stagecoach and The Grapes of Wrath, getting The Quiet Man a green light was no easy task. The project was turned down by nearly every major Hollywood studio, until Ford got himself a savior in the form of John Wayne. As the lead in Ford's undertaking, the Duke used his sizable clout to kick-start production, and seoon enough, the cast and crew were on their way to making something that would capture the hearts and imaginations of viewers even six decades after it came out.

John Ford: Dreaming the Quiet Man isn't a direct, A-to-B retelling of the movie's creation. It meanders throughout its timeline, dropping anecdotes about what happened before, during, and after production in random succession. But strangely enough, this kind of pacing works in favor of the film, giving it the feel of a story being shared by a family member who's so jazzed to tell it, they keep losing track of where they are. It's only appropriate, given the emphasis on close-knit relationships that Ford intended with his picture and the welcome atmosphere generated by the citizens of the real Irish locations in which he did his filming. This documentary not only excels in showing the visual beauty  these places hold even today but their intimacy as well, recounting just what it was about the land that cast such a spell over Ford in the first place. Lord knows the man himself wasn't about to go on at length about his feelings, but through interviews with locals and with Hollywood figures (including Bogdanovich and actress Maureen O'Hara), the viewer is left with a strong idea of what was going through his head.

That said, don't expect much juicy showbiz gossip out of Dreaming the Quiet Man. It's too gentle of a film to kiss and tell, although that doesn't mean it's without a fair share of fun stories. Through secondhand accounts, we hear about Ford's passion for Ireland driving him to lend a helping hand to the IRA, a move that led to him getting booted out of the country for a spot. O'Hara herself speaks about being so angered during filming she snapped at Ford one day and got a surprising reaction out of the director. Plus, although I knew The Quiet Man had many admirers, I didn't expect the fandom to be so big as to inspire a bustling tourism trade that those living around the picture's most notable locations accepted with open arms. All in all, there isn't anything earth-shatteringly revelatory about the information here, which might make the film a little on the dull side for some. Unless you already have an appreciation for The Quiet Man or movie history in general, this probably won't be on your radar to begin with, although the picture does what it can to catch us up to speed when it comes to summarizing Ford's life and times.

My personal gripes with John Ford: Dreaming the Quiet Man are nitpicks at best. In spite of the new Olive Films Blu-ray showing off the documentary's lovely Irish locales in gorgeous high-def, the clips from its subject seem to be in pretty rough shape. But technical goofs aside, John Ford: Dreaming the Quiet Man ends up as a fine piece of work, a great making-of chronicle that gave me a more pleasurable time watching than the very movie it focuses on.

(Released by Olive Films; not rated by MPAA.)