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The Searchers [1956] | ![The Searchers [1956]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51DGQ2A67EL._SL160_.jpg)
 enlarge | Director: John Ford
Actors: John Wayne, Jeffrey Hunter, Vera Miles, Natalie Wood, Ward Bond
Studio: Warner Home Video
Category: DVD
List Price: £15.99
Buy New: £4.19
You Save: £11.80 (74%)
New (4) Used (2) from £3.86
Rating:  9 reviews
Sales Rank: 3911
Format: Box Set, Pal, Widescreen
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: Universal, suitable for all
Region: 2
Number Of Items: 2
Running Time: 114 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
EAN: 7321900289184
ASIN: B000EZ7ZHM
Theatrical Release Date: 1956
Release Date: June 19, 2006
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews: Read 4 more reviews...
just abrilliant film August 18, 2008
ciaran moore (omagh N IRELAND)
when ifirst remember seening the searchers iwas v scared by the raid on marthas farm and scar was probably the most terrifying man i had ever seen but when iseen it a few years later ethan became the most terrifying.now when i watch it it just becomes amagnificent film about not only america but the whole civilised world . But apart from any racism or political views it is just a brilliant film.john wayne was at his best here and should have got at least a nomination andwhy john ford was over looked will always be a mystery.Imust admit the commentary by peter bogdanovich added immenslyto my knowledge of the film and even to the performance of wayne so it is a must for all movie fans.unmissible
A masterpiece on many levels August 3, 2008
Mr. P. D. Flight (Surrey, UK)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Today there is little question of 'The Searchers' being John Fords' best known film. It has had critical acclaim poured over it by masters of the art the likes of Martin Scorsese, George Lucas and Steven Speilberg. James Stewart is quoted in Joseph McBrides' Ford biography citing John Waynes' performance here as one of the greatest of all time. It is regularly studied in film classes and in 1992 it was voted the fifth greatest movie of all time in Sight and Sound magazines' decennial critics' poll. It should be stressed however that the film takes a few viewings before its' brilliance truly sets in, such is its' depth. Alfred Hitchcock once commented that it is wrong to judge a movie after only one viewing and this picture is evidence of that.
So why does 'The Searchers' get so much acclaim? There are several reasons. First of all we have to start with the films' central character, Ethan Edwards (John Wayne). It is the role which many people (including Wayne himself) consider to be his career best. Edwards is what we call a multi-faceted character. On one side he is a villain; his desire to rescue the two nieces who have been stolen from his brothers' ranch and to get revenge upon their killers may seem acceptable within the world we enter when we watch a classic western but the further the film progresses the more we realise that his mission is driven in no small part by racial hatred. Early on for example we see Ethan shoot an already dead Indian in the eyes simply because of their belief that they need them to get to the next world. It has also been suggested that he desires brothers' wife judging by the looks he gives her. On the other hand we feel sorry for Ethan because he is cast off from his family and we admire him for battling heat, thirst, snow and the desolate landscape of Monument Valley (Fords' favourite western location) over a lengthy period of time. Wayne went as far as to name one of his sons after the character such was the fulfillment he got from this legendary role.
The picture belongs to Wayne who waited years to play this challenging a part; he started out as a prop boy on John Fords' sets during the mid 1920s' and yet it was not until Howard Hawks showed faith by casting him as Tom Dunson in the excellent 1948 cattle western 'Red River' that his true acting ability became apparent. The rest of the cast is superb as well. The dashing Jeffrey Hunter plays part-Indian Martin Pawley with great charisma; witness the scene where he accidently buys himself a wife and is lumbered with her. This leads to comedy the nature of which we see in Fords' 1952 picture 'The Quiet Man'. Yet like so many aspects of this film it has a tragic consequence, the sort that runs through much of Fords' work. The fact that Pawley joins Edwards for the epic quest makes the picture all the more fascinating given his ethnic origins. Pawleys' long-suffering female interest is played by fifties beauty Vera Miles who had the acting skills to match her stunning appearance. She would also work with Ford on 'The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance' (1962) and appeared for Hitchcock as well. John Fords' stock company (actors he used on several occasions) is out in force here; watch out for Ward Bond (as Rev. Capt. Clayton), Harry Carey Jnr. (as Brad Jorgenson) and Olive Carey- the wife of Harry Carey Snr. who was the star of most of Fords' earliest features- as Mrs Jorgenson. The young Natalie Wood plays captured niece Debbie and German-born actor Henry Brandon makes the villainous Indian Chief Scar into a fearsome nemesis.
The film demands to be seen on the big screen; the technicolor is stunning and the beauty of the location is fully emphasised by the photography. Ford told Peter Bogdanovich that he preferred shooting in black and white ("real photography") but he makes remarkable use of the colour here. This film is so rich, new things spring up every time one watches it. I have seen it at least half a dozen times and there are key details I simply could not pick up until I researched it on the imdb, try as I might to grasp everything.
Now it is available as a two disc set at a good price I would strongly recommend that any serious fan of cinema purchase this outstanding movie. It is moving, powerful, deep, uplifting, tragic, inspiring, dark, beautiful, ugly, nostalgic and so many more things- in fact I could go on for the length of a book in describing it. A remarkable achievement by this legendary actor-director team (see also 'Stagecoach' (1939), 'She Wore a Yellow Ribbon' (1949), Rio Grande (1950) etc).
THANK YOU March 26, 2008
Mr. D. Gough (south wales)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
this film is one of the greatest westerns ever made,i have seen it at least 12 times and still marvel at it.if anybody knows of a film on par with it please let me know "it will be added to my collection".if any of you have not seen this film then just go and buy it you will not be dissapointed.
The greatest western ever made...or at least equal to the best October 12, 2007
Alejo (Andorra)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
It has always had the sobriquet "the greatest western ever made"... well, for once it probably it is true.
Famous director's favorite film... including Spielberg and Bergman to name two just to show you how different are they!
It shows the dark side of John Wayne as a mysterious character (what later Jimmy Stewart will do to perfection with the western films he starred on for director Anthony Mann) obsessed with doing his way in everything and it seems very much embittered by his confederate (no surrendered) background...
ALL the cast is perfect and the script is a marvel... add the masterfully direction... and there you have it. THE PERFECT WESTERN.
I guess it probably is because so many pieces fall in place in an effortlessly way...(or so it seems but beware... I do not think so... and never believed in luck... it has been said that LUCK must found you WORKING!... and that is what is feels to me a solid piece of craftsmanship built over years of shooting westerns...)
A must see.
ADB
Best Western Ever August 16, 2007
ray dorrity (New Forest, UK)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I first saw this movie when it was released in UK (1957?) and even at that young age, it became a firm favourite of mine.
I've had it on Beta, VHS and now DVD and still enjoy watching it.
The movie has in it the usual crowd of bit actors that Wayne travelled with over the years along with the young sisters Natalie and Lana Wood playing each other and Vera Miles, a greatly underestimated talent.
Wayne's constant rebuff of "That'll be the day!", caused Buddy Holly and the Crickets (all Texans) to write their first hit of that name after seeing the film in Lubbock, Texas.
Faults with the movie? Well, for returned Confederate soldiers, the actors sho' nuff ain't Texicans, more like "Damn' Yankees", their accents ranging from Wayne's Iowa through to Bond's Nebraska. It seems the only Southerner was Jeffery Hunter who was Louisiana boy. Also, Wayne's character turns up in 1868, three years after the war ended, carrying weapons that weren't designed until 1872, but that always was a fault in Wayn'es movies.
But probably only a Texan gun-buff (or a sad nerd like me) would notice.
Great movie, probably a masterpiece - Buy and enjoy!
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