Review of The Searchers (1956) by Hallis B — 04 Jun 2009
Definitely lives up to its legend. John Ford is considered by many to be the greatest director of all time, including Akira Kurosawa, and it's clear why he was held in such high esteem. This movie is unbelievably beautiful.
It's easy to think of John Wayne as just 'the Duke,' and not see how strong an actor he was, but in the Searchers he's mountain of a man, seething with rage, racism, and conflict under his stoic exterior.
Which makes his rare moments of tenderness and sensitivity that much more striking. This movie has a very strong anti-racism message that might be lost on some because of the sensibilities of the time.
The key native characters suffer from being a little too caricatured, while the bigotry displayed by many of the main characters is despicable. But it is meant to be despicable, because it is despicable.
Having Martin, the adopted brother of the missing girls, be part Cherokee perfectly displays the ignorance of the supposed civilized white people. Seeing Martin wince or shoot daggers every time he hears people talk about the natives as being savages or less than human in his presence with no regard for him really shows the faulty mentality of the time.
Even the glorious cavalry that Ford so famously used as the symbol heroism and victory in his earlier films is shown as a traveling specter of death. The razed native camps with the scattered corpses of woman and children is evidence enough of what the bugle of this cavalry really brings.
This review of The Searchers (1956) was written by Hallis B on 04 Jun 2009.
The Searchers has generally received very positive reviews.
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