Customer Reviews

The Searchers [VHS]

5 star:		(257)
4 star:		(51)
3 star:		(20)
2 star:		(15)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

Even if you've never seen John Ford's THE SEARCHERS, you will have, undoubtedly, seen a film that owes it's 'style' to the film. DANCES WITH WOLVES, THE OUTLAW JOSIE WALES, UNFORGIVEN, JEREMIAH JOHNSON, and OPEN RANGE are just a few westerns that have 'borrowed' from it, but THE SEARCHERS' impact transcends the genre, itself; STAR WARS, THE ENGLISH PATIENT, THE LAST SAMURAI, even THE LORD OF THE RINGS have elements that can be traced back to Ford's 1956 'intimate' epic. When you add the fact that THE SEARCHERS also contains John Wayne's greatest performance to the film's merits, it becomes easy to see why it is on the short list of the greatest motion pictures ever made.

The plot is deceptively simple; after a Comanche raiding party massacres a family, taking the youngest daughter prisoner, her uncle, Ethan Edwards (Wayne), and adopted brother, Martin Pawley (Jeffrey Hunter), begin a long quest to try and rescue her. Over the course of years, a rich tapestry of characters and events unfold, as the nature of the pair's motives are revealed, and bigoted, bitter Edwards emerges as a twisted man bent on killing the 'tainted' white girl. Only Pawley's love of his 'sister' and determination to protect her stands in his way, making the film's climax, and Wayne's portrayal of Edwards, an unforgettable experience.

With all of Ford's unique 'touches' clearly in evidence (the doorways 'framing' the film's opening and conclusion, with a cave opening serving the same function at the film's climax; the extensive use of Monument Valley; and the nearly lurid palette of color highlighting key moments) and his reliance on his 'stock' company of players (Wayne, Ward Bond, John Qualen, Olive Carey, Harry Carey, Jr, Hank Worden, and Ken Curtis), the film marks the emergence of the 'mature' Ford, no longer deifying the innocence of the era, but dealing with it in human terms, where 'white men' were as capable of savagery as Indians, frequently with less justification.

Featuring 18-year old Natalie Wood in one of her first 'adult' roles, the sparkling Vera Miles as Pawley's love interest, Wayne's son Patrick in comic relief, and the harmonies of the Sons of the Pioneers accenting Max Steiner's rich score, THE SEARCHERS is a timeless movie experience that becomes richer with each viewing.

It is truly a masterpiece!

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

This is a review of the "Ultimate Collector's Edition," NOT a review of the film itself. If you're considering the purchase of a two-disc special edition, you probably already know that the film is great; you just want to know if this slick package is worth the pricetag.

In short, it's not. And let me be absolutely clear about one thing: I have known and loved this film for years. A few sequences look properly spectacular, but after watching this DVD on two separate (and high-quality) televisions, I'm amazed that all of the low-light scenes have been rendered almost completely dark. Like, too dark to tell what's even *happening*. For instance, the scene where Brad (Harry Carey, Jr.) runs off to his death, the scene where Marty's (Jeffrey Hunter's) "bride" is serving coffee along the river, and even the pre-dawn scenes leading up to the final storming of the Comanche camp, are utterly lost in the dark. By contrast, the bare-bones 1997 DVD release features noticeably richer colors in the daytime scenes and total clarity in the low-light scenes I've just mentioned. Don't waste your money on this special edition; you'll be much happier if you just shell out the $10.99 for the 1997 release.

As "The Searchers" approaches the half-century mark, this 1956 film may fail to conect with modern viewers. Indeed, the old fashioned acting styles are jarring and the film's racial themes seem like old business.

Nonetheless, when seen in the context of its time and to other films around it, it stands tall.

As much as any Ford film, "The Searchers" is a story about a family reunited, a theme to which Ford returned time and again. But in no other Ford film is that theme played out at such a tremendous emotional and spiritual cost.

The implication that Debbie is Ethan's daughter and not his niece comes from Ford and not Alan LeMay's original story. By giving us a date--1868--in the opening fade, then belaboring the exposition of Debbie's age, Ethan's long absence, the barely suppressed tenderness Ethan displays toward Martha and his guilty uneasiness with his brother, it is not hard to do the math. Debbie is Ethan's daughter.

As the theme of family plays out, there is repeated discussion about what constitutes blood kin, especially regarding Marty, who was once "saved" by Ethan, just as Ethan will "save" Debbie. Ethan discounts Marty's entire existence because Marty is one-eighth Cherokee.

Conversely, Ethan endures an epic search for Debbie because she is not only kin and perhaps his last remaining relative, but in fact his daughter. The thought both motivates and crazes Ethan.

Whether Ford decided to hide this dramatic construct because 1950's morality would have disapproved the overt depiction of an illegitimate child (especially in a horse opera!) or because the idea simply served to motivate Ford through the movie is unimportant.

What is as important to this film as the scenery in Monument Valley or the chaotic corniness of a pre-massacre breakfast at the Edwards place or a rough and tumble wedding sequence is that Ford could submerge information and still make it resonate through every frame of the film.

Perhaps the agonized Ethan Edwards speaks for Ford when he says, "What do you want me to do? Draw you a picture?" Ford is as important for what he doesn't show us as for what he does.

"The Searchers" (1956) Anamorphic Widescreen DVD version is one of the best classic westerns ever made! Ranked in the American Film Institute's (AFI) top 100 movies of the last 100 years (1998). Having the best Western Director, John Ford partnering up with his favorite cowboy star, John Wayne can only be the beginning of a grand movie. Adding Widescreen Technicolor, the colorful Panoramic Monument Valley - Utah (Ford's favorite western area to film), a fantastic musical score and top supporting cast leads us on one of the best filmed westerns ever!

Summary - Ethan Edwards (John Wayne) is returning home to his only Brother & his family. After he and a posse of Texas Rangers (Lead by Ward Bond) were decoyed away by distant marauding Indians. The actual Indian raid was on remaining defenseless families left behind. Ethan's returned to find his Brothers family massacured all but his youngest niece, Debbie (played by Lana (younger)& Natalie Wood (older). His vengence takes him on a 5 year journey to recover her. Wayne is brilliant and proves he is a great actor.

"The Searchers" is a powerful 2 hour emotional rollercoaster ride. This movie will leave you with more respect of John Wayne's ability to act, Director John Ford's genius to tell a very complex story. Leaving us forever with a Great Western Classic! Enjoy.

This HD-DVD version of The Searchers is stunning. Film quality. This transfer is so good that I am watching the movie over again beautiful frame by beautiful frame. Stunning. Stunning. Stunning. If you fancy yourself a movie buff, it's time to get your Toshiba HD-A1 and 1080p TV so you can watch this amazing movie in all its 1080p24 VistaVision glory. Stunning, I tell you!

This review is on the Ultimate Collector's Edition which came out this year.

I guess it would be no surprise to anyone if I stated that The Searchers remains John Wayne's greatest film. Virtually everything about the movie remains timeless and its quality proves to be near perfect in almost every way. This movie should dispelled for all times, the fiction that John Wayne cannot act but himself. This movie was Wayne's greatest acting job. This was clearly shown early in the film when Wayne's character realized that his brother's ranch may be doom, the stricken look on that face remains priceless as it conveyed the horror of his mistake and despair behind the stoic behavior. Anyway, with so many previous reviews, I won't go further repeating what been written already.

This DVD edition is definitely the ultimate edition as movie of this type could go. The movie image from this edition proves to be a superior improvement from the earlier edition that came out several years ago. The image proves to be clean, color vivid and it almost pristine. The soundtrack is clear, the audio is your basic mono but its also clear.

The second disc contained all the extra documentaries. Both documentaries, "The Searcher: A Appreciation" and "Turning of the Earth: John Ford, John Wayne and The Searchers" proves to be insightful, interesting and entertaining.

This edition also contains a copy of a 1956 Dell comic book on the movie. It been reduced in size but still readable. I supposed it useful to introduced the story without watching the movie. There is also a b/w booklet that contains many versions of the movie posters, and contemporary media hype on the movie. The other package contains collection of b/w back scene photos which is quite nice.

There's also a coupon for a free The Searchers' movie reproduced poster. Unfortunately, the offer expired back several months ago.

For people who don't want the extra material, there is the regular two disc edition which is bit cheaper.

Overall, the ultimate edition sound bit overpriced but depending on how die-hard John Wayne fan you may be, the cost may be subjective.

John Ford seemed to be able to get the most out of John Wayne and this film really shows just how good an actor Wayne could be. This is the epic western tale of survival in a hostile land. John Wayne plays Ethan Edwards, an outsider, who comes back to his brother's ranch several years after the Civil War. Ethan was on the 'lost cause' side of the conflict. As a Confederate war veteran, he tries to find his place once again in this reconstruction phase of his life...he has been lost and wandering for several years. Once back home with his brother, he starts to slowly unwind. This conflicted character soon find himself with Marty (Jeff Hunter), and the Texas Rangers..lead by Ward Bond..chasing stolen cattle only to find themselves fooled by the Commache..(who are on a raiding party). Upon returning to the ranch, Commaches have massacred the brother, wife and stolen Lucy and Debbie..the two daughters. This leads to the downs and ups of them searching all over the territory for the stolen daughters.

Watch this film for the cinematography as well as the fine acting by John Wayne. As the movie opens the film starts inside the cabin home and as the door opens we are sweeped into the Monument Valley vistas. All throughout the film, Ford used the landscape as another actor. When the movie closes, the camera pulls back into the same cabin view, just in reverse. With everyone going back to loved ones, the door closes leaving Ethan..much as he started...outside the door and homeless...clutching just himself.

This is a great movie especially for those who want to learn more about the art and technique of movie making. Well worth adding to any collection.

Beware!!! If you stick this DVD in your machine on the side marked "widescreen -- aspect ratio 1.85:1" you will see even LESS of it than by watching the 1.33:1 side!!!! This is NOT the true widescreen version of The Searchers. Instead, Warner Bros have -- disgustingly and insultingly -- simply taken the 1.33:1 print, cropped the bottom and top, and magnified what's left to make it fill the screen!!!! What this means is, you actually see MORE if you watch the 1.33:1 side of the disc!!!!!! On the 1.85:1 side, you lose bits not only from the left and right of the original print, but from the top and bottom as well!!!!!

The film itself, of course, is brilliant, one of my 10 faves, and stunning even when seen in its old 1.33:1 ratio. Just don't watch the fake widescreen version -- and write to WB immediately to demand they release a proper edition of this classic!!!!!!

In 1955, John Ford went to Monument Valley to film what has since become his western masterpiece, "The Searchers". This scenic American backdrop was the perfect setting for this atmospheric story. In this film, John Wayne turns in his greatest performance as Ethan Edwards, an ex rebel soldier returning home from the Civil War under mysterious circumstances. However, his homecoming is short lived, as Reverend Samuel Clayton and his band of Texas Rangers recruit him and his adopted nephew, Martin Pawley to repel a party of Comanche Indians (Or Native Americans for the politically correct) from the neighboring ranches. Unfortunately, the raiders kill Ethan's brother and beloved sister-in-law, in addition to capturing his nieces Lucy and little Debbie. After setting out after the marauders, Ethan quickly clashes with Reverend Clayton, who questions him on his harsh tactics in fighting Comanches. In a desire to employ aggressive measures, Edwards leaves the larger group with Martin Pawley and Lucy's betrothed, Brad Jorgensen, growling, that "he is giving the orders." While hot on the path of the raiding party, Ethan notices that several Comanche's have split off from the trail. Urging Marty and Brad to wait, the older man goes to investigate the broken tracks of four riders. In a brilliantly acted scene, Wayne's character Ethan comes down the canyon and digs his hunting knife into the sand. Shaken to his core, the Confederate veteran has just discovered the mutilated corpse of his beautiful niece Lucy. Edwards initially keeps this grisly discovery to himself. When Marty asks the older man about his missing rebel coat, a dazed Ethan tells him that he "has lost it." Later that evening, the three men locate the Indian camp and Brad mistakenly believes that he sees Lucy wearing her favorite blue dress. Ethan then tells the excited young man that it is in fact a Comanche buck wearing Lucy's dress. When Brad insists he has seen Lucy, Edwards informs him that he buried her body back at the canyon, wrapped inside of his missing coat. In an act of suicidal rage, Jorgensen runs into an Indian camp to share Lucy's fate. For the next five years, Ethan and Marty myopically hunt for young Debbie, who is the captive of a Comanche chief named Scar. Along the way, Ethan manages to dispatch bushwhackers and Marty breaks up the wedding of his childhood sweetheart, in a scene brimming with comic relief. Finally, the two men rejoin Captain Clayton and his Texas Rangers to take on the Comanche's in a climatic battle, where the long-suffering Debbie is eventually rescued. For this film, the seasoned director assembled a cast of his regulars, including Ken Curtis, John Qualen, Hank Worden and Harry Carey Jr. This bunch turns in the kind of solid character acting that moviegoers came to expect from a John Ford vehicle. Ward Bond is superb as Captain Clayton and delivers some of the film's most amusing dialogue. Additionally, a lovely, teenage Natalie Wood has about five minutes of screen time playing the older Debbie. However, at the center of this great movie, is the relationship between the two searchers, played by Wayne and ably supported by Jeffery Hunter, who must ride together day after endless day in their search for the elusive Chief Scar. The chemistry between these two actors makes this film a classic of the western genre.