The Searchers (1956) 1080p BluRay x265 HEVC AC3-SARTRE

Ethan Edwards, an embittered veteran, returns to Texas after the Civil War and discovers that Comanche Indians have killed his family and kidnapped his niece. Along with Martin Pawley, who was adopted by the Edwardses after his own parents were killed by Comanches years earlier, Ethan sets out to find his niece, Debbie. The movie's title refers to the duo's five year search for the young woman, and their struggle to rescue her once she is adopted by the tribe and married to Chief Scar. John Wayne gives perhaps his finest performance in a role that predated screen antiheroes of the 1970s; by the film's conclusion, his single-minded obsession seems less like heroism and more like madness. Wayne bravely refuses to soft-pedal Ethan's ugly side, and the result is a remarkable portrait of a man incapable of answering to anyone but himself, who ultimately has more in common with his despised Indians than with his more "civilized" brethren. Natalie Wood is striking in her brief role as the 16-year-old Debbie, lost between two worlds, and Winton C. Hoch's Technicolor photography captures Monument Valley's savage beauty with subtle grace. The Searchers paved the way for such revisionist Westerns as The Wild Bunch (1969) and McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971), and its influence on movies from Taxi Driver (1976) to Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) and Star Wars (1977) testifies to its lasting importance.





Extras

• Patrick Wayne Introduction - A short intorduction to the film by John Wayne's son Patrick Wayne, who also had a small role in the film (2mn, 480p)

• The Searchers: An Appreciation - This half hour documentary has filmmakers Curtis Hanson, John Milius, and Martin Scorsese talking about how much this movie affected them when they first saw it and how it influenced their style. (31mn, 480p)

• A Turning of the Earth: John Ford, John Wayne, and the Searchers - In this documentary, voice-overs are placed over scenes from the film and behind the scenes footage to tell the story of the film's production. (33mn, 480p)

• Behind the Camera - Four segments aired on TV to promote the film when it was first released theatrically. Made to air after WB movies, these feature host Gig Young who interviews Jeffrey Hunter and Natalie Wood as well as taking a look at the Monument Valley shooting locations as well as discussing how difficult it was shooting at such a remote location. (22mn, 480p)

• Theatrical Trailer - An original trailer from 1956 (3mn, 480p)

• Commentary with Peter Bogdanovich - Filmmaker and historian Peter Bogdanovich gives some background on the film and insight into Ford's technique.