Ford began directing in 1917 after an apprenticeship with is brother Francis. Over the next 50 years, he brought a painterly eye, an appreciation of his actors' strenghts, and a deep love of Americana to over 200 feature films. Although Ford sets fimls, in other parts of the country or world, including several in Ireland, he returned to the Western repeatadly throughout his career. These fimls merge a beautiful pictorial style, using the buttes and mesas almost as architectural features, with stories that frequently deal with the nature of military command. Ford won 6 Academy Awards.