Review of The Searchers (1956) by Tim M — 03 Apr 2015

Fantastic and amazing. The film is a masterpiece with John Ford's inspired direction and the story which is not a typical western. The opening and closing shots complement each other in an incredible way: the beginning shows a safe haven opening up to the world and letting us step out and begin the story as we see Ethan ride up and the other characters come out with us. At the end we see Ethan ride up again, this time the characters head into the house and we see Ethan walk off as we too enter the house and the door shuts ending the story and returning us to a safe haven.

John Wayne does a great job as the cold and forceful Ethan especially in the scene where he comes back from having buried Lucy and you can see so much emotion in his face and learn so much without words. Another scene is at the beginning at the times he is watching his brotherâ??s wife and it is obvious through his face and glances that he loves her. Another incredible scene is when Ethan looks back at the white woman who had been in an Indian camp and now has Debbieâ??s doll: it is a look of sadness, a sense of wonder, and break down of some emotional barriers within him.

Everything from the wardrobe department to the music and cinematography is well done and fits the part of the plot they are used at. The setting shows the vastness of the west and the vastness helps the theme and story in that they are searching for a girl in an Indian tribe somewhere in the west and the shots all help to show how big the west is and gives the audience a feeling of hopelessness but adds to the persistence and dedication of the main characters.

Ford could introduce characters in a minimal amount of shots and therefore we often, like the beginning porch scene, see many people introduced visually while not using up a lot of time. Ford's touch is quite evident here and he pulls of probably his best film.