The Searchers 4K 1956

John Wayne appears in one of his most 'unsympathetic' portrayals. His hero is looking not so much for a niece kidnapped by Indians as for a drop of goodness in his own war-torn soul. After the terrible pictures that he saw Ethan Edwards almost forgot to forgive. Wayne's character feels the stamp of tragedy. Positive such a character can be called only with a stretch.

This movie Americans included in the list of the hundred best pictures of the United States (of Ford's westerns there was still immortal Stagecoach). But is this movie the best after Stagecoach? I personally do not think so and I will try to explain why. Undoubtedly outstanding in this movie is the visuals. Ford's unique style paints striking landscapes, and Wayne's character (whose image became noticeably deeper and more tragic) became one of the most famous characters of Doleon westerns. But this is where the advantages of the picture ends.

The director has not decided to the end that shoots - a violent drama about revenge or his trademark entertainment movie. Violent scenes of shootings and murders alternate with purely comic ones involving Martin and his beloved. It is this sharp contrast that often simply bewilders and the whole impression of the movie does not remain. In my opinion, this time Ford could not organically combine drama and comedy. Ethan looks too strange against the background of other characters of the movie, whose characters are drawn rather stereotypically. In the end, you just don't know who to believe.