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Posted : 10 years, 4 months ago on 1 January 2014 11:09
I already saw this movie but since it was such a long time ago, I was really eager to check it out again. To be honest, the first time around, I have to admit that it didn't care much for the damned thing and, at the time, I thought it was just a rather tedious Western starring John Wayne, possibly one of the most boring actors that ever lived. Still, since this movie is considered as one of the best ever made, I was always eager to give it another shot and I'm glad I finally did. Indeed, this time around, I was finally able to see what was so good about this flick. First of all, it gives an interesting look on the settlers, these pioneers, who were finally starting to have a fairly ordinarily life but, at the same time, there was always the possibility of some swift burst of violence which could wipe them out within minutes. Then, you had this fascinating and complex main character, Ethan Edwards, who, maybe subconsciously, might never ever be able to settle with a farm and work on his land, and instead would rather spend 5 years roaming all the West to find his lost niece which seemed like an impossible mission. There was also the fact that the guy was more or less a psychopath who had such a hatred of the Indians that he might kill his beloved niece if she had the misfortune to choose to become an Indian. Still, to be honest, I have to admit that not everything really worked for me. For example, you never actual have the feeling that they have been so long on the road or that they have covered so much territory. Furthermore, another problem I had was that, towards the end, Debbie seemed to change her mind way too easily which was very convenient to neatly wrap everything up for their happy-ending. Anyway, even if I'm still not a huge fan, it was still definitely a really solid Western and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
The Searchers Reviews
THE SEARCHERS
Posted : 12 years, 5 months ago on 28 November 2011 04:28
Dir. John Ford, Perf. John Wayne, Natalie Wood, Jeffrey Hunter, and Vera Miles.
Review by Sam Rahn
In the history of popular Westerns, Sergio Leone’s fistful of Spaghettis (featuring Clint Eastwood) are arguably the most renowned and frequently mentioned as genre touchstones. For critics and scholars, however, perhaps no Western is more celebrated than The Searchers, the 1956 collaboration between director John Ford and his favorite leading man, John Wayne.
Occurring towards the latter half of each man's career, The Searchers is said to embody both Ford’s full maturity as a director and Wayne’s as an actor. With its complex characters and epic scope, The Searchers has a uniqueness and presence that far exceeds that majority of the studio Westerns produced so prolifically through the 1950s and 1960s. A famous many directors, too, cite The Searchers as a source of major inspiration, and as it is plotted, the film is indeed an icon of the Western’s cinematic values. However, the awkward realization of its script and inconsistent direction render it a critically flawed film that frustrates as much as it fascinates.
The film’s most glaring issue is also its most untouchable: John Wayne himself. Integral to the Western genre and as revered a contributor as John Ford, Wayne’s performance in The Searchers is frankly amateurish. Though perfect as a gritty, hardnosed loner, tenacious cowboy, and even a bitter but proud old man (the performance in True Grit [1969] that won him his Oscar), Wayne struggles to realize the complexity of Ethan Edwards. In areas where Ethan is akin to classic Western men, Wayne has no difficulty and is as convincing a frontier cowboy as ever swaggered before the camera. However, Ethan has other qualities—reverence for his family and consequential vulnerability, a caring, albeit callous, spirit, and even an occasionally light sense of humor—to which Wayne can merely pay lip service.
We see hints of his suffering, but these rarely correspond to the primary dilemma regarding his niece, Debbie Edwards, who has been captured (i.e. corrupted) by the Comanche. Rather, it is relatively easy suffering that comes from mourning the lost and “pure” spirit of his other niece, whom the Comanche killed before she could be assimilated into the tribe. Another display of anxiety occurs in the immediate aftermath of a standoff with the Comanche when the captain-cum-sheriff instructs Ethan to cease firing. Wayne’s temper flares, but not because of latent rage he feels towards the Comanche for the massacre of his family, but rather because of the sheriff's affront to Wayne’s own sense of authority and independence. This pride-related anger is natural to classic Wayne and expected of him, but not of the Ethan first introduced.
This inconsistency of character is complicated by the scant precedence set for Ethan’s familial affection, with little being done throughout the rest of the film to support this end. Ford makes a habit of aggressively outlining characters when they are introduced—thereby plotting out their conflicts and desires—and then failing to color them in, so to speak, or support their actions with meaningful interactions and dialogue. Instead, more time is spent on lighter subplots of dismissible stock—an accidental wife, simpleton as sporadic comic relief, nosey but well-intentioned foreigners as neighbors—while skimping on the more compelling and serious narrative.
On the technical side, the most consistent issue is the inexpert handling of time passing, both in the scene-to-scene segues and through the film at large. Aside from Debbie, who suddenly grows from a child to a fully developed Natalie Wood, other characters show no physical or personal effects of aging. Instead, demarcations of time are conspicuously thrust into the dialogue, and rather than consistently seeing evidence of time in characters or seasons, the audience is merely told of its passage and must therefore accept it.
The handling of emotional subtexts in the film is similarly brusque. Ethan struggles between his supposed love of family and his obvious hate for the Comanche, but we never learn the source of either emotion and see their interaction but rarely. Even in his dealing with a grown and Comanche-spirited Debbie, Ethan is either entirely hostile or entirely docile. During the climactic chase of her down the slope, only the peripherals suggest tension: the score, his young companion giving chase and crying out (heavily leading the audience), and the physical context of her flight. Once Wayne catches her, the gun he drew on her in camp is ignored, he embraces her without deliberation, and symbolically carries her to the threshold of home. Other relationships, such as the romance between Laurie Jourgensen (Miles) and her sometimes beau Martin Pawley (Hunter) are less complex, and thus more tangible in this instance, but barely more credible and largely superfluous.
If The Searchers is wholly successful in any respect, it is visually. The breathtaking landscapes and bold cinematography fully immerse the viewer in each event. Only the representation of the Comanche war chief Scar (Henry Brandon) seems hackneyed, but such caricatures were inevitable in this film’s time and have only recently been overcome. Unfortunately, after showing its setting so vividly, The Searchers is content merely to tell us the story, and in doing so it fails that paramount tenet of fiction: show, don’t tell.
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the searchers
Posted : 12 years, 5 months ago on 22 November 2011 11:27
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The Searchers review
Posted : 13 years ago on 27 April 2011 06:28
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Classic John Wayne!
Posted : 15 years, 7 months ago on 1 October 2008 10:03
John Ford and John Wayne forged one of the greatest director-actor partnerships in cinematic history. Their collaborations are now frequently regarded as classic additions to the Western genre; from Stagecoach to The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance to over 10 other titles...memorable celluloid can always be found within. The Searchers is classic filmmaking of the highest order. It's a multi-faceted and gratifying Western, marking one of the greatest products of the Ford/Wayne partnership. The two "Johns" reinvented the genre and invented a majority of the clichés. Ford was the first director to take Westerns outside studio back-lots to film on location. As a result, Ford's Westerns are classic in every sense of the word. Atmospheric, fun, humorous and memorable - this is the kind of stuff an eager audience would lap up as kids during Saturday afternoon matinees throughout the 1950s.
Out of all the films John Wayne made throughout his career, he stated that The Searchers is his personal favourite. It isn't hard to see why. The film is mainly blessed with wonderful photography. The locations are remarkable, and cinematographer Winton C. Hoch beautifully captures said locations. The opening and closing shots are both memorable and influential. It's the cinematography that ensures the film is anything but an ordinary Western.
In The Searchers, John Wayne plays John Wayne at his very best. He's embittered Civil War veteran Ethan Edwards. He returns rather belatedly from the Civil War to the Texas farmstead of his brother Aaron (Coy) and sister-in-law Martha (Jordan) whom he secretly loves. Ethan is an openly racist man who despises the Comanches (that is, Indians). He's idolised by Aaron's children who admire his status as a war veteran. But Ethan's return coincides with a visit from the Comanche Indians. The men are drawn away when cattle are stolen, only to find the cattle brutally slaughtered. In a primal scene (famously restaged in 1977's Star Wars), Ethan returns to his brother's farmstead to find it burning. The two girls are missing, all others have been massacred. Ethan puts in motion a search for his nieces with his "nephew" Martin Pawley (Hunter) by his side. Ethan refuses to surrender to hunger, thirst, or the elements. And in his five-year search, he encounters something unanticipated: his own humanity. As the years elapse and the search intensifies, Ethan begins to question his motivations: was he going to rescue his nieces or kill them?
John Wayne will always remain the quintessential Western image. His rugged face, deep voice and infamous posture have grown iconic over the decades. Never mind that he became hopelessly type-cast...these are the sorts of roles he was born to play. It's also a given that Wayne's acting skills aren't exactly amazing. However when he's a gruff Western hero he suits the part perfectly.
Jeffrey Hunter appears alongside Wayne. His performance is filled with intensity and passion. Although he occasionally comes across as slightly annoying, his performance is quite incredible here.
Vera Miles is another worthy addition to the cast. She plays a woman with feelings for the character of Martin Pawley. Her character suffers at home for five long years waiting for an indication from Martin that he does love her and that she should wait for him.
Also joining the cast is Natalie Wood. Her career may have been short, and her role in this film is rather insignificant, but she places forth a truly memorable performance.
The Searchers is a fine example of an essential Western. It remains a fascinatingly multi-layered film filled with memorable images and beautiful cinematography. The script is also extremely good: it's witty, filled with memorable quotes and contains some wonderful scenarios. John Wayne is particularly good when he delivers quotable dialogue such as "That'll be the day!" among others. He even shoots a dead Indian. "What good did that do you?" asks a friend, to which Wayne replies with "By what you preach, none".
Everyone familiar with the fun adventurous Saturday afternoon matinees will be aware of the typical stereotype of cowboys as the goodies and Indians as the baddies. While The Searchers predominantly shows Indians in a bad light, the film is quite special for showing both sides of the story: that white men were the invaders, that the Native Americans were defending their land, and that both sides had their good and bad individuals. The movie never flinches in its display of the savagery committed by both sides. It was a novel movie idea at the time...especially when it was John Wayne playing one of the "bad" people.
Now it's time to put together a very mild list of negatives: first of all, the love story concerning Jeffrey Hunter's Martin and Vera Miles' Laurie seems unnecessary. It slows down the feverish pace and the film's tension with the sappy dialogue and the "I love you / I hate you" situations. Secondly, there are too many red herrings that extend the film to a pretty excessive length. What could have been a brisk Western is married by over-length.
For the die-hard fans of The Duke (i.e. John Wayne) The Searchers is an absolute must. For those who adore the Western genre cannot afford to miss this one. And for those who appreciate fine filmmaking in general must see this film as soon as possible. The Searchers is a great in-depth character study of a racist, bitter war veteran and his questionable agenda. Wayne may be seldom taken seriously as an actor, but despite relentless parodying he proves here (and in countless other films) that his often-ridiculed speech mannerisms and walk could generate an unforgettable performance.
All in all, The Searchers is certainly worth a watch despite a few flaws. The imagery throughout is frequently eloquent and marvellous to behold. Even if Westerns aren't normally your thing, this movie is worth a viewing. The film is a popular choice when it comes to discussions regarding the greatest cinematic Westerns. There's also the fact that this has been voted into the National Film Registry in the United States, meaning it is one of the important cultural assets in the history of American cinema.
8.0/10
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