This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

For some reason I avoided watching this film for many years. When I finally decided to see it I understood why my instincts kept me from it. It chronicles the story of people who are factory slaves, whose entire existence is bound up and controlled by a mining company that cares as much for them as Pharaoh cared for the Hebrew slaves. Their whole lives are spent in dreary toil for this all-powerful autocratic machine for a few pence. Any higher ambition, any dreams of the human spirit are squelched by this miserable existence. They live like worker ants existing solely for benefit of the colony. This is The Ten Commandments without Moses. I also thought the title to be inappropriate. There was very little greenery in this black and white dirge.

From the opening scenes this film embraces you. By the end, there are scenes so heart-wrenching, they take your breath away. I have seen it many times - on television and on DVD - never on the movie screen though, where I can only imagine the overwhelming experience it must have been.The story of a Welsh coal mining family at the end of the 1890's going through a time of great change was adapted from Richard Llewellyn's novel. However the film became more than an adaption, it took on a life of its own. The novel was accused of casting too sentimental a light on the life of Welsh miners, but the movie definitely did - unashamedly.Anyway, there were passages in the book that could never have reached the screen in 1941 including the punishment handed out to a child molester and Huw's first sexual encounter. But whatever its departure from reality, the movie probably influenced the way people thought of the Welsh for decades to come; showing what a powerful work this film was and is.Director John Ford was always sensitive to the breakdown of family. His background was Irish-American and you can see Irish characteristics transposed to that Welsh village. The cast included some very Irish actors: Maureen O'Hara and Barry Fitzgerald. However O'Hara was simply stunning - it's hard to imagine anyone else, no matter how authentically Welsh in the role. There is a touch of movie magic about this film, and it's best not to be too pedantic about details in "How Green Was My Valley". But no great film is one person. So many talents made this movie. Alfred Newman's score is almost another star. Newman could wring emotion from any scene but he went to town on this movie with strings, choir and Welsh hymns.Truly inspired art direction and photography gave the film a look - how brilliant is that village snaking up the hillside, which eventually becomes the slag heap? Even the interference of Darryl Zanuck, especially with the editing, made a significant contribution.And the cast: Roddy McDowall, Walter Pidgeon, Sara Allgood, Donald Crisp and others - all of them gone now, yet all united forever in this haunting movie, in much the way that the cast comes back at the end.But the driving force was Ford. His mastery shows in crowd scenes, in intimate moments where each character is brought alive as an individual and especially in the way so much is told visually.Separating the film even more from the book is the recent discovery that Richard Llewellyn did not live the life described in the novel, he was an Englishman. He made the whole thing up from tales he was told and his imagination. But to my way of thinking, that he was able to write something so convincing and enduring, which also became an extraordinary motion picture, is nothing short of genius.

Old Huw Morgan is leaving his Welsh mining village lamenting the state of his village and his family. He recalls his life starting as a child living in the lush green valley. His father and all of his older brothers work the coal mine. Huw (Roddy McDowall) is the youngest. He waits for the men with his mother and sister Angharad (Maureen O'Hara). The work is hard but honorable. Angharad is taken with the new preacher Mr. Gruffydd. The idyllic life is threatened with a new owner, lower wages and a tough strike.Master director John Ford films this beautifully. I don't usually like narration and this one isn't one of the exceptions. The story is an old fashion personal epic. The cast is strong. It does feel dated and not necessarily a classic that is in the top rank of cinema. This won Best Picture over 'Citizen Kane' and is still beloved by its fans. However they're not at the same level for cinephiles today.

I borrowed this movie on DVD from the library this recent August, and when I watched it I thought "This is a hallmark cinematic masterpiece in Hollywood history". There were many things I loved about this movie. First off, the Canadian actor Walter Pidgeon in the role of Mr. Gruffydd was a wonderful actor, and so was Maureen O'Hara as Angharad Morgan and the rest of the Morgan family played by Donald Crisp, Sara Allgood and the newcomer Roddy McDowall. Secondly, this movie also had a gorgeous setting taking place in a mining town in 1890 Wales. Third, I loved the Welsh singing in this film, like the popular traditional hymn "MyFanwy" which is sung by the villagers to Mrs. Morgan (Sara Allgood). However, this classic film has a very depressing story line that makes some people cry, but not me though because I really liked watching this from the library. I highly recommend this John Ford masterpiece to any movie fans of all generations old and young, because it is a very significant film to learn about, based on the book by British author Richard Llewyn.