Review of The Searchers (1956) by Nelson P — 03 Jul 2010

This film is certainly not just for lovers of the western genre - it offers so much more and treats you to the wonders and treasures great film-making has to offer. It is an epic story, a complete watershed in cinema. Often credited as an early study of racism, this is not what lies at the heart of this picture. As well as racism, the films themes include individuality, the American character, and the opposition between civilization and the untamed frontier wilderness.The films sophisticated and dazzling cinematography is extremely striking visually, and captures the harsh nature of the characters surroundings, accentuating its beauty and its isolating and dangerous nature. This is contrasted against the welcoming and homely nature of family life depicted in the film. This is the place Ethan Edwards longs to belong to. However his true home is the dangerous, brutal and unforgiving environment of which he has become akin to as a soldier in the civil war and one which ultimately alienates him beyond being able to re-enter civilized society. He becomes perfect evidence of what happens to an individual in the midst of a great battle when he gives into his own hatred.Films shot so beautifully as the searchers are a joy to watch. Describing this film as a 'motion picture' really is quite appropriate, as you really do feel like the landscapes of monument valley, fords favourite locale, transcend the boundaries of the camera and become a beautiful oil painting come to life that grips and consumes the viewer.

When you consider the vast range of individual scenes that are exemplary in terms of composition and blocking of characters (too many to list here) it is easy to see why so many of the film industries 'new Hollywood' directors such as Spielberg and Scorcese site this as such a cinematic milestone and express the huge impact it has had on both their own work (Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver is almost a modern Ethan Edwards roaming the streets of New York in a taxi, instead of on horseback) and on cinema in the twentieth century as a whole.