The Searchers

The film's strengths lie in the use of the spectacular scenery of Monument Valley. Its gives an epic grandeur to the story.

The acting performances are overall try good. John Wayne gives a memorable performance as a complex and ambiguous character. He most be the most angry hero in westerns. John Ford's stock actors are out in force too.

The indians are colourful and superb horsemen. Their families face as much danger as the 'white' families.

The editing is a bit clumsy during the film and there's a subplot about a wedding and episodes of humour which really take the tension out of the film. Comedy does not fit into a tale of abduction.

In many respects its a 'right wing' film but the story and the scenery hold the attention. And John Wayne as the anti-hero dominates what is John Ford's second best film - 'The Man who shot Liberty Valance' takes the crown.

If you are not a true fan of westerns but have to have one in your collection for completeness sake..........you could do worse than choosing this one.

Robert Warner from 2004 has it 'spot-on'.

Not very often anyone can stop me from rambling on about any film in my reviews. But I have nothing to add to a very fine review. Excellent summary, and exactly as I feel whenever I watch 'The Searchers'.

Did you know that the excellent Liverpool group took their name from the title of this movie. I saw them live a couple of times.....and dammit now you know how old I am :)))))

John Ford’s The Searchers has been widely acclaimed as arguably the best western of all times and one of the top movies in history according to reputable sources.

In The Searchers John Ford delivers a frontier western staged around the majestic beauty of Monument Valley, nourishing a symbiosis between riders, horses and landscape with poetic effect. In addition Ford adds an atypical psychological dimension to the film in which top gun John Wayne will embark in a 5 year quest to find and free his young niece from her Indian captors while obsessing over his long-term racist hatred of the Indians and fighting inner demons with regard to his intentions towards his once beloved niece.

Wayne’s success in unfolding this ambiguous inner struggle is dubious. This is a mammoth task for arguably one of the most one-dimensional icons Hollywood has ever produced. Some may be of the opinion that here he delivers one of his most compelling performances. Still.

The story is peppered with touches of light comedy which do not make any favours to the film particularly due to their operatic nature.

A parallel love story flows along equally uninterestingly but common under the standards of the western at the time.

Paradoxically Ford deals with the notion of racism incarnated in the figure of Ethan (Wayne). This subtlety seems to constitute the best part of the predicaments of Ethan and the enigmatic aura of the film. However one can rightly argue that 1950s frontier westerns are the impersonation of prevailing American racist attitudes. And 1956 The Searchers is above all a product of its own times and a projection of American policy. 1950s, USA. Social conservatism, Dwight D Eisenhower and the start of the Cold War, the Civil rights movement. Zealous patriotism, rampant machismo and patronising attitudes toward the Indians and other minorities were common ground. Ethan’s struggle to deal with his hate towards his niece since she has been tainted by the Indian way of life is a theme we could not understand in XXI. This is where the subtle undertones of the film fare badly in this day and age. Westerns have evolved substantially since the 50s and contemporaneous efforts have succeeded at adding multi-layers. Sadly I feel that The Searchers do not live up to its reputation and feels certainly flat in comparison under the light of time.

Once upon a time the Western was a major film genre where creative writers, directors, actors and others recreated the mythic west for a mass audience of moviegoers. Now, in modern times, the Western is almost completely out of fashion and we do not warm to the theme of western frontiership with all its vicissitudes. Space has provided that frontier for some time now. Lets not forget that these films could provide it all: action, drama, comedy, pathos, and tragedy. The Searchers may seem a product of a bygone age but give it a chance and its slow moving story will draw you in. This is one of director John Ford’s finest productions and this excellent blue ray disc gives you the opportunity to view it at close to cinema quality. The images are ravishing, the writing and direction inspired, and the acting from John Wayne shows a darker side of his persona. Not only that, we get lots of Ford’s favourite characters with his trademark graveyard scene and musical interlude. And they are free of the close to mawkish sentimentality that mars some of his other westerns. I grew up watching westerns and recommend this film to all, including those who are young enough to have missed the golden age of the western genre.