The Searchers (1956)

A Classic Western

"The Searchers" is a film that has rightfully been condiered a classic with an ability to transition between playful humor and the darkness of the human heart. John Wayne's character is an ex-confederate veteran with a shadowy past few years. His main accompanying partner is a mixed white-native american portrayed by (Jeffrey Hunter) who was adopted by members of Wayne's family after Comanches murdered the former's family. Their goal is to find a girl abdupted by the Comanches after they killed several of Wayne's realtives. The film covers several years and a number of events ranging from almost comical incidents to violent encounters with both natives and whites.
While the main Comanche chief is a nasty and ruthless villian, other natives the characters meet along the way are peaceful. In fact, the U.S. cavalry doesn't get the very ideallook Ford had given them in his trilogy. In one winter scene, Wayne and Hunter find a village of possibly peaceful natives the cavalry massacred. The main lesson is that there were generally bad and generally fairly good people on both sides in the West.
Wayne's characterization seemes ones of his best that I've seen and yes he is darker than usual. He has racist tendencies (especially towards the Comanches that attacked some of his relatives) and is truthfully rather ruthless at times. Ultimately, the film ends pretty well and Wayne's character shows some signs of changing though not after taking the aduience on a fascinating journey in the American West. July 19, 2008

Pleasantly Surprised

I've avoided this movie for years, but I was plasantly surprised when I finally viewed it. Most people talk about the complexity of John Wayne's character, but I disagree. I feel he wasn't complex at all.... just a cut and dried racist. Near the end of the movie he did become a little complex, but I think it was just a matter of conscience. What I really liked about the movie was the storyline and the scenery. ONe of my favorite movies is The Color Purple and there were scenes in The Searchers that I'm almost certain Speilberg had to have copied for the Color Purple. Especially the shot of the family on the porch at the beginning of the movie. It was so reminiscent of one of the final scenes in the Color Purple. July 13, 2008

Old time favorite

Glad that I was able to purchase this movie, adding it to my cowboy collection. June 30, 2008

Essential Cinema

Monument Valley rarely looked better in this VistaVision restoration of John Ford's disturbing Western epic. Though not without its minor flaws, "The Searchers" (1956) is propelled by John Wayne's ambiguous, complex performance as the embittered Ethan Edwards -- his best work for the legendary director. The Ford stock company acquits itself admirably. Winton C. Hoch's cinematography deserved an Oscar for this powerful and remarkably influential film. June 27, 2008

Moving listings - general

As a HOH (Hard of Hearing) Individual, I need to know if this
movie is captioned (marked "CC" or "Q." June 26, 2008

More reviews at Amazon.com ...