Controversy has swirled around this western ever since its release in 1956. Chief among the criticisms leveled at it is John Wayne's Ethan Edwards' "racist" hatred of the Comanches, manifested from the first minute he sees his brother's stepson, who is one-eighth Indian. In this day and age, when anything that smacks of "racism" is deemed to lower a work of art's rating, Edwards' freely voiced antipathy to the Indians is considered by many to be more than sufficient to demote this film from "Best Western of all time," which some have called it.

I don't feel that way about "The Searchers." Ethan Edwards was a product of his time and society, and thus would not have stuck out as particularly "different" among Southern and Western men of that day. After all, it is made clear that he fought for the Confederacy in the Civil War.

The only flaw I find in the depiction of Edwards' racial views is that the movie never makes quite clear why he holds them to such an extreme degree. None of the other settlers appear to share his smoldering hatred of the Comanche. I have read a review which says that one can catch a fleeting glimpse of a tombstone in the scene in the cemetery; the epitaph states that a woman with the last name "Edwards" was killed by the Comanche years earlier. Could this have been Ethan's mother? His wife? No clue is ever given.

All that having been said, the film is, I think, probably the greatest western ever made, partly because of the intense character study it does of Ethan Edwards. It does not condemn him as a "racist," or as anything else. It merely shows him to us; the decision is ours to make. And I disagree with some reviewers who believe that Edwards seems to see the "error of his ways" in the final scenes. He sees no such thing. Look at his face in the more intense scenes leading up to the attack on Scar's camp, and you can see both rage and hatred etched in that face. Then look at his face again, in the brief shot just after he has exited Scar's tent, the dead Indian's scalp in his hand, and you'll see the hatred and anger gone; it has been purged by Scar's execution. When he approaches his niece, kidnapped five years before by the Indians and presumably having been "sleeping with a buck" -- Edwards' reason for wanting earlier to kill her -- one can tell by his manner that he now comes only to carry her home safely.

Perhaps it's the mark of a great movie when people can disagree, often strongly, about its characters and meanings. "The Searchers" is one of those great movies.

It doesn't take much to get John Wayne rawled in this classic John Ford epic,The Searchers,1956,as the duke is Ethan Edwards,a Civil War veteran who finally rides home after a long and drawn out war between the states,only to find another war with the Comanches. After his entire family is wiped out,the duke sets out to seek revenge and find his only surviving niese (Natalie Wood) who was captured by the hostile Indians. This classic film is listed in the top one hundred films of all time,and is also one of the duke's better acting roles-Oscar worthy,with a solid supporting cast,Ward Bond,Jeff Hunter,and featuring superb cinematography and bold scenery,and the usual John Wayne western action,the 100th anniversary version dvd is 16x9 widescreen,no extras.

Experiencing this 1956 Widescreen WESTERN Classic in the movie houses was breath taking and unbelievable with that bigger than life panoramic screen and John Wayne.

Not since 1956 have we been able to re-experience that magical event until NOW! Yes my fellow classics movie buffs this Blu-ray Hi-Def (HDMI) Picture and Digital Sound version we can NOW enjoy "THE SEARCHERS" better than its original film quality!

My qualifying statement: My HD Home Theater weighs in at about $2000 plus movies. A breakdown is; a Mitsubishi HD Projector (HC-1500) $800 (orig $1495), a Sony 5.1 Blu-ray Sound System $399 (orig $499) and a Sony PLAYSTATION 3 w/Blu-ray player $399 (orig $499). Sony HDMI cables $150 and HD Screen Paint and Kit $180 for my 108" viewing wall screen. With this 1080p system I've created a HD Home Theater presentation sight and sound equal to an IMAX (on a smaller scale) experience.

This 1080p HDMI Blu-ray showing blows your minds eye, period. You must add this western classic to your movie library, TODAY!!!!

A live and well John Wayne is the reward alone. This 1956 Western Classic allows us to escape seeing the youthful movie stars back into our lives once again. With this Blu-ray movie you are swept off to where ever they take you. Its truly an amazing adventure of sight and sound Pilgrim!!

I love this classic movie!
The colors look so cool on blu-ray disc. Because you can see better
detil than ever before. John Ford makes really good movies.

So get it on Blu-ray or HD DVD today!

Its is one of the best westerns I have ever seen.
I would tell every one who reads this to get the movie The Searchers, and add it to their western collection of movies. Sign Steve lienhard