FILM: Like Westerns? This Is Considered The Best Ever

Whenever autumn hits, I begin to think of good winter movies.  Mostly these films revolve around the holidays, but some just take place in winter.  But, one genre, set neither exclusively in winter nor at the holidays, also reminds me of the cold, bitter impending chill of the winter months: The Western. 

Now, I’m not a huge Western fan.  I have a handful of Westerns I love.  One from Clint Eastwood (Unforgiven), one from director Anthony Mann (The Man From Laramie), and the remaining few from iconic Western auteur John Ford (The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Stagecoach, and The Searchers). 

Not only my favorite Western of all time, but also one of my favorite films, The Searchers is a must-see film for anyone who enjoys cinema.  It’s on the “favorite film” lists of Scorsese, Spielberg, Lucas, among hundreds of others.  It is widely considered not only John Ford’s masterpiece (and that is saying something since Ford’s resume also lists  The Grapes of Wrath, Young Mr. Lincoln, My Darling Clementine, and The Quiet Man, just to name a few) but the true masterpiece of the entire cinematic Western genre. 

Why is The Searchers so head-and-shoulders above other Westerns and other Ford films?  Well, I’m currently reading a book by Glenn Frankel entitled The Searchers: The Making of an American Legend.  I just began the book but I already can tell that Mr. Frankel will be able to give a more detailed and more thorough account of the WHY behind The Searchers success and its lasting impact in the film world.  What I can try and do is give my two cents.

Let’s start with the plot: Civil War veteran Ethan Edwards spends more time wandering the West than he does with his family. When he finally comes home, he soon finds himself wandering once again: this time, searching for his sole-surviving nieces who were kidnapped after a raid on his brother’s home by Comanche Indian chief Scar.   

The look of the film is another reason it stands on the film pantheon.  The vistas from Ford’s famed location Monument Valley (California) never looked more stunning.  The landscapes are isolating, chilling, desolate, just like Wayne’s desperate search.  And the fantastic performances by Wayne and fellow “searcher” Jeffrey Hunter are fearless and riveting.   Wayne never was more tormented and troubled on screen, really showing his acting range in this one. 

Whether or not you consider this the best work of filmmaker Ford, The Searchers is by far the most complex and layered film from the collaboration between Ford and his frequent film cohort John Wayne.

The Searchers: 1956, not rated, 119 minutes, directed by John Ford, starring John Wayne, Jeffrey Hunter, Vera Miles, Ward Bond, and Natalie Wood.  The Niles Library owns this title on DVD and Blu-ray. 

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