The Searchers

Media:	DVD
Directed by:	John Ford
Starring:	John Wayne, Jeffrey Hunter
Release date:	18 May, 2004
List price:	~~$14.97~~
Our price:	$11.23 that is 25% off!

The Searchers

Average rating: Stars

Ford at it again

John Ford's most offensive movie since DRUMS ALONG THE MOHAWK in 1939. Obviously in 1956 John Ford the legend could do what he wanted. It's too bad he didn't want to make a movie with lots of complex characters and a thought-provoking story. Instead we get a plot populated by sentimental simpletons doing hokey comedy. Jorgensen, Charley, and Mose are exactly the types of characters that detract from John Ford's considerable virtues as a director. But all the other players overact in this one.

And what is it with these Indian captives who seem to go insane in Commanche villages? The same thing happens again in Ford's TWO RODE TOGETHER. Why couldn't Ford show even a little sympathy for Native Americans? His portrayal of Cochise in FORT APACHE shows he was capable of seeing the Indian side of things. His only other good Indians appear in CHEYENNE AUTUMN, when he had lost is powers altogether. What a shame!

The Searchers - John Wayne, Jeffrey Hunter

Unquestionably John Wayne's Best Film

On this site there are over 100 fan-reviews of this movie, and many tell the plot in great detail, therefore, my reivew will be short and sweet. With the great John Ford directing, John Wayne starring, and a superb story line - all this adds up to a 5-star movie if there ever was one! You cannot go wrong buying this DVD - it delivers!

Now considered possibly the greatest weatern movie of all-time, "The Searchers" was panned by the critics of its day for being just another "ho-hum" John Wayne western. It took years, but modern critics and viewers now recognize it as an epic of western filmmaking that perhaps will never be topped. If I had to choose one movie that represented the best of the west, it is undoubtedly "The Searchers".

John Wayne gives his most intense acting performance as the dark and vengeful Ethan Edwards, who vows to kill the Commanche raiders that murdered his beloved sister-in-law, brother, and took captive two of their daughters. Wayne easily carries the film on his broad brooding shoulders, pursuing the Indians for over 5 years through summer and winter, ever relentless to see their chief, "Scar", dead, and his captive nieces rescued.

Director John Ford is at the height of his creative powers in directing this western masterpiece. He weaves so many different themes and levels of interpretation into the film, that one discovers something new with each viewing. It would take a small treatise to bring out all the subtle details.

Succinctly and to the point, "The Searchers" is a film that you will watch again and again, and love it each time a bit more. It is that absolute best in western filmmaking!

Jim Konedog Koenig

John Wayne, Jeffrey Hunter - The Searchers

The work of a master

John Ford is an inventive director. This is, without a doubt, true from every shot in 'the Searchers'. The details of the film are extraordinary, and you can see why Orson Welles was so enthralled by the man and his movies.
John Wayne is very aptly cast in this - probably his best film.
What grabs me the most is the epic style of the photography - the play of light and color - which must have been so exciting to see when the film came out.
My perspective as a viewer in 2005 is what brings this one down to 4 stars for me (a personal decision). Although I see this film as a classic, even a masterpiece, I just cannot bare some of the racism that comes out at times.. I try to filter out this aspect - I mean all film is a product of its time and place - but my own personal perspective is very hard to shake. This does not take away from the very obvious brilliance that I do see in this film, however, and the genius of John Ford does shine through.