Working together for the 12th time, John Wayne and director John Ford forged The Searchers into a landmark Western offering an indelible image of the frontier and the men and women who challenged it. Wayne plays an ex-Confederate soldier seeking his niece, captured by Comanches who massacred his family. He won't surrender to hunger, thirst, the elements or loneliness. And in his five-year search, he encounters something unexpected: his own humanity. Beautifully photographed by Winston C. Hoch, thrillingly scored by Max Steiner, and memorably acted by a superb ensemble including Jeffrey Hunter, Vera Miles, Natalie Wood and Ward Bond, The Searchers endures as a great film of enormous scope and breathtaking physical beauty (Danny Peary, Guide for the Film Fanatic). Named the greatest American Western by the American Film Institute in 2008, The Searchers was among the first 25 films deemed culturally or aesthetically significant by the U.S. Library of Congress in 1989, when it was inducted in its National Film Registry. Now meticulously restored from its original negative, this new presentation of The Searchers presents this masterpiece with unparalleled image quality, accompanied by an impressive array of special features.
R**N
Watching The Searchers During The Pandemic
I have been using the stay at home time resulting from the pandemic to watch several classic American westerns. The genre was highly popular through the 1950s, fell out of favor in the 1960s, and have experienced a renewal of interest of late. The best of these films, together with novels in the western genre, may help Americans think about and learn something of their country during these difficult times."The Searchers" is a 1956 film directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne as Ethan Edwards, a Confederate veteran, a loner, and a wanderer who returns to the west Texas home of his brother and family in 1868. The film was successful upon its release and in the following years it achieved near-iconic stature. It is routinely included on lists of best westerns and best films. I don't remember seeing the film before watching it during the pandemic.The film immediately makes clear the abrasive, harsh character of Ethan Edwards. The Confederate veteran is unrepentant, ornery, quick with his fists and with insults, and most apparently, a racist in his attitude towards Indians. Immediately upon his return home, a group of Comanche Indians burn his brother's home to the ground killing the family with the exception of the two daughters, Lucie and Debbie (played by Natalie Wood) who are abducted. Edwards and a young man, Martin Pawley, (Jeffrey Hunter) are away at the time as the Indians have attempted to divert attention from their planned homestead burning by stealing a neighbor's cattle. Pawley has been raised by Edwards' family and has Indian blood. He becomes subject to Ethan's prejudice and ridicule. When Ethan and Pawley return, they and others in the community organize a search party to punish the Indians and to recover the young girls, if possible.The rest of the film focuses on the search, which becomes a five-year quest throughout the southwest by Edwards and Pawley. Edwards is more than willing to go on the search alone but reluctantly accepts Pawley's company. Pawley feels responsible for his adopted sisters and, more importantly, fears that Edwards will harm the girls when he finds them. Strong feelings of rape and of white women keeping company with Indian men pervade the film.The cinematography of the film is extraordinary in showing the expanse and beauty of the American West and in encouraging a love for the land. The story of the search has an immediacy to it over the long years and is easy to follow. The film is highly problematic in the questions it raises about racism and in the relationship between the settlers and the Indians. Ethan Edwards is in many respects shown throughout much of the movie as a highly flawed, biased individual.I was first puzzled and intrigued and then moved by this film. With the stature "The Searchers" has come to enjoy, the film has provoked a great deal of commentary. I took the opportunity to read some of the accessible comments to supplement watching the film. Many viewers still critique the film for what they see as its overt racism towards the Comanche. Other acknowledge the racism but find that the film itself critiques it and that Ethan Edwards gradually changes during the five year search shown in the film.The high regard in which the film is held should not blind the viewer to its ambiguities. Especially at the outset, the film may be disturbing in the attitudes of Ethan Edwards and, to a degree, of most of the other settlers. I found the movie worked for me in part because it is ethically problematic and encourages reflection by its viewers. In addition to the relationship between the settlers and the Indians, the film explores the life of a loner and probably an outlaw in the settlement of the west, as exemplified by John Wayne's character, and juxtaposes it with the path towards settlement and community. The story of the development of a common life, as compared to the life of a wandering loner, is a strong theme of the film. The cinematography and the ever-present music add to the passion this film encourages for the country.Lists of the best films, or the best of anything, have little significance. "The Searchers" both moved and troubled me. For those at home during the pandemic, watching "The Searchers" is an excellent use of time.Robin Friedman
M**E
The searchers is worth a watch
I am NOT a huge John Wayne lover, but he is perfect for the part he plays in the sagebrush John Ford adventure. Interesting story and well acted and for 1956 taking on a very dicey subject. You can't not love John Fords vista of monument valley and the authentic inter family squabbles.. I have to say almost any John Ford movie is a step above what was been filmed at that time and this one is wonderful.. Great transfer and 4K color correction.
J**J
Best Western Ever Made
I want to say from the start that I am not a real fan of westerns and I am not a real fan of John Wayne. I found him to be a very nice looking, likeable guy but he always played "John Wayne". BUT, in this instance, and again in True Grit, playing John Wayne is the perfect thing to do. This is a movie I've never forgotten and when, rarely, it pops up on t.v. I always watch it. It just grabs you from the first gorgeous scene of the doorway. Reading the reviews was very informative as it kept me from ordering the 2 disc anniversary version and I'm usually a sucker for those. One of the reviews said that the 2 disc version was much too dark in several places. I ordered the l997 single disc version and it was beautiful. Not as digitally remastered as maybe some later versions are. If there is anyone out there that has not seen "The Searchers" because it's an old John Wayne western, then put a copy in your cart immediately. You wont be sorry. Come to think about it, maybe John Wayne was always a better actor than I thought. In small subtle ways he told me in this movie of his great love for the murdered woman which to me was the driving force behind his obsession to find the girl. I believe that he thought of her as the only remaining link with the woman he adored. I've looked at the first few scenes of this movie several times. The interaction between "Martha" and "Ethan" is beautiful to watch. Her slowly stepping back into the doorway while unable to take her eyes off his face is genius either on her part or the part of the director. With nothing but the looks on their faces and subtle body language they both convey the great love they have for each other right up until he rides away. The scene of her standing in a room alone holding his coat and rubbing her hands over it is genius, nothing less. No explanation is ever given of why they did not marry or how she came to be married to his brother. Great directing, possibly even greater acting. This is John Wayne's masterpiece. The only thing that I found annoying was the heavy handed humor in a few places particularly the fight scene at the wedding and Patrick Wayne's youthful blundering near the end of the movie. Maybe Papa John just wanted him in the movie. But, maybe this humor acted to keep the drama from becoming too intense. Maybe it's a true picture of how people on the frontier actually behaved. John Ford certainly knew more about directing than I do and that's for sure. The other thing I noticed and I'm afflicted with noticing things like this. HOW ON EARTH WERE THESE PEOPLE EARNING A LIVING OUT THERE. There is no grass for cattle or horses. Nothing but dirt and a little scrub grass. Never saw a garden. Where did the wood come from to use on that rather large house and the furniture. I guess we aren't supposed to wonder about these things. If I hadn't seen it so many times I guess I wouldn't notice things like that. ADDED COMMENTS. I went against the suggestion of the person who said the 2 disc version was not very good, too dark in many places. I decided I wanted to see the extra features so ordered it. I've just looked at over half of it and do not find any problems at all with too much darkness. It seems to me to be beautifully restored and better visually than the l997 one disc version I already have. It is my opinion that the reviewer who got the too dark disc should return it for another copy. The Additional Features on the 2nd disc are wonderful and should not be missed.
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