The Searchers

There are reasons to watch John Ford's 1956 western The Searchers. There are also reasons to avoid the film. Ford was a master at using landscapes in his film, and in The Searchers he makes very good use of Monument Valley on the Colorado Plateau. It is one of the many times he used the location, making it synonymous with the Western movie. He gives the land and the sky a vast open feeling that dwarfs other elements in the film. When it comes to filming horses, from action sequences to walking across the plain, Ford sets the rules. He understands their gait, how they move together.

At a technical level the film suffers from poor performances by its leads. John Wayne's brick-like acting as Ethan Edwards (not helped by being permanently drunk on set) and Jeffrey Hunter portraying Martin Pawley, a full grown man, as a petulant teenager. The real problems with the film are its racism, misogyny and the part it plays in writing a cultural narrative that reduces Native Americans to neolithic hunter gatherers. When the Spanish first showed up they found a heavily populated land with farms, villages, towns and even cities with large structures. The Native Americans are treated with the lack of respect that you would expect from a western from this time period. Women are treated as chattel by both the 'good' guys and the 'bad' guys.

Putting those things aside, if you want to watch the film, Warner Brothers have released it as a steelbook with both 4K UHD and standard Blu-ray. For this film the UHD disc and a big screen is the way to go. Ford's landscapes are best seen this way, filling the eye. The same goes for his action sequences: the sky, desert, man, horse and gun in an exquisitely composed expanse. It does however expose some of the film's weaker points, like the overly cluttered interiors.

The UHD disc contains the film in 4K HDR. Special features and the HD version are on the second disc. It comes with an audio commentary by the John Ford biographer Peter Bogdanovich which is sometimes a little sparse. It frames the film as depicting racism rather than being racist. John Wayne’s son Patrick introduces the film. He acted in a couple of scenes at the back end of the film.

There are two half hour documentaries. From 2006, The Searchers: An Appreciation, in which the directors Curtis Hanson, John Milius and Martin Scorsese talk about the film; and A Turning Of The Earth: John Ford, John Wayne And The Searchers, a 1998 documentary narrated by John Milius. Somewhat sycophantically, the directors argue that The Searchers is a truly great film and that Wayne was a great actor.

When I was a kid my Mum told me the joke about John Wayne. He is a centurion at the crucifixion in The Greatest Story Ever Told.

Wayne: "Truly, this was the Son of God"

Director George Stevens: "Say it with awe, John!"

Wayne: "Awww truly, this was the son of God".

They also argue that the film is depicting racism rather than being racist. Unfortunately whilst doing this Milius uses the phrase 'tainted blood' to describe mixed race. This made it past everyone who was making the 2006 featurette.

From the 1956 TV show Behind The Cameras come four short promotional pieces filmed on the set of The Searchers, and an original theatrical trailer. These are interesting to watch, but they do reflect attitudes in 1950s America.

There is also a trailer for the 2007 revisionist Western The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford, and a link to the Warner Brothers website where you can buy more Blu-rays. Can we never escape advertising?

If you want to watch The Searchers then this is a great package, but the film may make some people feel uneasy. It doesn't just reflect historic attitudes; they are still here today.

Reviewed on: 28 Jul 2026