Review of The Searchers (1956) by Beto A — 02 Jul 2009

First John Wayne's character, Ethan, is a racist and is very hard to like. But it is such a powerful performance that it is impossible not to be riveted by it. The story is; Natalie Wood's character is captured by the Apache's after they have killed the rest of her family.

Ethan becomes obsessed with her return,since she is related to him, a fact that emphasizes his racism of Indians when he states that " she is no longer a white woman since she has been with an Indian.

" The topic of racism is not an easy one to portray as an actor or director. This is one of John Ford's finest efforts. A visually stunning movie that deals effortlessly with the life in the old west and what the white man thought of the Indians, not just in the 1800's but also in 1956.

As a movie this ranks right up there with "Unforgiven" in that it breaks the stereotype of what most people think a Western should be. Since it was made 40+ years before "Unforgiven" gives it even more credence as a great movie.

Story: a search that takes over 10 years and how it affects 2 men. Acting: John Wayne at his best, scary good. Direction: John Ford seamlessly does outstanding vistas without losing the plot. Visuals: Great desert scenes and sunsets in the old west.

Overall: Well if you think the AFI has any merit this movie went from #96 in 1998 to #12 in 2007. I am sure that several influential movie makers like Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg had something to do with this huge move-up and I can understand it and deservedly so.

Could this movie be made now, no, does that make it a bad movie, no. A great movie, one of my personal favorites.