The Searchers
119 min. / Technicolor / 1.85:1 / DTS HD MA 2.0 Mono / SDH
Warner Archive 4K UHD $29.99
Available from Movie Zyng
Here in the Balcony, we’ve spent the past several years studying the films of John Ford, and we’re only up to the mid-1930s, so you’ll forgive this tardy review of Warner Archives’ first-ever 4K UHD release, which came out at the end of 2024 but which we are just now enjoying. And we’ll start off by saying, if we wanted to illustrate to friends just how great an “old movie” can look with a 4K presentation, this is absolutely the one we’d show. It doesn’t hurt that we consider this to be John Ford’s masterpiece, John Wayne’s greatest performance, and the best Western ever produced.
Our story: John Wayne is Ethan Edwards, home from the Civil War, who rejoins his brother on the old Texas homestead, where there are numerous problems, not least of all murderous Comanche, rustlers, and annoying Swedes. When Scar, a Comanche brute played by Henry Brandon, kidnaps Wayne’s two nieces and slaughters the rest of the family, the chase is on with Ethan, a posse led by lawman/preacher Ward Bond, family friend Harry Carey Jr., and Jeffrey Hunter as an adopted son of the clan, detested by Wayne because he’s part Cherokee. Ethan, you see, is a rabid Indian hater, and when only the younger of the nieces is believed to be alive, Ethan’s quest is to kill her to prevent her from becoming Scar’s wife. Keeping the story broad and adding some relief to the tension is Vera Miles as Jeffrey Hunter’s fiancé, who is tired of waiting for him as he and Ethan continue the search across Monument Valley (which isn’t in Texas, no wonder they can’t find the niece) over the years. The cross-cutting between the Searchers and the survivors allows Ford to indulge in some audience-pleasing low comedy, musical interludes, and square dancing.
When I talk about this film with people who saw it years ago, they seem to have forgotten the love stories, the music, the village idiot Mose, and other distractions, but the obsession Wayne has with finding and disposing of young Debbie (who grows up to be Natalie Wood, and who is portrayed as a child by Natalie’s sister Lana, whom we loved in Diamonds are Forever) is indelibly branded onto the psyche. The entire cast is terrific, even John Qualen as that annoying Swede mentioned above. Of course, Ken “Festus” Curtis as the slow-talking, quick with a gee-tar neighbor who woos Miss Miles while her boyfriend’s away takes some getting used to. Neverthless, we’ve always enjoyed the broad comedy Ford includes with his dramas, part of the vast scope of his vision for film entertainment.
And speaking of a vast scope, The Searchers was filmed in VistaVision, Paramount’s answer to CinemaScope, and was intended to present a wider, bigger picture without overly affecting focus or grain. Needless to say, a wider, bigger picture with impeccable focus and depth applies itself beautifully to a 4K restoration, and the Warner Archivists have performed a magnificent job with astonishing results.
The 4K disc includes Peter Bogdanovich’s expert commentary, which is more fannish than expert, and a Blu-ray has all the other extra material, including TV promos hosted by Gig Young from the Warner Bros. Presents TV show, a newsreel of the film’s premiere, various featurettes with filmmakers and Wayne’s son Patrick (who is in the film, with a sharp saber) and a very interesting little “behind the scenes” artistic piece that we enjoyed a lot. (Many of us certainly held on to the old DVD 50th Anniversary release, which contained a reprint of the Dell comic book, stills from the film, and other goodies.)
Highest recommendation for this jewel of the Warner Archive.
