The Searchers

BFI Film Classics

by Edward Buscombe

This is a detailed commentary on all aspects of the film, "The Searchers", and makes full use of material in the John Ford archive in Indiana, including Ford's own memos and the original scripts, which differs in vital respects from the film he made.

Genres: Film, Media Tie In, Nonfiction

80 pages, Paperback

First published October 27, 2000

Reviews

[Phillip · Rating 4 out of 5]

liked it, but maybe not my favorite BFI essay. there is a lot of "just the facts, maam" nuts and bolts description of what is happening in the action and how ford uses the camera, but perhaps not the depth of narrative analysis that some of the other BFI film studies have provided.

as controversial as the film is, the conflicts are pretty straightforward, and in the end, the villian/hero turns out to be a straight up guy. so there isn't a lot of mystery to deconstruct here.

[Tonymess · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite a few useful pointers that I missed whilst watching the film. Less opinion more replaying of film with added facts, would have preferred a little more opinion based criticism, however a fine insight into another landmark film.

[Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very helpful commentary for anyone who wants an intelligent conversation about one of the great westerns.

[Christopher Renberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fine entry in the series. My father tipped me to this movie. He taught it one of his classes, so I already knew quite a bit of the plot and such from discussions with him. I enjoyed many of the behind the scenes information that usually comes with these little books. Do yourself a favor and watch this movie while you read the book.

[Randy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Found this book while looking for something else to read on my Nook and enjoyed it far more than expected. In the last few decades, The Searchers has become recognized by many film critics as one of the best Westerns ever made, if not THE best example of the genre. Either way, I’ve grown to love the film as I’ve grown up and moved past my pre-teen hero worship of John Wayne to seek more depth and nuance from film watching experiences than I did at that age. While some films falter, Wayne’s depiction of the dark and deeply vengeful Ethan Edwards looking to recover his kidnapped niece from the Comanche doesn’t as there’s much to appreciate in John Ford’s best Monument Valley western. I was expecting a straightforward making of the film story but it far more than that. The author provides an in depth examination of the Comanche/Texan struggles for co-existence and the myths that developed surrounding the true stories of massacres on both sides and the kidnapping and rapes (A Fate Worse Than Death) that became part of the mythos of the west. The stories that Frankel lays out about the kidnapping of Cynthia Ann Parker and the life of her son Quanah Parker are remarkable, and add to a deeper appreciation of the film and the myths we tell our selves about Winning the West.

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice little summary of a great movie. I hoped for more analysis of the subtext of the script - the author gets a little bogged down in simply recounting the plot - but it's basically a solid piece of reporting on the context of this movie in its time as it was made.

[Ryan Splenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great criticism of, in my opinion, one of the greatest Westerns ever mad. Buscombe explores the darker side of humanity in general, but specifically, the darker side of racism in the United States.

[Sarovar · Rating 2 out of 5]

A thin little essay with some good perspective on Ford and some really nice stills but definitely not worth buying. I was expecting more or at least, better.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excellent, short synopsis of the movie. I wish it was a larger format book for the photographs to shine. Also, the photos could have been better integrated with the text.

[Clara · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's more of a synopsis of the film rather than an in-depth analysis (which I need and which I expected after reading several BFI Film Classics essays).

[Emma · Rating 1 out of 5]

Chronological scene by scene descriptions of the film's shots and script, interspersed with critical analysis. Tiring.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing critical companion to the best Western ever made.

[David Klingenberger · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are going to read someone writing about “The Searchers” and about westerns in general, you can’t do better than Buscombe.