The Searchers
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The Searchers
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This film has been preserved in the National Film Registry in 1989.
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The Searchers is a 1956 American Technicolor VistaVision Western film directed by John Ford, based on the 1954 novel by Alan Le May, set during the Texas–Indian wars, and starring John Wayne as a middle-aged Civil War veteran who spends years looking for his abducted niece, accompanied by his adoptive nephew.
Why It Rocks
- Alan Le May's novel of an Indian raid led by Scar, the kidnapping of a girl, a foster brother (Martin Pauley/Pawley) orphaned in a previous raid who joins the girl's uncle (Amos/Ethan Edwards) on a five-year quest to find her which took them to the snow-covered north, to the Comancheros in New Mexico, served as a perfect vehicle for John Ford to explore the physical and social expanses of the West, and to examine themes basic to all his films: What is family? How does one belong to society? What distinguishes the committed from the obsessive? What is justice?
- John Ford's masterpiece is more than just the story of a man tracking down the Comanche Indians who murdered his extended family and kidnapped his niece. It’s a depiction of a racial hatred so intense that it consumes a man’s entire life. Since that man, Ethan Edwards, is portrayed by John Wayne, the movie is a deeply unsettling experience. Especially since Wayne was a major star with a primarily heroic persona—a figure audiences would reflexively root for. Plus, Ethan has good reason to hate the Comanches after what they did. Still, it's just as clear that he was already consumed by hatred even before they attacked his family. Right away, the film has set up a gripping complexity that will only increase as Ethan moves forward on his quest. Viewers learn, for instance, that his racism isn't rooted in ignorance but that he has studied the Comanches’ customs quite well. He knows that shooting the eyes out of a dead Comanche will doom the spirit to “wander forever between the winds.” Even more disturbingly, it becomes apparent that if Ethan finds his niece, he may kill her out of a belief that she has become one of the Comanches. As a consequence of all these factors, viewers root for him to find her even as we fear that he just might do so.
- The film features some complex themes (such as racism, individuality, and opposition between civilization) and complex characters (like Ethan Edwards) that would dominate films of the 1970s and onwards. Ethan Edwards is far cry from the usual noble western heroes with clear-cut American values -- including being ruthless, bigoted and crazy, and willing to kill his niece rather than see her grow up an Indian -- and yet is still a very compelling character for all of the reasons mentioned above.
- In adapting the novel, the screenwriter softened the hard and bare-boned content in some areas.
- In the novel, it’s made clear that the Edwardses were pressing their luck by ranging where they did, as most of their neighbors were killed in raids. Martin Pawley had to put up with Ethan’s bigotry and surliness as a means to an end. Pawley is a subsidiary character in the film, whereas in the novel, he was the POV character. Although Jeffrey Hunter lacked the depth or the technique to play the part how Le May wanted, he still manages to pull off a convincing enough performance to make it worth it.
- Amos Edwards --renamed Ethan Edwards-- had his role expanded and sanitized for John Wayne who was at the height of his career. Although Edwards was made into a tamer version of his novel character, Wayne's portrayal of Edwards is one of the most complex performances ever shown in a Western, being driven by a combination of rage and desire.
- Charlie McCorry was a serious character in the novel, but he’s played for laughs in the film.
- For the climax, a four-way chase in the novel, became narrower and more focused in the film. Rangers and the Army have been systematically destroying Comanche tribes. Martin and Ethan must find Scar and his village before their fellow whites butcher them. As they enter the village, John Ford stays with Ethan, forcing viewers to contemplate at close hand his anger and bigotry.
- There’s also some new content that was added for the film
- Hank Worden gets a part for new character as a mentally unstable cowboy (Mose Harper)
- There’s quiet displays of family dynamics that are precise and heartbreaking
- Unlike Ford's previous two westerns, Stagecoach and My Darling Clementine, this film has an expansive feel, Ford gives the characters time to breathe and goof off in certain scenes. There's also stunning backdrops and technicolor cinematography in just about every scene that's featured. The beautiful, bright images seem at odds with the dark emotions of the story, lending even further complexity. The film's so visually clear and precise it often doesn't require dialogue thanks to the masterful usage of simple devices; such as the opening and closing door shots (mentioned below) that conveyed a range of emotions and narrative ambiguity without saying a word. There may be great set pieces in the book the didn't make the film, but the content that did make the cut makes it all worth it. It ranks as one of the best works in the Western genre.
- The film’s ending is simple yet awash with meaning. The door closes on Ethan as he walks away, providing a visual bookend to the opening shot and leaving the audience to ponder Ethan’s sense of purpose, his place in a civilization that is moving on, his loneliness, and much more. He seems already to be “wandering between the winds,” a fate he hatefully wished upon the soul of a dead Comanche years earlier.
- The overall film is surprisingly very complex and subtle.
- The Comanches carry out unimaginably brutal acts, but their way of life is also lent dignity and respect. A cavalry unit is shown positively but then reveals itself to be just as bloodthirsty as the Comanches. When Ethan confronts the Comanche chief, Scar, Ford presents them as equals in the frame.
- The love between Ethan and his sister-in-law, Martha is so subtle that it’s never even addressed verbally. Through framing, editing, actors’ movements, and expressions, their longing (and perhaps history) is conveyed purely visually. There's a reason why when Ethan returns to the burning home, it's Martha’s name that he shouts, and not his brother’s.
- The Searchers served as a profound influence on an entire generation of filmmakers.
- Sergio Leone referenced it in Once Upon a Time in the West
- Martin Scorsese cited its emotional obsession as an influence and described the dialogue as being “like poetry”
- Steven Spielberg called it “a study in dramatic framing” and reproduced, in Close Encounters of the Third Kind, a moment where glowing orange light is seen outside a door
- George Lucas practically replicated an entire scene in Star Wars, when Luke races home to find his house torched and relatives killed.
Bad Qualities
- During the film's initial release, the film attracted a lot of haters due to its complex themes, although modern viewers appreciate it more now.
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