The Searchers -- What Makes This Movie Great? (Episode 102)

Sign up for my newsletter. KZbin channel updates, written reviews, and exclusive content -- free! -- eepurl.com/hbfI6v
Watch movies freely and securely with Atlas VPN. Sign up now for just $1.39/month!
atlasvpn.go2cloud.org/aff_c?of...
Twitter: / drjoshmatthews
Letterboxd: letterboxd.com/joshmatthews/
Understanding Movies 101 Course: joshmatthews.org/learn-more-a...
The Great Movies Series: joshmatthews.org/what-makes-t...
Comprehensive List of the Great Movies Series: joshmatthews.org/what-makes-t...
Movie Cliches Series -- Video Playlist: • Why Pianos Transform C...
The Great Directors Series -- Playlist: • Werner Herzog's 10 Gre...
Shot for Shot Analyses: • Understanding Movies 1...
Great Science-Fiction Movie List: joshmatthews.org/great-scienc...
Other Movie Lists: joshmatthews.org/topics/movie...
Disclaimer: All reasonable comments are welcome, including reasoned disagreements. You will be banned for foolish talk, harassment, and hate speech on sight; it's a tremendous waste of life. I believe in freedom of association and, by extension, freedom of dissociation from you.

[@SW-fk1xo]

I think the ending door scene is more about Ethan not being able to fit in in a stable society than him being rejected by it.

[@LearningaboutMovies]

very good, thank you.

[@UmbralMxx]

this is brilliant, i agree with your interpretation

[@lindajohnson4204]

He doesn't fit in, and neither does Debbie, but it is about more than the fact that he doesn't fit in. He is actually in a better place at the end of the movie. Some grace has happened to him. He was going to kill Debbie! But he didn't; he lifted her up as he did that one night he knew her as a little girl, and said, "Let's go home, Debbie". So, as much as there still is wrong with him, and no doubt that was true when he walked out into the yard, but he is still in a better place than he was when he was going to kill Debbie, or when he shot the eyes out of the dead Comanche, to make him hopelessly wander forever, the way he was when he did it, tbc

[@SW-fk1xo]

@@lindajohnson4204 I’d like to believe Ethan’s long lost humanity was restored as he picked Debbie up in his arms before bringing her home. If you look at the expressions Ethan makes when they arrive back at the ranch he looks lost and almost bewildered. Almost as if he is realizing that what he had become to survive has now made him unfit to live with. The final moments as Ethan is walking away could be described as him wandering between the eternities- possibly forever lost.

[@lindajohnson4204]

@@SW-fk1xo I agree with what you said about Ethan not fitting in, and especially what you said about his seeing himself as unworthy to partake in the homecoming with the others. But I do not agree with this "doomed to wander between the eternities" interpretation that you share with many, including Scorsese and all the KZbin nihilists. I have wanted to write an answer to it, but I can't write a short answer. Whenever I try, I just can't get it in a few words. But let me try again, and maybe I can just get in a few words and expand on them as necessary. Ethan is better off at the end of the story than he was. He was going to kill Debbie, but instead, he lifts her up and brings her home, like the little girl she was. How could this not be an improvement in the anguish he lives with? There a parallel between Ethan and Debbie. Neither one belongs. But look at Debbie: she is torn between "these are my people," and "yes I remember; I prayed to you". When Marty comes to get her, she wants to go. She sees the kindness of the Jorgensen's, but she is definitely torn, and belongs nowhere. Yet it is a happy ending; Debbie, the little girl, has been brought home, and she at least feels the rightness of it, a little bit, even though all is not right. Ethan, too, though not everything is right, is far better off. He has experienced grace, how much more "peace of mind", than if he had carried out his plan he was dedicated to accomplish for so long. He has been spared that. That alone means that something is happening in him. He has actually been subtly healing for a long time, through things that happen in the story. The famous last shot: he stands looking in while everyone gathers inside. Sure, he doesn't belong, but what's new about that? The groups of figures pass by. He graciously and respectfully stands aside for the Marty and Laurie thing, not to be a part of his own life, then faces the door, and John Wayne does the famous gesture (from Harry Carey for his wife), and turns, the lonesome cowboy, the lonesome man, and walks away. But instead of walking away, doomed forever to wander (he'll probably mostly live by himself the rest of his natural life), I believe he is walking out into the yard to ponder what has happened, and not at all in hopelessness. I don't think I'm wrong about this. Ford was a Catholic, and a somewhat antinomian (or lost) one, but still had a preoccupation with grace all his life. It is in _Stagecoach,_ the third _3 Godfathers,_ and here. It is also probably somewhat in _The Long Voyage Home,_ and probably in others, but this is what I can recall. Small things, like Bookser, the young sailor who was briefly awol, because he met a girl at a Bible study, and they talked all night, in _Mister Roberts._ Ford was called "Pilgrim" by "Wild Bill" Donovan in the OSS. In this movie, Ethan has received grace, and there is even a time honored, ancient symbol of grace, one of the oldest ones there is. The breathtaking beginning and ending shots: Ford wouldn't carelessly throw elements in them just to prettify them, would he? At the beginning, when Martha opens the door, it is on their rustic, unornamented porch, in the home Aaron and Ethan were raised in. The final scene is at the Jorgensen home. Across the front porch, it is decorated with the serpentine gingerbread of a later, somewhat more "civilized" country. But in the final shot, only one gingerbread serpent shows, as Ethan pays his respects to the other people, and then turns to walk out in the yard. I hope you don't think this is crazy, but I believe that's the "serpent lifted up in the wilderness" from the story in Numbers, and referred to by Jesus in John 3:14. It wouldn't be there by accident. And this grace that has happened to Ethan, is hope where there formerly wasn't any hope, right? What he's going to do with it, remains to be seen, but but not by the story. Just as what Debbie's going to do with her situation remains to be seen. It's unsettled, and yet, it is good. If it was "perfect", it probably wouldn't be as deeply meaningful and satisfying ending as it is. The music swell; Ma Jorgensen cries. Mose leans back in his rocking chair (where they respect the fact that he's wounded in the head) and smiles, pulling his hat on his head. And look at "character arc" analysis; if Ethan ended up at the same place he began, it wouldn't have that satisfying, though somewhat mysterious, ending, would it? He was already wandering, doomed, between the eternities, when he shot that dead Comanche in the eyes. That why he did it. That agony was what he was expressing. .

[@stevenperrell7217]

One item everyone usually looks over: Ethan's hatred for the indians more than likely stems from the the fact that his mother was killed by them. You can vaguely see it on her tombstone in the scene where little debbie meets scar.

[@LearningaboutMovies]

great observation. thank you.

[@johndanielharold3633]

Crucial.

[@czarnick123]

Ethan is implied to be Martys father. And he recognizes Martys Mothers scalp in Scars tent. So they also killed his lover.

[@glenporteous4438]

Wayne should have won an Oscar for this role.

[@arborist57]

I was introduced to this film over 40 years ago as a film student. I've watched it countless times, love and admire it. My personal thoughts on his film are here for your consideration. The range of emotions John Wayne expresses from the opening shots through the ending are nothing less than cathartic. Your observations about Ethan and Scar basically being the same character are, I believe, quite correct. If you watch the subtle and not so subtle interactions between them, the seething rage below the surface of Ethan leaps from the screen. That being said, the closing shot is the coda to the film and can't be separated from the climax when Ethan discovers that Scar is dead at someone else's hands. This is like an exorcism for Ethan and closes his quest to purge his own demons. Ethan takes Scar's scalp as a final victory symbol but even as he holds it, it's been forgotten, replaced by the vision of Debbie, most likely his own daughter, running away. He pursues her and for the first time since the beginning of the movie calls her by name and picks her up like a father would his own child and says, "Let's go home." Listen to the words of the song as the closing shot unfolds and look at Ethan's face. The hardness, hatred and bitterness are all gone, replaced with a subtle look of satisfaction and peace. He walks away a bigger and better man than the one who rode into the opening shot, returning home to the world he knows having come full circle from embittered outlaw to mythological hero.

[@LearningaboutMovies]

thank you.

[@tombrennan6312]

I saw this movie upon its original release when I was seven years old and still remember that like it was yesterday. The fearful family in the red dusk, the appearance of Scar, Ethan shooting the dead Comanche's eyes out, Scar's display of scalps, Ethan scalping Scar--all were seered into my young mind. I never watched Roy Rogers and Hopalong Cassidy again.

[@LearningaboutMovies]

great comment. We've had a lot of anti-Searchers folks come here, I think driven by a Reddit feed or something. They hate the movie for being anti-PC, and yet if you put this movie in historical context, like you did, you have to strongly consider what it's doing.

[@tombrennan6312]

@@LearningaboutMovies Ford was a very well read man with an intense interest in history. He was also a liberal of the New Deal "put it on the check" type and he put a lot of money in the pockets of the Navajo people. One wag commented that Ford had too many pet peeves to be concerned with the conventional prejudices.

[@LearningaboutMovies]

exactly. In terms of historical context, Ford was "advanced" for his day. It's ahistorical and immoral, in my mind, to knock somebody for not following the progressive morality of the current day when there was nobody then doing so.

[@BRLaue]

I think I was a year or two younger when it first came out and the palatable terror that Ford created in that cabin stayed with me for days.

[@BRLaue]

‘The Searchers’ is famous for the door vignettes that open and close the movie, but doors are important in all of Ford’s movies. Characters have to interact with each other often by entering rooms. Screenwriters and directors have often lamented the drudgery of coming up with another way to describe or direct an actor in this ordinary task. I believe that Ford saw an opportunity here early in his career and used it in almost all of his movies to his advantage. One of the best examples is in ‘Stagecoach’ when the travelers are stranded in the way station while Louise Platt is having her baby. The long hallway is used as a series of ‘doors’ to frame the more dramatic moments including Ringo and Dallas as they take their first tentative, emotional steps toward each other. He uses the door frequently as a frame that encircles and calls attention to a salient aspect of a character’s personality or a major plot shift or as in the ‘Quiet Man’ a marital barrier. The next time you watch ‘The Searchers’ see how many times he uses them to great effect and you will see them in all of the Ford movies you view. It is one of those details that give Ford pictures their extra dimension of humanity that others, especially in the western genre often lack. Also, there are two ‘oops’ moments in the film. Ward Bond has a negligent discharge of his prop gun when Ethan tosses him his revolver in the River fight scene and when the Calvary are splashing across the frozen river you can see a car in the distance in the far upper right of the frame.

[@skipperbennett]

I live in a Texas county that is thick with sites of Comanche raids, tortures, rapes, and seizures of boys, girls and women. Probably a mile or so from my backyard was the location of a 1860 raid where the Sherman family's cabin was burned, ransacked and the wife and mother tortured, raped and scalped ... yet lived a short while. Her name was Martha. Local men, including Charles Goodnight, tracked and intended to visit revenge upon the Comanche. They joined up with Texas Rangers (Sul Ross), and a US Cavalry detachment and eventually found the camp far to the northwest. Only a few men were there with women and children (probably a good thing for them). They revenged on the camp and captured one woman who turned out to be Cynthia Ann Parker, a white girl taken many years ago. I think there was a lot of Ethan in the Texans here in Palo Pinto county. A simple label of racist slapped on Ethan Edwards sets me on edge. Human nature is human nature, Texan or Comanche. It was a violent frontier.

[@LearningaboutMovies]

good comment -- thank you.

[@TimBarnett-pl9kd]

John Wayne invited me on his yacht wild goose where I got to spend day with him an his friends like Ben Johnson. When I was leaving John Wayne asked me, aren't you going to ask me? Me being blockhead, ask me what? Everyone wants to know what movie I love the best? Okay I'll bite what's your favorite movie? For $20 I'll tell you his answer! Haha! John Wayne said the Searcher's was his favorite. Then he said, I really appreciate you coming by today! Why's that? Your John Wayne, anyone would by proud to be in my shoes right now! You spent day with us talking boats, oceans, scuba, wildlife, even eagles, but you never once mentioned movies! That was great, pilgrim!

[@1223steffen]

Serious

[@randywhite3947]

The 9th most acclaimed film of all time according to They Shoot Pictures Don’t They (2021 edition)

[@LearningaboutMovies]

thanks.

[@jacktattis]

This was the Movie was the one Wayne should have won an Oscar for.

[@johndanielharold3633]

Ethan and Scar: True anti-brothers in that awful crucible.

[@garlicfur8799]

The last scene of this movie makes my heart hurt. It is not at all subtle about him not fitting in and that last scene, although he did the right thing and brought her home, it seems even he acknowledges that he doesn’t belong there.

[@davedrahman914]

It’s one of my favorite movies. Wayne’s greatest performance.

[@jonathanmorgan6565]

The fort parker massacre and the subsequent rescue of Cynthia Parker was a major inspiration for the film and I highly recommend reading “Empire of the Summer Moon” to understand the Comanches at the time. The Comanches were known for their brutality and treatment of their victims and there are a lot of things that are subtly implied but not spoken or shown outright because this is 1950s era film. Ethan only wants to kill Debbie after he discovers she is a wife of scar and Ethan cannot tolerate his niece being the wife and property of the man who killed his family

[@LearningaboutMovies]

this is excellent, and you're right -- those who want to harp on this movie really ought to study the historical context on which the movie and original novel were based.

[@noname-bk7bc]

I feel like you channel my dad sometimes. He loved so many of the movies you talk about, especially this one. Great review

[@LearningaboutMovies]

thank you. I should start a "dad movies" series. Back when Ford v. Ferrari came out and I praised it to the heavens, the internet dumped on it as a "dad movie," which I thought and still think is a compliment!

[@noname-bk7bc]

I certainly agree with you. As the years get longer since my dad passed, one of the things that keeps his memory fresh for me is remembering how much he loved these movies you talk about and how much I loved watching them with him. I'm a dad now, and I tell you one of the things my daughter loves is the times (pre-covid) that we would go to the theater, just the two of us and see movies. She keeps telling me that she is looking forward to doing that again more than anything else once the pandemic is over. Anyway, I'm a huge sucker for the idea of shared cinematic experience and how they link us to the ones we love, so I would totally watch your "dad series".

[@droidx1191]

"The Searchers" is the best movie of its genre. Second place goes to "Once Upon a Time in the West," and third place goes to "Tombstone." Good observations and commentary about this important film.

[@deanr.johansen6377]

Good choices, but the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly is a superb film. To watch it as it was, remember that Clint Eastwood was a co-star. He wasn't famous yet, though becoming known. The film is actually an impressive drama set against the Civil War; power and greed.

[@AmatureAstronomer]

"The Searchers" was a good movie. Ethan didn't go into the homestead at the end because he was condemned to forever wander among the winds.

[@jamminjohn]

I believe Ethan and Martha were an item before he left to fight the war. Hence the tension in those early scenes. So, his true love is murdered by Scar and his tribe. No matter how much I watch this I never feel Ethan is a bad guy, he is mean but not evil.

[@Prionel]

Thanks for the lovely review of this iconic movie.

[@JoeBesserfan]

"The Searchers" is a true classic. It's an almost perfect movie. The only demerit (and it's a small one) has to do with the comedic character Charlie McCorry. He is too cartoonish a character. In his scenes the comedy is too broad. He disrupts the flow of the movie. Other than that, "The Searchers" terrific. Thanks for an excellent review of an excellent film.

[@LearningaboutMovies]

thank you.

[@JulioLeonFandinho]

I completely disagree... those moments of "comedy" (that you can find in every Ford movie) are a relief to the otherwise almost unbearable tension created by the character of Ethan Edwards. I'm not calling it even "comedy", it's not exactly that... those situations add a naturalism that has almost disappeared in todays movies: people eating around a table, making jokes, cleaning the house, drinking something in a bar... and the motion of the movie never stops. An in this movie those moments makes the ending much more meaningful. The contrast between the guy that makes the dirty job, and for that he doesn't fit in society, with those characters and moments that are part of regular people life

[@slowerthinker]

​@@JulioLeonFandinho I think Ford did a really good job of that in the Cavalry trilogy with Sergeant Quincannon breaking the tension and he appears quite natural, but in this film it was over the top and out of place.

[@yulian7435]

Small comedic element are all throughout the movie: Like the many little jokes ethan makes at the expense of martin, when martin buys a wife and ethan keeps ballbusting martin. When laurie throw sneakily throw a bucket of water when martin take a bath. Or how ethan and the captain make of a the young yankee greenhill. etc And in the end I think they fit perfectly, it's like a music sheet: it's not incoherent to have high and low moments, change of rythm etc. And in the searchers, it makes sense since the timeframe is years.

[@tombrennan6312]

Charlie takes on an unexpected depth when he courts Laurie at the window, singing "Skip to My Lou" to her in his smooth and gorgeous singing voice.

[@stephenkeen5737]

I had just watched this a few days ago. A very timely exploration by you. Thanks. Yeh, certainly one of the first anti-heros. Great film.

[@LearningaboutMovies]

you're welcome.

[@Bluebuthappy182]

Ethan and Scar are definitely two of the scariest people in the movie.

[@joshforester2634]

I read the ending kind of like the ending of last Samurai. Debbie was saved, Martin can go back to his life, everyone can live happily ever after now...but the victory was only for them and not Ethan. He is not necessary in the new West, though characters like him (just like in Last Samurai) were necessary to tame the evil that was left over. The are vitally important to the solution, but afterwards there is nothing for him other to just wander along and fade away leaving the land to the next generation

[@sifatshams1113]

I've been bugging my 16-year-old brother for the past 2 weeks by constantly playing the theme from this film, Ride Away.

[@alanwatson4249]

Great song - and perfect for the movie.

[@LearningaboutMovies]

there's not much better to bug your brother with!

[@scottsmith6631]

Buddy Holly took Ethan's frequent line "that'll be the day" and made it into an iconic song.

[@Blaqjaqshellaq]

Watch how Ethan holds Debbie up by the armpits at the beginning: he holds her that way again at the climax! (Only when I noticed that detail did I understand why he spares her...)

[@LearningaboutMovies]

thank you.

[@Blaqjaqshellaq]

More thoughts on that moment here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oKvZdYGrg8eFjtE

[@scottsmith6631]

Wayne was strong enough to lift up the slim Natalie Wood like that without any camera tricks. Also, Natalie's younger sister, Lana, played young Debbie, captured by Scar. There are recent interview clips with Lana Wood about her time on the set.

[@deckofcards87]

Great analysis, as always! I love the Westerns that appareny most modern Western lovers don't like, and The Searchers is top of the list. The others are John Houston's The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre and The Ox-Bow Incident...Character psychology set against the old frontier is so much more interesting to me than just stylish gunfights and basic character motivations you see in most of the genre.

[@fernandomaron87]

Bogarts performance in Treasure is at the same level of Wayne's in The Searchers

[@joelonzello4189]

Man says he's going one place...means to go t'other. Many great lines in the movie...

[@valerielyda6414]

I concur that Ford was attempting to apologize for Indian caricatures in previous films. Additionally, good representation of HATE r/t prior war trauma. Until you explained final scene, I initially missed the representation about the faltering condition of Ethan's movement back to humane being by staying outside. Good review.

[@billolsen4360]

I like this movie for many reason. Almost every scene looks a oil painting.

[@mrblowhard2u]

The scene at 6:52 is one of the best in the film (IMO) but, you should have shown the entire shot. Always has been my favorite western since I saw it as a kid in 1956.

[@LearningaboutMovies]

I can't show clips of more than about 15 seconds, or else I get in a blocking/demonetizing battle with whoever owns the movie. So, yeah, I clip all kinds of shots, all over the channel, solely for that reason alone.

[@yikes5790]

John Ford a great director learned his craft during the silent films one of his mentors was D. W. Griffith who did " Birth of a Nation. 1915. John Ford directed 14 films with John Wayne.

[@lucianomezzetta4332]

This is one of the finest films ever made in America.

[@titajohn7223]

Thanks a lot. Helped me understand the film more

[@LearningaboutMovies]

you're welcome. Thanks.

[@GabrielGarcia-xe5oo]

The comment about Ethan and his brother's wife, I've also always thought there was something implied there... The way she greeted him, and then the way the Reverend looked at her through the doorway when she was getting Ethan's gear in that room, like he knows something about her...

[@AmericanActionReport]

The connection between the beginning and the end of the movie is two parts of a triptych of scenes. The other part of the triptych is in the middle, when they find a dead Comanche in a shallow grave. Ethan shoots the corpse's eyes out and says that, according to Comanche belief, if the body has no eyes, it's doomed to wander between the four winds and never find rest in the afterlife. That, plus the theme song ("What makes a man to wander? etc.), complete the triptych.

[@jfeast5469]

Great video! Thanks!

[@tjwsports]

It’s subtle, but Debbie is Ethan’s daughter. That’s why he’s so invested in her.

[@ltljohn1725]

The subtle hint of where he was at is the medal and gold. In short people wonder where he was at due to rumors but the medal was from the Mexican War where he was a mercenary. Suble but there. He never tells anyone the only hint is the medal and spanish gold pieces. Also it is about what war does to people and how it can change you.

[@VTXCageSC]

In the last scene the wind forms his hat into a side brim flip and his light bandana waves like a minuscule pennant reminiscent of a Civil War calvary soldier all the while he holds himself in self comfort realizing he'll only ever "fit" into a past that won't ever allow a welcome for him into the coming future.

[@SN00PICUS]

I can remember my great-grandfather and grandfather discussing this movie and the meanings when I was growing up. It was a fairly shocking explanation for me. I think you misunderstand quite a few of the motivations, and apply too much of the "polite" way of thinking. For example, I was told Ethan was set of killing the girl because the torture,grape, abuse in general drove many men and women mad. It was an act of mercy and his last duty to his family. He had to end her suffering and in doing so add yet more suffering to himself. I won't ruin the end, but needless to say things change.

[@paulmentzer7658]

Debbie is a trophy, she is being held as a trophy by Scar (you see this when she present's Scar's scraps, they were his trophies as so was Debbie). By killing Debbie, Ethan would take her away as one of Scar's Trophies. Once Scar is killed, Ethan has no reason to kill Debbie, she is no longer Scar's trophy. As to the ending, Ethan staying outside while everyone goes in, shows everyone together again AND IT IS ETHAN WHO STAYS OUTSIDE THE FAMILY FOR THE DOOR REMAINS OPEN TO HIM. Ethan isolate himself, but the door is still open to him. Ethan does not think he should belong to his family, thus he stays outside while everyone else goes inside. The door remains open to show that the family is still open to him to join. John Ford likes telling stories visually. That goes back to his day directing silent films. Why have someone tell part of the story when you can do it visually? It is clear how Debbie is portrayed while she is with the Comanches that she is a trophy. John Ford could get the best performance out of John Wayne, mostly by getting Wayne to act and by acting tell part of the story.

[@trilok7070]

*the climax of the movie makes it a classic*

[@rboltt]

Highly recommend Peter Bogdanovich's audio commentary on the DVD/Blu-Ray.

[@LearningaboutMovies]

thank you!

[@linusmaximilian6568]

Fantastic Review Just saw it for the second time.

[@LearningaboutMovies]

excellent! thank you.

[@debrawojcicki4536]

Good explanation.

[@LearningaboutMovies]

thank you.

[@worldoffight756]

Hey, I live in Arizona, where this was shot!

[@guyveloz4382]

Talk about profound influence, well watch "The Bravados" two years later, Gregory Peck the obsessed sort of anti hero on a quest of revenge for the brutal murder of his wife and then "Ride Lonesome" three years later, staring Randolf Scott as, yes, as another obsessed and maniacal bounty hunter in quest of the bad man, Lee Van Cleef, leader of a criminal band and the man who hanged his wife sadistically. Sooo many great performances in "Ride Lonesome" Especially a pre Bonanza Pernell Roberts who IMHO steals the movie as the sort reformed outlaw named Boone along with his sidekick James Coburn, named Whit, in Coburn's big screen debut. James Best as Van Kleef's younger bro is SPECTACULAR and very funny. Many lines and situations directly lifted from The Searchers like Scott's "THAT tears it" and the so brutal Mescaleros as very good copies of The Searcher's Comanches. A must watch. More recently, Lonesome Dove, reuses certain elements from Searchers, including the hauntingly beautiful civil war song so prominent in Searchers called "Lorena" and Blue Duck as another so elusive chief Scar. I LOVE the Searchers so much that it is hard for me to express this passion for the film that I have. So many incredible details pilled up one atop the other. Like John Ford's using an Emperor Maximillian of Mexico's medallion, the one Ethan gives to young Debbie before she's abducted and which Scar later says to Ethan about so cruelly, "THIS before?" I read Alan LeMay's book, The Searchers, three times, but it is so much smaller in scope and vision to the Film, and grimly devoid of all that necessary and delightful comic relief Ford so masterfully adds.

[@LearningaboutMovies]

Ride Lonesome is indeed a good film. thank you.

[@dalematheson8571]

thank you

[@LearningaboutMovies]

you're welcome.

[@jrkat]

Love it thanks

[@LearningaboutMovies]

you're welcome.

[@hejskipejski5751]

"he's a poet you see, he's a poet too, a poet of hatred"

[@LearningaboutMovies]

hatred needs its poetic expressions...?

[@hejskipejski5751]

@@LearningaboutMovies Quoting Martin Scorsese, who explained Ethans hatred. Source: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iZ26hWuhiciWftk

[@quandalebingletonda3rd957]

My top 3 westerns are tombstone, who shot liberty valence, and the searchers

[@PhD777]

In Wayne's character you see fury, hatred, rage, animosity, and bitterness for the murder of his mother and family by the "Cammanch" as we the repeated rape of his niece and her death by the "Commanch". He wanted to kill her because she had been tainted and sullied by them and represented everything that tormented him and that he hated and he wanted to end any suffering she may have/have had. In this movie, it is not "racism" per se, as the "Commanch" could easily be replaced by Nazis, Communists, Muslims, Yankees, British, Hanoverians, French, Blacks, Mexicans, Vikings, Normans, other Indians, modern bikers, drug cartels, pirates, et cetera ad nauseum. Remember: the world relies on "bad men" as you call them, to do things others won't and to keep other "bad men" at bay (or kill them) so as to keep the "normals" safe and free.

[@JHarder1000]

Super video! I applauded for $10.00 👏👏👏

[@LearningaboutMovies]

thank you so much. greatly appreciated!

[@Derrymcg]

Ethan and Paulie , Ethan was Paulie once before he went to war full life not hate, also Ethan's brother's wife was Ethan's girl before the war

[@rpg7287]

I think a lot of people are forgetting Howard Hawks’ movie Red River. I think this was the first movie to show John Wayne as a greatly flawed character and even an antihero. It also demonstrated Wayne’s acting chops. What puts Red River far behind The Searchers (my favorite western) is that Hawks didn’t have the courage to see Wayne’s character to the end the way Ford did.

[@LearningaboutMovies]

agreed, though I don't know about courage there -- probably just the story Hawks wanted to tell. thank you.

[@Gothondra]

Ethan returns from a murderous war to find a moment of peace with his brothers family. He makes a mistake, see's his loved ones butchered, he snaps into revenge at any cost. The hate fills his heart for the years searching, but in the end he finds solace that he found his last remaining blood line and brings her home to friends.

[@ToddSauve]

Ethan said why he wanted to kill Debbie. "She's been living with a buck!" It was interracial sex, especially with an Indian, that disgusted Edwards to the point he wanted to murder her. In his estimation, her having been forced to be the wife of an Indian made her less than human and deserving of only death. But Edwards is a bit all over the place in his view of the tribes. He had a definite look of sympathy when he saw that Look had been killed by the cavalry, and didn't argue with his "nephew" when he asked "Why'd they go and kill her? She never did any harm to anyone!" This is a complex movie filled with complex characters and that is the reason I love it. And the fact my great grandfather came West in 1875, the period when all of this anger and hatred and murder was being carried out by both sides. It was dangerous to be on the frontier of North America in the 1870s! 🤠🤠🤠

[@Fabioman3]

That'll be the day, the movie is still brilliant.

[@rboltt]

You asked why does Ethan want to kill Debbie. When he finds her she is not emotionally distraught. She is a teenager living (sleeping) with Scar in his teepee! This is something Ethan cannot stand, considering his other niece was raped and murdered. He as much says so Marty: "She's been living with a buck! She's nothing but a....!" Marty: "Shut your dirty mouth!"

[@LearningaboutMovies]

right, and yet today's moral standards would balk at these reasons.

[@Coby_Got]

I’m here cause I’m an hour in and besides the beauty of the film I’m not locking into it just yet.

[@Coby_Got]

Now I wanna start it over, thanks for the informative video.

[@LearningaboutMovies]

You're welcome

[@travisgray8376]

That'll be the day

[@CaptainBeefheart90]

Ethan hatred goes beyond the grave. He’s a poet of hate. “As sure as the turning of the earth.” “Ain’t got no eyes he can’t enter the spirit world, has to wonder forever between the winds”. Ethan himself at the end is left to wonder between the winds, he’s left in the lurch.

[@fernandomaron87]

Scorcese did remarked this in his analyzis of the movie, he said exactly these words

[@commiegobbledygook3138]

The novel is legit really wonderful

[@LearningaboutMovies]

it should be better known, for sure.

[@commiegobbledygook3138]

@@LearningaboutMoviesexactly!

[@commiegobbledygook3138]

I appreciate it, legitimate people gotta learn.

[@alanbehrens4231]

Didn't much care for this the first viewing but saw the greatness over subsequent viewings. Some real strange negative comments from the anti Searchers crowd.

[@donnasherwood283]

it has everything situations actually confronted by pioneers, redemptive power of love over hate excellent cinematography and art direction and aside from wayne some very good acting. It is shocking anyone has to ask this question

[@zachmiller8725]

I feel like that last shot has been homaged like a million times in different films, but I can't think of any specific examples. Am I crazy? Are there any high-profile examples of a modern director like copying that final shot for one of their films?

[@LearningaboutMovies]

You are right. Scorsese several times. Opening of Hostiles.

[@bwsmpp]

There's no woman for Ethan there in that house at the end of the film. I wonder if Ethan led the Commanches to his brother's place in the beginning... but anyway the last time he entered a house like this a bunch of people died: violence follows E.E. around (even though he's had his come to Jesus moment-- left his property to Marty, expressed his love for Deborah.) Pretty much agree with what some people here have said.

[@pam9247]

I think they made a part 2 but john wayne did not play in it.😮

[@martinjcamp]

Even John Ford couldn't make Monument Valley any more beautiful than it is when you are actually there. Visit if you can, and stay for a while!

[@angellondian7628]

I’ve never heard of this movie. I’ll have to watch w my dad

[@LearningaboutMovies]

this is an excellent Dad movie.

[@DeasonHunt]

I don't analyze movies. I watch them and either enjoy them or not. This one I enjoyed.

[@LearningaboutMovies]

that's fine and good.

[@prilljazzatlanta5070]

Im currently reading the book and this is a case where i think the movie maaaaay just edge out the book.

[@LearningaboutMovies]

I agree with that!

[@gorfulator]

I wish John Ford kinda toned it down a bit. I hate those scenes where the family is talking over each other and all those the jerky kinetics. There's still a lot to like though.

[@justins7711]

I really wanted to love this film. Just finished it for the first time, and while I can respect the hell out of it for how it affected the history of cinema, I just did not find it enthralling or even very entertaining at all. I was hoping it would be the one western I would finally enjoy, but sadly no. Something about it just kept me from suspending my disbelief and being drawn in. Great analysis though! This film is a major accomplishment and milestone. Definitely deserves the praise it gets.

[@markallen2984]

If you're looking for a Western to enjoy, I would steer you towards "Tombstone". It was the first Western that I genuinely love d

[@justins7711]

@@markallen2984 oh absolutely, and same here. It was and still is one of my favorite movies in general, and I almost don't even think of it as a western to be honest. Val Kilmer performance of a lifetime as Doc Holiday.

[@gantongangsta3735]

I recommend watching "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly".

[@leefox5596]

This film is not for snowflakes! Amazing scenes, I can't imagine how many actors and extras got their bodies broken and bruised to create some of the chase scenes. They don't make then like that anymore.

[@LearningaboutMovies]

true of just about any stunt scene before 1990!

[@ToddSauve]

Ethan isn't the only one outside in the final moments of the film. Ward Bond is also in the background, along with another of the Rangers, perhaps Mose Harper, as they ride off to the right. There are so many layers to this film that it feels like it wasn't made by humans but was directed in the offstage area by a higher power. So much genius on display here it is unfair to everyone who made a Western, or any other film, after that. 🤠

[@josesanchez-os7zr]

It's not that it's possibly the best western in history. It is one of the best movies of all time. Curiously, he did not receive any nomination for the academy awards. A year in which the winner for best film was, Around the World in 80 Days.

[@dennisesplin3285]

Oddly Ethan a confererate has a US Sabre. He has apparently a Congressional Medal of Honour. A US award. Hard bitten Texas Ranger come Padre Ward Bond is excellent.

[@LearningaboutMovies]

yes, the hint is that Ethan has robbed US Cavalry/Army at some point. I believe this is in the book, and I think it's hinted at in the movie's dialogue.

[@dennisesplin3285]

@@LearningaboutMovies Thanks. Yes it was common for Confederate to utilise found US weapons. This desconcerting film could not be made today.

[@tombrennan6312]

The medal is French--evidently Ethan spent part of the 4 years since the end of the southern rebellion as a mercenary in Mexico. If you want to see the Medal of Honor of that time Captain Brittles, Wayne's character in Ford's She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, is seen wearing one in the scene where he bids good bye to his troop. At the time it was a simple medal and pinned to the chest.

[@slowerthinker]

I rewatched this for the first time in _decades_ and for the first time as an actual adult, and I was a little disappointed and don't think it quite lives up to the hype. It is still a good film, and there are some absolutely cracking and iconic scenes, but there are three reasons I am unable to consider this the best western of all time. 1. Some of the exterior shooting that was very obviously done inside a studio with a painted backdrop. After the jaw dropping majesty of all the location shots in monument valley they look incredibly phoney and cheap. 2. The casting of Scar. The camera pans along a line of badass looking indian warriors, then their leader steps forward who looks about as convincing a Comanche as Adam Ant. 3. The comic relief of the Mose character is really jarring and out of place in what is a dark story about the brutality on the fontier no mans land between two peoples with an hatred of each other. Every time he opens his mouth it is like Jar Jar Binks appearing.

[@LearningaboutMovies]

I think those three items you mention are indeed the weakest points for a contemporary viewer, and none of them would be in a movie today. The perception would be that they make the movie hokey and unbelievable.

[@Finians_Mancave]

I agree with the first two criticisms, but can't say I find Mose's character jarring at all, as I always assumed he was meant to come off as a bit "out there". Because of this he's an outsider with no home of his own, and yet he's not ostracized and in fact, is treated well by the others. Consequently he's also a thematic character in that he pines for his own rocking chair (a place to call home) which he does finally get in the end.

[@ihatefanserviceanime364]

Stupid comment

[@tombrennan6312]

I think Scar is somewhat based on Quanah Parker, thus his portrayal by Henry Brandon, including his blue eyes, is fitting. And I found The character very tough and menacing. Note that Brandon portrayed Parker in Ford's Two Rode Together.

[@Braxtonsport]

I herd mose was based on a real man named mose

[@phil6904]

Interesting. I didn’t read Ethan as ‘nasty’, or motivated primarily by guilt. I think of him as someone with his own (twisted) sense of honor, which is increasingly out-of-step with his world. My sense is that the Confederate lost cause was still romanticised in 50s Hollywood (and even later). Ethan’s attitude to captive women is not because he thinks they have been driven crazy, and better off dead. It’s more like he thinks they are ‘dishonored’, and the only way to restore the moral balance is by death. Like the horror of so-called ‘honor killings’, even today. The film (and Ethan himself) does finally recognise how outdated his moral code has become, but his ability to change is still limited. History has moved on, leaving him outside, but still admirable in some ways. That’s my thoughts anyway!

[@alanwatson4249]

Good comment. WWII had only been over a decade before the making of the flm - a reference to Ethan's aggression and sadism surely is an echo of how many ex-servicemen suffered at the time? Especially towards Japanese. Similar attitudes had a big influence on the misogyny and violence in 'Film Noir' of the 50s.

[@phil6904]

@@alanwatson4249 great point. Like hatred is necessary to fight a war, but hard to shed and go back to domesticity when war is over. Never thought of it that way. Thanks.

[@alanwatson4249]

@@phil6904 That aggression and PTSD was widespread in the 50s - and very real and scary by all accounts - little talked of.

[@LearningaboutMovies]

historically, the contempt for captive women (in Anglo-American society) who were by default "tainted" was a real phenomenon on the frontier. I think your view could be right; my point in the video is based on historical readings of the period. Ford may or may not have gone for that, who knows. Yes, the Confederate values that Ethan tries to exhibit are up for scrutiny in the movie!

[@phil6904]

@@LearningaboutMovies yes, and I love movies that allow for that kind of ambiguity. History moves on, but humans keep making same mistakes.

[@marcl2213]

Just finished the movie (rented online) and I was looking for reviews. I would have surely appreciate loving this «classic» but it was not the case. Those big names praising the film (Spielberg, Scorsese, etc) must have seen it when they were young when you are not too much critical about the storyline. So much stuff doesn’t work for me. The story that drag on for the search (no passing time clearly indicated, Wayne and the other man have the same face although they probably spent 5 years on the road). The climax is put at the wrong place, when they discover (Debbie) we have this abrupt cut were the two men have to flee. Then we got the scene of a marriage, a fight scene, etc., that brings nothing to the story. Then we get to the final which is put in fast forward; Debbie accept to go back to her family in the blink of an eye, when we can clearly understand she now consider herself as an indian. The cinematography is great... but the white/indian chases are reminiscence of old b&w western with booming music... I will give 5/10 as general appreciation but for me this film is over rated by critics.

[@mopthermopther]

Raising cattle in a desert 🏜️ 🌵 ??

[@stevedaniels6802]

This is the greatest movie experience possible and Wayne's best performance. I first saw it when probably a young teenager and while I thought it a fantastic move, did not begin to appreciate the layers. It requires repeated viewings. I now approach every watch on the basis Ethan is Debbie's father. If you accept this sypnopsis consider this - he's had an affair with his brother's wife, fathered a daughter, left the family home for 7-8 years and returned to only to leave straightaway while they are massacred (with Martha presumably gang-raped, murdered and scalped off-screen). Can't anyone therefore understand why Ethan would be so obsessively vengeful - not racist. I have to limit my viewings these days on account of the fact every time I watch it I feel like I've had my heart ripped out. (I did however name my beautiful puppy dog Martha after this movie.) I'm from the UK and Westerns are the best.

[@LearningaboutMovies]

thank you

[@stevedaniels6802]

Sorry, I didn't say how much I enjoyed your video. Which I did.

[@Ghastly_Grinner]

Ethan is the good guy the fought hard his government broke before he did his will is the story of the movie

[@Tordogor]

I am a huge John Wayne fan - he is like a father figure for me. Love so much the very amusing 'The Comancheros', because it was the first JW movie I ever saw - when 6 yo., with my Granma (another JW fan!) The great Nehemiah Persoff and Stuart Whitman are marvelous in it. I cry like a baby every time I watch his character deaths in 'The Cowboys' and 'The Shootist'. Or the end of 'TMWS Liberty Valance'. My favorite movie of the Duke is the hugely entertaining and enjoyable 'Rio Bravo', which I have watched 200+ times in 52 years. I think that God smiles to me when it is shown - especially jointly to 'El Dorado' (~200 views also.) But I consider 'The Searchers' one of the three greatest movies ever made (with Wells' 'Citizen Kane' and Reed's 'The Third Man'. Moving, shocking, funny, even sometimes disgusting, but also tender and lovable. Wayne and Hunter are amazing - plus all the other members of the John Ford's ensemble of actors. And I cannot avoid the tears when Ethan returns from burying in his coat to his older niece Lucy - revolting images come to mind, while shockingly heartbreaking -, and at the end, when framed by the door, Ethan is left alone, turns around and leaves - now sympathetically heartbreaking. It is very understandable why this movie is so admired and beloved. At so many levels, it is the highest peak of American and World filmmaking!!!

[@LearningaboutMovies]

thank you.

[@pedrodalmagro-3f837]

Great video bro. But my problems with this film, are in first the final massage is a white fella saving a lady from the wild natives... who doesn't seens like a good thing to me. And in seconde the plot there's no sense of urgency at all, i mean, in a moment they are looking for the lady, and in the next scene they are in a house taking a break. In the end they literally are in a wedding, and ethan is making jokes and drinking and than a random new character talk abour scar, and than he reminds they are looking for her. And the last problem are the inconstancy of Ethan, in a moment he is like "hey, why do you wanna save her? She isn't even your relative" and in another he is like "while you're wasting time eating, I'm going to save her!". In a moment he wanna kill her, and in the end he acts like a truly hero and says "let's go home"... Anyway, that's just my opinion man, and sorry for my bad english, I'm from BR...

[@LearningaboutMovies]

thank you, very much appreciated.

[@Joan-ph2es]

Disagree absolutely that Ethan wants to kill Debbie because he feels guilty that he didn't save the rest of her family. As if he'll feel better killing her himself? That makes no sense. His intention IMO has to do with Debbie's so-called purity. She seems to be one of Scar's wives, no longer an innocent girl, but one of Scar's people in every way. And Ethan, even before the raid on his brother's ranch, hates Indians and wishes to harm them even after death and to the extent of killing buffalo so Indians will starve. He does relent, but Ethan's pursuit is based on his hatred. Not any supposed guilt he may feel. (And I don't believe he does feel any guilt for the attack -- just more hatred. I don't see evidence of guilt in Ethen's behavior or thinking. He's too direct and straightforward for such a complicated psychology.)

[@ezrawegner7407]

What do you think about the theme or sexual purity in this movie? Ethan's obsession with his brothers wife, his rejection of the adopted son both in the beginning and throughout their journey together, and his motivation for the honor-killing and implied incestuous attraction to her when he decides not to kill her. I think the distinction you talked about between the civilized indoor space and the wild outdoor space is also linked to this theme of sexual purity and western ideals of femininity. I loved your video! :)

[@LearningaboutMovies]

excellent, thank you.

[@kernowarty]

I have just watched this western for the first time and to be honest I thought a lot of the acting was wooden and the actors seemed to shout rather than talk like they were performing on a stage before we had microphones and speakers. Wayne shows very little emotion even when he sees what the Indians had done to his brother and his family. He is just John Wayne in this film, like he is in all his films. The cinematography is noteworthy but that is about it.

[@LearningaboutMovies]

the acting styles at this point are just different, it's true. This was not only normal but quite good by the standards of the day -- e.g., Ward Bond's performance.

[@kernowarty]

@@LearningaboutMovies But there had already been movies like On the Waterfront at this point.

[@kernowarty]

@@LearningaboutMovies Ward Bond sounded like he was about to burst into the songs from Oklahoma!!

[@svene.3856]

You just didn't get it at all, no matter if acting was different.

[@undergroundjohnny]

Watched it with my 18 year old the other day. We both thought it was a big MEH!!

[@LearningaboutMovies]

I didn't like it the first time either.

[@undergroundjohnny]

@@LearningaboutMovies We will watch again soon.

[@DalonCole]

Not the best western. The best movie. Ever.

[@LearningaboutMovies]

thank you.

[@DalonCole]

@@LearningaboutMovies Also. "Liked and Subscribed". You do a good job

[@LearningaboutMovies]

thank you, Stephen. Welcome!

[@AlonsoRules]

those scenes set at "night" that are clearly filmed during the day are the most annoying part of this film

[@LearningaboutMovies]

yes, though go back to the 1920s and all they are doing is filming in sunlight and tinting the frames to indicate "night." This is the kind of non-realism that was "realistic" at the time and yet it strikes my kids as hokey.

[@AlonsoRules]

@@racewiththefalcons1 there are many scenes at the start of The Ten Commandments where the studio backdrop is so obvious

[@dp5707]

Wow...aren't you sooooo smart....nobody else saw that🙄

[@robderiche]

So, did Ethan kill Lucy? Like maybe he got the drop on her captors and then killed her because, presumably, her “virtue had been spoiled” by then?

[@shirleybalinski4535]

One of the Greatest movies ever made. It is almost perfect except for Charlie McCurry & the wedding scenes. Charlie is irritating & Ford expended too much energy on the wedding. This broke the rhythm, the flow of the tale.

[@Hassan_MMM]

Being so old why the movie ain't available free online❓

[@46metube]

The problem here is the historical context: white man v Native American. When viewed this way these films look little more than silly. And disturbing. When Sacheen Littlefeather collected Brando's Oscar Wayne, apparently, had to be held back by security to stop him coming on and making a scene. You can hear all the booing from the audience. The film maybe viewed as a classic but it's themes are so archaic and stereotypical it's difficult to give it any credence other than through the eyes of children who went to see it - not understanding real history.

[@LearningaboutMovies]

yet that is not the context for the movie, as it's not about the entire history of white v. Indian interactions. Not sure what a stunt at an award ceremony has to do with this. As well, the theme of raiding and kidnapping and its horrific consequences is entirely reasonable, as at that point it had happened on both sides for hundreds of years. Then again, this movie is specifically about the Comanche and Texans in the 1860s. There's an earlier comment that's spot on -- the portrayal of Scar is absurd, plus a number of other specific problems like that.

[@46metube]

@@LearningaboutMovies I can assure, you the plight of native Americans is not a stunt at an award ceremony. It was done to bring to light the mistreatment of native Americans in films depicting them in a particularly stereotypical manner - which Wayne's films generally did. For example Scar was a German born actor. Rock Hudson once portrayed them plus all the others. You mentioned the Comanche wars in Texas. It's still the same thing - just on a smaller scale. The 'Injun' has always had a bad run in movies. Recently things have changed somewhat, but not much. Wayne did well out of killing Injuns in his movies, though I doubt he understood what that meant to them, in reality.

[@tombrennan6312]

The movie is fairly realistic portrayal of the Texas frontier and the bitter blood feud between the Comanches and the Texans. Neither side were nice guys and fear, cruelty and violence of was a reality of life. That's history for you.

[@djordjemarkovic1389]

@@46metube they portrayel Native Americans both and good and Bad before WW2. I watched some early movies like Western union and they are presented like People who are betrayed and like People loosing their land. I mean even in movies with negative views thay are portrayed like people who have a reason fight. In Oklahoma kid 1939 they said that they cheat on Indinas and that they brought thier land for misearble price. By the 1960s almost complete negative portrayls of Native Americans vanished. Movies with a good portrayls are How the west was won, Chisum, Broken Arrow, White feather, Little Big Guy and the best one is Dances with Wolves. By this Day there are no negative views or portrayls of Native Americans in movies. Hosteiles and Revenant have good portrayls of Native Americans.

[@svene.3856]

@@46metube You talk so much BS, I don't believe you've ever watched the movies you are talking about. And if you did, your eyes may have been open, but your mind was closed. You just don't seem to know much about history or said movies.

[@lenintrejo9630]

i could not watch the whole movie, not a great fan of jonh wayne

[@alanaxan8793]

Probably lack of concentration on your part and probably initiated in your school days judging by your spelling. Do you still not get it?🙄

[@lenintrejo9630]

@@alanaxan8793 just a bad movie, maybe a good one back in the day

[@BoldValiant]

I'm sorry, but I don't get it. I watched 'The Searchers', recently (third viewing) again, and while it's a beautiful and an important movie, I just do not think it's a good movie. John Wayne is great, but the other characters are uninteresting. The script is completely forgettable. I'm not trying to be annoying, but I just don't get it. I will say that I tend to like movies comprised of memorable moments and this one has two that come to mind. I'm sure that I'll get lots of negative comments, but I'm really just interested in why others think that this is a great movie.

[@LearningaboutMovies]

It took me four times to see greatness in it.. Even then I respect it more than I like it.

[@BoldValiant]

@@LearningaboutMovies Lol Thanks.

[@sidhayes6168]

Martin Pauley

[@BoldValiant]

@@sidhayes6168 Christopher Pike !

[@johndoe-fq7ez]

Just watched for the first time, totally agree

[@ms33401]

The ultimate dumb ass movie: guy searches FOUR YEARS for a child nabbed by Indians (Cleveland Indians, Washington Redskins, Atlanta Braves, it's not made clear which). That's it; that's the story. The first three years nada. Then he finds the young child - it turns out that the Indians stole Natalie Wood !!! - who now wears lipstick and looks hot to trot. Did Indians wear lipstick? John Wayne is a Confederate soldier who's pissed off; that interesting plot line goes untouched. Grateful for the discusion here but painful movie to watch and ultimately unwatchable.

[@LearningaboutMovies]

I don't think you'll like any movie ever if you are going to pick on makeup choices.