Synopsis
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Reviews (150)
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S
86 Monument Valley as desolate, alien structures which impede an American progression after the civil war. John Ford’s mise en scène is so lively, so thoroughly invested in the complexity of the homestead and the lawlessness of the open sky. Particular moments, such as Martin galloping away from Laurie while she clings to a fence, her body facing the camera, bring me to tears. Its formalist beauty comes at a price, with odd bits of slapstick and other ‘of its time’ elements, but the scale and psychology of its racism is overwhelming and essential to dissecting the cinematic myth of the American west. Not to mention the opening and closing compositions, some of the best of each category.
649 3 -
M
No longer just the great American western film but now also possibly the great media literacy litmus test.
1,161 -
S
*Was an 85, now a 100* Nothing less than The Great American Movie. 70mm print was truly inexplicable. Made me see the movie in a whole new way. Continues to grow in majesty and mystery with the passage of time.
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Nnickusen 8 月 23, 2026
maybe I’m different, but if my niece had been kidnapped by the Comanche I’d simply find her right away instead of taking years
1,016 3 -
J
The rage of this film is so overwhelming, an endless slaughter and rape perpetuated by both cowboys and Injuns. More symbolism than normal in a Ford film, especially those shots from the inside looking out, but Ford’s mastery of tone, character and place has rarely been better. The reddish glint of sunset turned into a dread-inducing precursor to redskin attack; the sickened distance Wayne’s Ethan places between himself and his half-breed adopted nephew; the way Monument Valley seems so infinite but so bordered, its own globe that can be walked until one loops around to where he started. Yes, it has somewhat dubious comic relief scenes, as well as a nominally happy ending, but this is one of Ford’s most…
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D
Europe has Homer’s Odyssey, the Americans have John Ford’s The Searchers. The movie is the essence of the American west, it’s final scene the essence of moviemaking.
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R
Turns out that plenty of racism, sexism, cardboard cutouts masquerading as characters, and stunning cinematography all equal the most revered Western of all time. Well, if I have to watch John Wayne being a self-righteous asshole for two hours, at least I also get to watch some of the most beautiful landscapes in this part of the world. That’s a fair bit of recompense. The Searchers is a morose, overly serious Western on all counts, but it occasionally also attempts to muscle in a bit of awkward humor during the unnecessary romantic subplot between the daughter of Swedish immigrants and Cardboard Cutout #2, the young man who sets out to be the moral conscience of Cardboard Cutout #1, otherwise known…
2,025 302 -
N
Psychological epic on the psychology of racism, fascinating in dialectic with Griffith’s Birth Of A Nation: racism as the product of fear of losing sexual superiority and the fear of race-mixing. Key that Ethan is pro-Confederacy: Martin fears Ethan wishes to kill Debbie but doesn’t know why, Ethan fears Debbie has been ‘contaminated,’ resolves to kill her after learning she has become Scar’s wife. Logically this should have no bearing, but for Ethan it’s all about preserving the bloodline. One of the most damning indictments of American culture: and the extent that racism is fundamental to the conservative American psyche. It’s key that Martin is what Ethan determines as a ‘half-breed,’ the moral center of this film is a child…
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S
The Searchers gives the lie to the supposed heroism of the Wild West mythos. John Wayne plays the same Indian-killing cowboy we’ve seen him play since the early 1930’s, the image of a valiant savior come to rescue a bunch of white folks from the Native American menace, but here he plays it as explicitly racist, calling out the pathological nature of the traditional cowboy’s racialized violence. Our heroes of the West were always outlaws who had to ride off into the sunset, but they were glorified outcasts, they were getting rid of the “real” bad guys. The Searchers shows this hero not as an altruistic warrior, but as a murderer whose positive effects on society are less purposeful, more…
1,931 26 -
M
66/100 Time to bite the bullet and admit—as much to myself as to you fine people—that I just don’t love The Greatest Western. Easiest way to rationalize this heresy is to pick a fight with the ending, which has always felt baldly contrived; I’ve read heroic interpretations of Ethan’s sudden decision to cradle Debbie in his arms, but never a sensible word regarding Debbie’s equally sudden (and patently ludicrous) about-face when Martin comes for her. Truthfully, though, the film’s disregard for the harrowing reality of an assimilated captive’s ordeal is only one of many speedbumps. Martin and Laurie’s frustrated romance, for example, while often entertaining for its own sake, doesn’t really work as a counterpoint to Ethan’s quest, even though…
553 2 -
J
Obviously the accumulation of so many of Ford’s own interests with the psychology and camaraderie of military men, with brutal outsiders vs. graceful and warm communities, with the history of this land as both a poetic and elementally expressive monument and vast, lonely wasteland, with simultaneously lyrical and melancholy use of light, geography, gorgeously saturated Technicolor and deep focus VistaVision photography, etc… (Do you need someone else to tell you this one of the most painterly, meticulously framed, staged and blocked movies, and has probably the greatest opening/closing shot ever?) But most intriguing about its reputation as the Great American Western/Movie is how confrontational and shocking it still manages to be about the ugly cowboy “hero” at its center even…
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F
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S
Was technicolor really just a cheat code for filmmakers? Surely you could get this level of visuals today if you just tried hard enough
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I
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B
Amazing cinematography. Wayne just dunking on everyone here.
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A
I was thinking after watching the director’s cut of Manhunter that although I’m aware that almost every good movie is in one way or another riffing on The Searchers, I’ve never actually seen The Searchers. And now let me be the first to say it, this movie is incredible. Even with the reputation that precedes it I was still gobsmacked by its audacity, its frankness, by the way Ford sets up and then undercuts so many moments of supposed heroism. What a picture.
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D
You speak pretty good American… for a Comanche. Absolutely beautiful. Dragged down by some unnecessary comic relief (an outstandingly silly fight notwithstanding), but easily one of the finest westerns of its era with one of the greatest closing shots in cinema.
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L
I forgot how brutal this was. Like a proto Larry McMurtry novel (who’s character writing I easily prefer). Loses points for some of its Studio era choices – casting, use of sets, make up & lighting – which gives everything a dollhouse gleam instead of gritty Western. Good but definitely overrated
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S
Man idk. Hated a good portion of this movie but found some of it really fascinating as well. Ending shot is insane tho and maybe one of the best final shots of a movie I’ve seen. Beautiful, poetic etc. but it also really sums up John Wayne’s character and what his motivations were the entire time. I think if they had leaned into John Wayne’s performance a bit more, the character could have gone down as one of the all…
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S
Woah what? Okay huh what
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C
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that there is an earnest attempt to challenge the racism of this script’s own premise and characters but holy shit most of this movie is so fucking racist that it’s hard to defend. Beautifully photographed, though, even if that’s so obviously not Texas and it really took me out of the movie for most of it.
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R
Gran película. Lástima que nunca me harán estar en contra de los indios
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A
well well well Mr. Tarantino…
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M
This is what we mean when we talk about an epic film that will always remain in our minds, John Wayne seems like an actor born to be a movie star especially in Westerns .
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I
“Figure a man’s only good for one oath at a time.”
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B
What a voice… astonishing time capsule … Epic
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B
⬆️
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D
I don’t know how to to start this review without talking about my pop. He is the reason that John Wayne is a favorite of mine. Many times in my youth did I lose out on the tv to a John Wayne movie. I didn’t really get it until I was in my early 20s and started to really appreciate the Duke. The Searchers Ethan Edward’s is so against everything that a regular John Wayne roll. …
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M
This to me is the devolution of Ford. He influenced the great European auteurs into the 30s & 40s, and then it appears that in the 50s Television influenced Mr. Ford.
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C
Some of the content is questionable, but what isn’t questionable is the fact that John Ford can make something equally beautiful in black&white and color. The imagery here absolutely pops off the screen.
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S
There is nothing about The Searchers that fits with contemporary mores. And yet, having not seen it in a long time, I was surprised to find how strongly the film interrogates John Wayne’s Ethan Edwards. To the point where I’d say it doesn’t flinch from showing him to be a piece of shit. Other than that, what is there to say? One of the most beautiful looking films of all time. A surprisingly nuanced performance by Jeffrey Hunter in what…
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1
Très mauvais souvenir
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A
I mean the first half was cool I guess. The ending was shit. Uhm what else… oh why everyone gotta be so damn racist bruh. Can’t we all just live in peace and love each other. Great waste of two hours just to watch John Wayne be a racist a-hole. Some of the scenery and shots were cool
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R
Maybe it’s no longer one of the best-ever movies or Westerns. But it still has one of the sliver screen’s best-ever endings. And it’s one of the most gorgeous movies ever shot. We’re jaded. We grew up with antiheroes. But without Ethan Edwards, there’d be no Travis Bickle. Snake Plissken. Or Deadpool. (No Deadpool might not’ve been a bad thing? Or maybe I’m just Ryan Reynoldsed out. Anyhow.) Ethan was a bitter, unsympathetic, unrepentant, murderous racist. Playing the character was…
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Ppwryly 8 月 22, 2026
Complexity beats majesty every time.
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G
Imagine ur family getting murdered, searching for your little sister for 5 years with a racist that is a dick to you, finally finding her with the ppl who kidnapped her and she tells u to hit the road they’re her people now, go back home to your girl getting married to another guy, and having a murder charge on your name for something you didn’t do.
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Z
The Hays Code is a scourge
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J
Primeiro filme que assisto do John Ford e logo traz um personagem abruptamente racista e sexista, movido por esteriótipos e eugenia. Ethan é quase que um estudo da mente militarizada da sociedade americana enfrentada na época, onde o rastros de ódio começam muito antes do problema em que o filme aborda, começa muito antes de Ethan com sua mente colonizadora, onde o ódio gerado de gerações e gerações foi passado de pai para filho até chegar no protagonista.
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B
Is it racist? Is it about racism? Is it both? You decide ! Almost a 4.5
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T
Uma das melhores experiências que você pode ter em um filme – Obra Prima
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R
in 70 years people will talk about Citizen Vigilante like they talk about this film
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M
Maybe I just don’t have enough familiarity with the genre, but I found John Wayne’s performance to be mediocre and the character he is portraying to be deeply unlikeable. From what I’ve heard about the film, I think it’s possible that this was intentional to challenge the audience, but it just never really came together for me. And I think broadly speaking, there just aren’t a lot of dynamic characters in this film. No one is really changed by the…
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G
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S
Some georgeous scenic western landscapes and the opening/closing shots are the highlight. But I don’t love the story, and it’s hard to get past the Confederate soldier protagonist and caricature depiction of native americans
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J
🤠 The Searchers is one of those classics where I completely understand why people consider it one of the greatest westerns ever made, even if, personally, I don’t think it’s a perfect film. I still really, really liked it, and there’s so much here that works incredibly well. First of all, the visuals are absolutely gorgeous. 🌄 The landscapes, the lighting, the compositions, the way the camera captures the enormous American West… everything looks so clean and cinematic. There are…
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P
Looks good, but the story gets jumbled near half way point.
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M
De lo mejor de john ford, uno de los mejores westrens de la historia Ford deconstruye el mito del héroe tradicional del oeste mustrado un personaje comsumido por el odio hacia los indios americanos y como que simple rescate, john ford cuenta una epica aventura sobre verganza y desaparición. El visual de la pelicula y la fotografia de Winton Hoch con grandes paisajes de Monument Valley Establecio el westren americano para siempre y el gran reparto de estrellas John Wayne,Jeffrey…
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T
That’ll be the day
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M
Beautifully made movie. The wide ranging cinematography as well as the score was well done. I can easily see why this is often regarded as one of the best visually made movies. My main beef with this movie is that it paints the Native Americans in a very evil and savage way. I don’t really consider Ethan a hero in anyway due to him 1. Being a confederate solider and 2. Being a vengeful person who only has the goal of killing the Native Americans and essentially doing to them what they did to him. Overall though, phenomenal craft and a good watch.
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A
I imagine the old white dudes really loved this movie in the 50s
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P
Are you comanche? Never🤮
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B
Filme que realmente só gringos, principalmente norte americanos, iriam gostar e tentar com todas as forças justificar dando “interpretações” para dizer que o filme é uma crítica sobre si mesmo. Assisti como se uma arma estivesse apontada para mim. Meia estrela apenas por conta dos cenários e os últimos 5 segundos do filme.
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Y
I liked it for the landscapes and some great atmosphere, especially with the inciting incident at the home. It looked beautiful while also being the exemplar of the American national myth, with all the racism you would expect. I don’t think anyone who reads into this some sort of subversive critique of American history on Ford’s part is being totally honest with themselves. Influential, beautiful, well-crafted, but still has that evil heart to it all that no one can wash…
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A
Why was Ethan like that with Martin im pissed, I expected way more of this movie
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T
Worst guy you know being an asshole
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A
heartbreaking: racist ass movie is unfortunately a banger 😔
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Sshabanasks 8 月 21, 2026
Visually spectacular…wow
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Dderrickdisney 8 月 21, 2026
In the desert, man and man and man loop independently and invisibly around each another, set forth like coded programs across the void, tracing each other’s steps unknowingly until a predestined encounter. (This isn’t the case in more fertile, forested areas of the country—if fruit can grow and water runs, the nomadic confrontation doesn’t need to exist.) Most westerns are built around these isolated flareups: two ranchers glimpse a plot of good land at the same time; a lone Indian…
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N
Legit thought there would never be the day I watched another John Wayne movie. Honestly John Wayne kind of annoys me, I feel like these kinds of cowboys suck and have nothing on the spaghetti westerns. Also kind of dated and a little boring at parts but it’s alright.
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M
“What makes a man to wander? What makes a man to roam? What makes a man leave bed and board, and turn his back on home? A man will search his heart and soul, go searchin’ way out there. His peace of mind he knows he’ll find, but where, oh lord, lord where? Ride away, ride away, ride away…” Finally… What can be said that hasn’t been said. Genuine American Classic. The Criterion channel has it looking pretty pretty good. My…
7 3 -
V
A lot more complex and, obviously with John Ford, a lot better shot than your average cowboy movie. The American Southwest lends itself extremely well to beautiful wide shots and every opportunity was taken with that. A lot of the thematic stuff in regards to Ethan never giving up on the Confederacy and this theme of stubbornness is really interesting. There’s definitely a problematic angle in terms of how the Comanche are portrayed, especially since I doubt most of those…
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N
Now I see it.
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A
an acceptance that a country was founded on hatred, but an understanding on why that hatred exists on both sides. a country that was built on that hatred, and may very well never have made it if there wasn’t that hatred, but in the end, the future must abandon that hatred and move on to a new future leaving John Wayne to wander the desert alone. bro did hit the Harry Carey Sr. tho 😳. all that hatred but this shit is just gorgeous to look at 😮💨.
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A
I didn’t realize this is almost a year to the day that I saw this on 70mm, an experience that completely changed my view on the film from my initial thoughts years ago and made me want to pick up this 4K. Needless to say, Warner Archive did an amazing job on this transfer and I can’t wait to see more 4K from their label! In addition to admiring the beautiful picture, I found myself even more in awe of…
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D
Classic western. Actually darker than I expected. Even though John Wayne plays a very racist Confederate traitor, you understand why he was such a star back then. A really good classic. Also absolutely gorgeous. So sad that this film which mostly takes place in a desert looks so much more colorful than movies today.
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M
never watched the searchers with a repertory audience before which is kind of like watching inland empire with a studio laugh track
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D
Watching The Searchers and shaking my head the whole time so the people on Letterboxd know I disagree with it. But seriously, deeply racist, overwrought in places, and I hate John Wayne for a lot of reasons, but also: hot damn. Beautifully shot, oddly nuanced, delightfully funny in spots, and Wayne’s fake macho bullshit helps sell his character’s pigheadedness. Monument Valley is such a vibe.
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J
laurie’s character was really reassuring to me because i didn’t know girlhood was like that in every generation
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F
I realise this might not be popular, but I have to say that I’m not the biggest fan of this film. As a whole, it is well-made and undeniably influential, but if you boil it down, I don’t hate it but what really carries it, is John Wayne’s performance. Everyone agrees that Wayne’s portrayal of Ethan Edwards is about as perfect and bold a lead as you can get for its era, and I believe that without his intense performance,…
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A
There are two scenes in this movie I think about a lot. The one where John Wayne comes out of the canyon and starts stabbing the ground. Very relatable content as someone that struggles to regulate their emotions properly. And the wedding scene. Because that is one of the funnest fights put to film.
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4
1st half good 2nd half bad
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AAL 8 月 21, 2026
Ethan sounds like such a modern name
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M
I love this kind of movies it’s so simple, emotional, full of event and can entertain without a single boring moment
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S
Visualmente es hermosa fácilmente y visualmente hablando entra en mi top 3 de películas que visualmente son hermosas. Fuera de eso la película en sí es muy buena John Wayne hace una actuación impecable, las escenas de acción están bien hechas y John Ford nos demuestra porque es uno de los mejores directores de Western.
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M
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F
“The Searchers” is a haunting, deeply melancholic western, elevated by its extraordinary visual language and a screenplay built almost entirely on what remains unspoken. Ethan Edwards is a tragic, deeply complex figure, forever searching for something he can never truly find. the opening and closing shots are simply unforgettable.
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F
“ I remember, from always. At first I prayed to you: ‘Come and get me, take me home.’ You didn’t come.” My, oh my this was such a thrilling story! John Wayne is at his best, Vera Miles is witty as always, Natalie Wood is as good as always. So many legends on my screen and I’m extremely satisfied. Now to read the book…… 🤠🤠🤠🤠 “Not quite, I’m eighth Cherokee, the rest is Welsh and English. Least that’s what they tell me.”
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Eemmachanen 8 月 21, 2026
I love to live in a city that loves movies. First time at the Academy Museum theater, second time seeing a movie in VistaVision. A fun time had by all.
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J
Hot take that I’ve never been the biggest fan of this classic western but it’s big beautiful movie and the Wayne Ethan character is one of the more complex fascinating characters in the genre. I’m just not sold on Wayne’s performance, I’ve always felt like he feels he’s the hero of the movie and it’s something I can’t shake. I also find the middle section epistolary framing cumbersome. That being said, seeing this in 70mm was the best experience I’ve had with the film.
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J
Fuerte novela Cuánto dramatismo Soy más de Sergio Leone y Clint Eastwood O los siete magníficos
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Ttinydinkyduffy 8 月 21, 2026
Very often beautiful to look at but I don’t know what to make of this. Or more specifically, I see a lot of reviewers portraying this as some sort of reckoning for the western genre. And to be fair, I haven’t seen many. But thats just not the feeling I had watching it. It felt like the film was constantly telling me Ethan is a baddass and, although a bit aggressive, mostly in the right. The final charge on Scar’s…
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T
A Western epic from an era or ecosystem wherin a movie needed to entertain the whole family. Romance action comedy and pandering to a modern audience that through pacifying the West the United states might be a very fine country some day. This is less a piece of art and more a commercial product which checks many boxes. One of which being that yes it is a well made film. I do like the Cherokee boy in it. It is…
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G
John Wayne is actually wearing two belts and suspenders in this movie Why could his pants possibly be that heavy
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C
If this whole movie was just horses running as fast as they can, in the desert, shot in technicolor, day for night, it would have been better. A beautiful looking movie with virtually no other redeeming qualities. I really dislike John Wayne.
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C
Those John Ford landscape shots…
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⛱
🏜🐎The Long Ride Home – That’ll be the day. 🔫🤠🚪I have very mixed feelings about this movie. I decided to watch it only because it was included in a challenge, but I hadn’t heard anything about it beforehand, so I went in completely blind, and… For some reason, it feels like I watched a completely different movie than most people? On the bright side, of course, the visuals are impressive. The Searchers is very colorful and visually appealing, with those…
68 2 -
M
Film qui a beaucoup inspiré George Lucas pour le 4
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T
I was in total awe the entire film, I can’t wait to give it a well deserved rewatch!
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L
the greatest way to experience a film of this kind is on glorious 70mm film! (the amount of horses and epic desert landscapes!!!! ) a total flex of skill on John Ford’s part for so much of this movie in how scenes are played out, it makes so much sense why this would be so many directors favorite movie or source of inspiration. also probably Fords funniest?? so much fun between Laurie and Martin and those scenes are probably my…
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PPaul Walker 8 月 20, 2026
Beautiful, mournful but crucially, a violent and cruel film. One of cinema’s signature, “what greatness could have been of this country if only we weren’t who we are” films. Every frame is perfectly calibrated. Staging, blocking and movement within frame is confident and muscular. This is in many ways a sad and tortured film – not just for its brutal summation of the American experiment, but for its characters’ sense of longing, their moments of joy and optimism and humor. Their moments of belief. These characters have a deep signifying weight. It great to reconnect with the film, On 70mm no less!
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A
i mean i love a man in well fitting jeans but thats the extent to which my interest level intersects with this film
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L
this was way sillier than I thought it would be! some nice classic humor topics like: accidentally getting married, having a brawl at a wedding, not knowing how to read, etc. extremely very beautiful. didn’t like most of the performances to be honest but that’s okay. this might be sacreligious to say but the searchers actually has the bones for a really interesting remake. there’s lots of stuff about marty’s native american roots and how that would juxtapose with debbie’s…
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E
It was a rare treat to see The Searchers at the Academy Museum last night. It was projected in a 70mm VistaVision print, part of their VistaVision series. The vistas of Monument Valley are stunning, rich oranges and reds. The print looked flawless, only a few moments where there were flecks of damage. John Wayne is a stern and stoic presence in the film, aging before your eyes, looking tired and haggard by the conclusion. I often return to…
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B
I have had almost every feeling one can have about a movie about The Searchers in the 30 plus years since I first saw it. I saw it tonight with a big audience at the Academy Museum’s David Geffen Theater. There are moments where the racism and/or cruelty as comedy made the audience gasp a bit. So how has this film dodged the kind of canceling that has brought down other venerated classics? Perhaps the sheer cinematic genius of John…
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A
found it difficult to experience for how much ford opens the aperture of your heart to the genocidal culture that served as the pretext for the kind of glanton gang genocide of the indigenous & initially wrote it off for its bigotry but as i write this a day later i cannot stop thinking about it & am planning to finally finish blood meridian. i do believe the fantasy of the revisionism of what we know of this genre has the capacity for reflection even beyond the pop legend of the story as famous as tombstone as depicted in gunfight at the ok corral.
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F
Not a huge western guy but a John Wayne masterclass made me reconsider
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G
Could not for one second take Scar seriously with that bananas casting. A tan German guy?? And what’s played for laughs is sometimes even in bad taste for the time. But oh my god there are some greats moments in here. John Wayne, as awful as he AND his character are–what a watchable anti-hero.
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SSnack Munson 8 月 20, 2026
main takeaway was how gorgeous the cinematography looked, especially in vistavision. not to be woke but this is the second western I’ve watched where the main character is an ex-confederate: even if it’s meant to show the hero isn’t an upstanding moral figure, it’s weird that I have two nickels so to speak? is this a trope I’m not getting? this was so charming though, it balances drama and humor very well and is pretty consistently engaging. played “cowboys are frequently secretly fond of each other” on the car home
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J
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S
A strange, enigmatic, visually stunning film by John Ford, influential on other directors in all kinds of ways big (David Lean, Lawrence of Arabia) and small (Mel Brooks, Blazing Saddles). Watching the opening frames of this film in the big auditorium at the Academy Museum was both utterly pleasurable, with a 70mm print projected VistaVision, and uncanny, with the Tongva land acknowledgment shown on the screen just before. This is not so much a racist film as a film about…
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C
Not much to say that hasn’t already been said about this movie. And aped by other filmmakers for that matter. Narratively perfect, visually stunning (easy to do when you film in Monument Valley I know). Fun fact Jeffrey Hunter who plays the co-lead Martin in this also played Captain Christopher Pike in the original pilot of Star Trek.
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A
…but damn if John Ford doesn’t know how to film that horizon! VistaVision @ The Academy Museum
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H
Way too fucking long and too many plot holes, but seeing this was an experience.
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Aanabelle 8 月 20, 2026
My parents named my brother Ethan after The Searchers hoping he’d be a cinephile and instead he’s clocked in 700 hours of Night Reign in one year
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M
70mm at the Academy Museum First Ford for me, and kinda not at all what I expected. The landscapes are breathtakingly gorgeous and the action fucking rips, but I was pretty unprepared for both how funny and dark this would be. The tangents back home that weave in and out felt like distractions at first, but as I started to roll with it I really enjoyed how silly they could get. And John Wayne is far more interesting than I…
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E
the myth of the american dream the last scene is beautiful. it shows the lengths that individuals took to uphold the false myth of america. the full acceptance of the ‘white-indian’ girl notes the length to return to the nuclear family to maintain societal expectations. although john wayne’s character is seen as somewhat powerless at the end of it, he is understood to continue his practices out in the west, disregarding non-whites and being an overall dick. the acceptance of…
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A
pretty, but i don’t have to like it. and i don’t have to like john wayne! and, in fact: fuck john wayne perhaps more offensive than the rest is this being boring. if ur gonna be bad, at least be interesting! i didn’t even find the technique to be all that good (but i’m a simpleton, so take my opinion with the whole morton’s), and equally picturesque scenery can be found in a lot of other, better western films
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J
A visual feast and clear reference point for Spielberg and PTA on Saving Private Ryan and One Battle After Another respectively. Real people riding on, and interacting with, real animals in real locations. Gotta love it.
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Ffukcopsforever 8 月 20, 2026
Incredibly uncomfortable subject matter paired with visually stunning filmmaking — does that cancel each other out?
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N
“That’ll be the day.” Been waiting to see this since I was a little girl, when I first saw the trailer for it standing in line for The Great Movie Ride. (It was the last trailer movie I needed to see 🥹) No doubt that it is a visual feast! Jeffrey Hunter was incredible. The rest was just uneven for me. And I’m just not the biggest John Wayne fan. Very disappointed I didn’t like it more. I can certainly…
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J
An unitriguing first half followed by a fantastic, quasi flawless second half.
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Mmiguelbayonjacobson 8 月 20, 2026
Hit em with a Thank U Kindly and never let them know your next move🤠
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AArchagent 8 月 20, 2026
In any avenue of literary criticism, there is often an effect where one projects their held belief system onto a text that they find value in, in an attempt to understand what they find so appealing about it. The Searchers is perhaps the strongest example of this effect in action –the film is so counter to what is believed to be the critical reading of it that it’s almost comical. “I like The Searchers,” muses the critical subconscious, “but the…
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A
70mm Vistavision print at the Academy Museum. Packed house. Saw Tom Kenny on my way out. LA man. What a picture. Some of the most glorious images ever committed to film. I need to make it out to Monument Valley some time in my life.
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A
Meh. Knew from what I’d heard that I probably wouldn’t revere this as much as the rest of the world, but I still went in hopeful. It’s the kind of thing I wouldn’t have prioritized or even gotten around to under a different context, but I wasn’t about to pass up an opportunity to see this on 70mm. And yeah, the cinematography is pretty astounding, particularly the bookending shots; for as little as I got out of the movie holistically,…
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B
A relic that has somehow stood the test of time. Still impressive, not just visually but in its treatment of themes like racism and toxic masculinity that can hold up through a modern lens. Plus bonus Natalie Wood! Beautiful 70mm print at The David Geffen theater at The Academy Museum.
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R
“But what that Comanche believes, ain’t got no eyes, he can’t enter the spirit-land. Has to wander forever between the winds.”
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R
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B
Exquisite 70mm presentation at the David Geffen Theater at the Academy Museum. Glad I chose this screening for my first viewing. Gorgeous framing and blocking that puts this in iconic Western status. The actual narrative is a bit of tonal whiplash, with two distinct movies that I really like, but I don’t think they really jive with each other.
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D
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T
“Someday this country’s gonna be a fine, good place to be. Maybe it needs our bones in the ground before that time can come.” The performative males were out tonight. The guy in front of me was reading a book on his huge iPad. Okay, guy’s just trying to get some light reading in before the movie. Another guy walks up to me, asks if the seat next to me is available. I say yes. He sits down. Places his bag on his lap, pulls out a LAPTOP. And works on this novel he’s writing. Who the fuck you doing this for, man?!?
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S
Years away from this film and seeing it on a 70mm VistaVision presentation have greatly improved it in my eyes. A product of its time in both positive and negative ways. Poor racial and indigenous representation. Gorgeous scenic locations and melodramatic sensibilites. John Wayne is a fantastic physical actor and great casting for the stoic, withdrawn character of Ethan. Jeffrey Hunter as Martin really stood out to me this time around. He’s the heart of the film and given an…
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CCODuff 8 月 20, 2026
Man, that last half hour is kind of unbeatable.
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T
“I wish you’d die!” “That’ll be the day” Glad i saw this but i don’t really see myself rewatching. It was painfully slow w (imo) not a lotttt of payoff. Pretty tho!
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M
Dated but worth a watch.
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Z
Ford’s magnum opus. Once again Ford revises Stagecoach but this time he centers his attention on the western hero. Wayne plays the same character he always has but in this picture, Ford acknowledges that the typical Wayne hero is truly a racist monster. Domestic life on the frontier thrives on this sort of destruction. The white folks reap the benefits while arrogantly slamming the door to the outside world and the path of destruction they’ve left in their wake. This…
4 -
R
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Rraelgoodraf 8 月 20, 2026
The colors of the new restoration in 70mm are pretty spectacular
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T
“That’ll be the day” This film is as hilarious as it is beautiful and I’m truly in awe of all of the performances, most importantly the great John Wayne’s. Oh and the cinematography literally made me shake my head multiple times it was so beautiful. Watched this at the Academy Award Museum in Vistavision 70mm 😍
2 2 -
B
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GGreasy Staircase 8 月 20, 2026
70mm at the Academy. Horrific artifact, sure, and an absolute masterpiece too. Some nasty piece of perversion, making Evil Ethan Edwards our generic/nominal hero who doesn’t belong in the house. Problematic fave indeed. Glad some youths got to see it like that for the first time.
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E
The American Western. Bewilderingly beautiful. A made-up past collapses under the weight of its own mythology. That door closes shut on both Ethan and the Hollywood Western — that version of the West that never was, good and evil, cowboys vs Indians, simple and sanitized . . . You can feel Ford wrestling with the lure of some kind of grand promise — of upholding the utter delusion of the genre he helped to create — of manifest destiny and a real, righteous purpose to the winning of the West — and you can see him recognize it as hollow. A living elegy.
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N
Visually striking throughout the entire film, seeing this on 70mm was a great experience. Lot of sequences I really loved, all the battle scenes were of course masterful, and even quieter moments like the “What do you want me to do? Draw you a picture?” were incredibly effective. One of my larger takeaways however was how silly the film is at moments, maybe it’s just the way it’s aged but stuff like our main characters almost engaging in a knife fight, dissolving into an extended line dancing sequence just caught me off guard.
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Kkale_hawk 8 月 20, 2026
Every frame of this movie could have been a painting in my grandmas house. That hoe loves cowboys in the desert. Also if anyone wants to know what my grandpa is like it’s j*hn w*yne in this movie
6 -
E
Seeing this on a pristine print in a theater made me understand why Marty and Spielberg and all of them ride so hard for this. Really something to behold! Lots to unpack, but boy does this have some of the most unbelievable shots ever composed.
1 -
&
John Ford’s The Searchers is a film that I have returned to over the years probably more times than any other film. No other film gives me such chills, tears springing forth (Ethan lifting Debbie up in the first act, “You ain’t much bigger than when I last saw ya”), & laughs (thank you kindly Old Mose). It was a genuine treat, & pilgrimage, to witness one of the hallmark films shot in VistaVision to be projected on 70mm film.
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A
*lethal shooter voice* I understand it now The first watch that I didn’t connect with came from I think my desk on computer monitors and the second comes on what I assume has to be the most pristine 70mm vistavision print in the world at the academy museum. It’s hard to say if this whole package is the most beautiful visual experience one can have at the movies but I can’t imagine it’s far off from whatever that is. And…
1 -
J
This has the foundation for all the great big larger than Life action adventures. John Wayne is very John Wayne in this movie, but the supporting actresses like Vera Miles and Natalie would truly shine here. I would say this Odysseus type of adventure feels a bit anti-climactic because we don’t get a big shoot them up with our big villain scar. The death happens off screen. The movie is rather muted. I’m sure because of censorship but the searchers…
1 -
J
I remembered all the great stuff but forgot about all the batshit insane stuff
1 -
A
this is America’s Odyssey. one of cinema’s most poignant explorations of the racial violence underlying American exceptionalism. violence breeds racial hatred, which leads to racial violence. this vicious cycle built America.
1 -
N
This movie is absolutely stunning from a visual perspective, but unfortunately a large portion of it has aged in a nasty way
2 3 -
W
A slow-burning western with some of the best landscape visuals put to screen combined with a veneer of heroism covering the rot of the time. Martin and Laurie were my favorites. Would definitely love to revisit this one
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S
Some of the most beautiful shots I’ve ever seen in my entire life and also the plot is very dumb and this movie is pretty racist even for its time
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HHellOnFriscoBay 8 月 17, 2026
Long-overdue third viewing: first was via a VHS tape in 2002; second was an eye-opening 35mm presentation at the Pacific Film Archive in 2004. The Criterion stream is one of the most visually stunning I’ve seen on that site, but the experience is still closer to my first than my second. But well worth watching, especially a day after revisiting The Odyssey; David Schwartz’s excellent Screen Slate piece notes that no less than Jean-Luc Godard compared the two stories (perhaps…
3 -
DDavid Mills 8 月 16, 2026
This movie is kind of f*cked up… but I see how it influenced so many storytellers to come.
1 -
M
This movie never ages. I had to show my wife’s grandfather, who is a big John Wayne fan, this movie. It’s a hard nut to crack because he loves John Wayne, but this movie left him at a loss. I think that’s why John Ford did it. He has created the modern American antihero, the precursor to The Sopranos and Breaking Bad. All of those shows that came later owe their origins to Ford and Wayne and The Searchers. The…
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A
The Searchers placement as one of the greatest westerns ever made seems reasonable, with so much of that acclaim rooted in its cinematography of on me of the most beautiful POVs of the American Southwest ever captured on film. John Wayne’s character, Ethan, is the archetype of the loneliness of cowboys, as the result of their stubborn xenophobic ways, he manifests a search party of desperate need and no end. Ethan is bigoted by surviving war, left to watch others move on from the things that have wounded them and yet Ethan remains punished by time.
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N
Using Facebook and Snapchat memories to log movies I’ve seen in the past I’m not a fan of westerns. At all. But I really enjoyed this one
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MManu Castro 9 月 11, 2019
Seguir adelante. No te pierdas la reseña completa en La Sala Oscura
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I
Western türünün imparatoru. Babamla izlemiştim ve efsaneydi. Yine efsane
- Synopsis
- As a Civil War veteran spends years searching for a young niece captured by Indians, his motivation becomes increasingly questionable.
- Director
- John Ford
- Writer
- Frank S. Nugent
- Studio
- Warner Bros. Pictures, C.V. Whitney Pictures
- Country
- USA
- Language
- English, Spanish, Navajo, Navaho
- Year
- 1956
- Runtime
- 119 mins
- USA16 May 1956
- Belgium16 May 1956
- USA26 May 1956
- Argentina19 Jul 1956
- France08 Aug 1956
- Philippines22 Aug 1956
- Italy14 Sep 1956
- UK23 Sep 1956
- Germany04 Oct 1956
- Peru20 Dec 1956
- Ireland18 Jan 1957
- Austria25 Jan 1957
- Hong Kong14 Feb 1957
- Portugal17 Jul 1957
- Denmark23 Jul 1957
- South Korea07 Dec 1957
- Spain16 Apr 1999
- Netherlands22 Jul 2009
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