The Searchers (2024 Remastered) [Blu-ray]

In the works of Indo-European literature there is a hero who stands outside his society, but fights viciously for it. This hero never gets the comfort of a regular life and instead follows his fate to the end. Siegfried, Achilles, Hercules, etc. fit this motif. In The Searchers, Ethan (John Wayne) plays this role. The story of The Searchers comes from a true story-a Comanche raid which killed a Texas family and snatch a little girl-Cynthia Ann Parker- who is held captive for many years. Parker's story is not unique in the early history of Texas, especially following the Civil War northern Texas was under severe threat from Indians. In 1956, when The Searchers was made, there were still a few old-timers around that remembered Comanche raids. Even (Senator in 1956) Lyndon Baines Johnson's family had suffered from Comanche Raids. Cynthia Ann Parker turned out to be successfully integrated into the Comanche Tribe, but she was an exception. Men and older women were killed outright or tortured to death at the time of capture, surviving girls were raped, tortured and disfigured after being returned to the Indian Camp. The girls would also be made to toil with no end. Thomas Goodrich, in his book Scalp Dance: Indian Warfare on the High Plains, 1865-1879 called his chapter on captivity "A Fate Worse than Death." Texans during the Indian War days knew this and The Searchers excellently captures the fear and hatred of the times. Ethan enters the story as a heroic man alone in the first scene. He never surrendered with the Confederate Army and seems to live by robbery. He hates Indians with the hatred of a warrior who has fought them head-on before. He even rudely tests the racial loyalties of 1/8th Cherokee, Martin (Jeffrey Hunter) while at dinner with his family. The Comanche eventually lure the Rangers away from a settlement and kill Ethan's brother's family, leading the girls into captivity. This is a scene of acting excellence. The audience feels the fear of the family and the attack happens without showing the Indians, or indeed showing anything scary whatsoever, yet the suspense is heavy. Suffice to say the girls are captured and Ethan and Martin head on a quest to rescue Debbie, the lone survivor. During the quest, the nature of conflict is richly explored. The Red-White conflict is an un-reserved fight, much like the American-Japanese conflict of the Pacific War. The oldest captured white girl is raped and killed. The pursuing whites mutilate bodies of fallen Comanche, the US Cavalry crashes into Indian villages shooting with no mercy, Ethan's motivations seem more to kill Indianized Debbie as much as redeem her. The heroes also have conflicts-but muted conflicts-with other whites, Ethan's relationship with the Texas Rangers is one of barely avoiding arrest. Ethan kills a treacherous merchant, and Martin fights another man for the hand of a woman. Through this, the conflicting and impulsive internal motives of Ethan surface and clash, making a darkly layered character. The Searchers is the last of the Westerns where the Indians are unreservedly portrayed as savages. After 1960, Americans had no living recollection of the Indian Wars, and were instead softened by prosperity and beguiled by an elitist media ambivalent at best about the security of Americans like the whites portrayed in the movie. After The Searchers, movies started to portray Indians as noble heroes or righteous victims of oppression. Not until aircraft started to crash into buildings and Islamic Terrorists began posting beheadings on the internet did the older view of Indians start to get a revision. In the final scene Ethan's special aloneness returns. Debbie is carried into the doors of civilization by her loving neighbors and kinsmen while Ethan stands alone, outside, forever in the wilderness. His fate sealed.

I want to say from the start that I am not a real fan of westerns and I am not a real fan of John Wayne. I found him to be a very nice looking, likeable guy but he always played "John Wayne". BUT, in this instance, and again in True Grit, playing John Wayne is the perfect thing to do. This is a movie I've never forgotten and when, rarely, it pops up on t.v. I always watch it. It just grabs you from the first gorgeous scene of the doorway. Reading the reviews was very informative as it kept me from ordering the 2 disc anniversary version and I'm usually a sucker for those. One of the reviews said that the 2 disc version was much too dark in several places. I ordered the l997 single disc version and it was beautiful. Not as digitally remastered as maybe some later versions are. If there is anyone out there that has not seen "The Searchers" because it's an old John Wayne western, then put a copy in your cart immediately. You wont be sorry. Come to think about it, maybe John Wayne was always a better actor than I thought. In small subtle ways he told me in this movie of his great love for the murdered woman which to me was the driving force behind his obsession to find the girl. I believe that he thought of her as the only remaining link with the woman he adored. I've looked at the first few scenes of this movie several times. The interaction between "Martha" and "Ethan" is beautiful to watch. Her slowly stepping back into the doorway while unable to take her eyes off his face is genius either on her part or the part of the director. With nothing but the looks on their faces and subtle body language they both convey the great love they have for each other right up until he rides away. The scene of her standing in a room alone holding his coat and rubbing her hands over it is genius, nothing less. No explanation is ever given of why they did not marry or how she came to be married to his brother. Great directing, possibly even greater acting. This is John Wayne's masterpiece. The only thing that I found annoying was the heavy handed humor in a few places particularly the fight scene at the wedding and Patrick Wayne's youthful blundering near the end of the movie. Maybe Papa John just wanted him in the movie. But, maybe this humor acted to keep the drama from becoming too intense. Maybe it's a true picture of how people on the frontier actually behaved. John Ford certainly knew more about directing than I do and that's for sure. The other thing I noticed and I'm afflicted with noticing things like this. HOW ON EARTH WERE THESE PEOPLE EARNING A LIVING OUT THERE. There is no grass for cattle or horses. Nothing but dirt and a little scrub grass. Never saw a garden. Where did the wood come from to use on that rather large house and the furniture. I guess we aren't supposed to wonder about these things. If I hadn't seen it so many times I guess I wouldn't notice things like that. ADDED COMMENTS. I went against the suggestion of the person who said the 2 disc version was not very good, too dark in many places. I decided I wanted to see the extra features so ordered it. I've just looked at over half of it and do not find any problems at all with too much darkness. It seems to me to be beautifully restored and better visually than the l997 one disc version I already have. It is my opinion that the reviewer who got the too dark disc should return it for another copy. The Additional Features on the 2nd disc are wonderful and should not be missed.

If you love John Wayne this western is a must!

There are hundreds of westerns that have been made with probaly hundreds more movie stars, but no one does it like the Duke. A superb proformance by a Class A actor. He brought so much emotion, style, grit, verve into every role he played. I won't recap the plot, I will only say if you like truly excellent westerns with exceptional acting and outstanding direction you won't be disappointed!

I have been using the stay at home time resulting from the pandemic to watch several classic American westerns. The genre was highly popular through the 1950s, fell out of favor in the 1960s, and have experienced a renewal of interest of late. The best of these films, together with novels in the western genre, may help Americans think about and learn something of their country during these difficult times. "The Searchers" is a 1956 film directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne as Ethan Edwards, a Confederate veteran, a loner, and a wanderer who returns to the west Texas home of his brother and family in 1868. The film was successful upon its release and in the following years it achieved near-iconic stature. It is routinely included on lists of best westerns and best films. I don't remember seeing the film before watching it during the pandemic. The film immediately makes clear the abrasive, harsh character of Ethan Edwards. The Confederate veteran is unrepentant, ornery, quick with his fists and with insults, and most apparently, a racist in his attitude towards Indians. Immediately upon his return home, a group of Comanche Indians burn his brother's home to the ground killing the family with the exception of the two daughters, Lucie and Debbie (played by Natalie Wood) who are abducted. Edwards and a young man, Martin Pawley, (Jeffrey Hunter) are away at the time as the Indians have attempted to divert attention from their planned homestead burning by stealing a neighbor's cattle. Pawley has been raised by Edwards' family and has Indian blood. He becomes subject to Ethan's prejudice and ridicule. When Ethan and Pawley return, they and others in the community organize a search party to punish the Indians and to recover the young girls, if possible. The rest of the film focuses on the search, which becomes a five-year quest throughout the southwest by Edwards and Pawley. Edwards is more than willing to go on the search alone but reluctantly accepts Pawley's company. Pawley feels responsible for his adopted sisters and, more importantly, fears that Edwards will harm the girls when he finds them. Strong feelings of rape and of white women keeping company with Indian men pervade the film. The cinematography of the film is extraordinary in showing the expanse and beauty of the American West and in encouraging a love for the land. The story of the search has an immediacy to it over the long years and is easy to follow. The film is highly problematic in the questions it raises about racism and in the relationship between the settlers and the Indians. Ethan Edwards is in many respects shown throughout much of the movie as a highly flawed, biased individual. I was first puzzled and intrigued and then moved by this film. With the stature "The Searchers" has come to enjoy, the film has provoked a great deal of commentary. I took the opportunity to read some of the accessible comments to supplement watching the film. Many viewers still critique the film for what they see as its overt racism towards the Comanche. Other acknowledge the racism but find that the film itself critiques it and that Ethan Edwards gradually changes during the five year search shown in the film. The high regard in which the film is held should not blind the viewer to its ambiguities. Especially at the outset, the film may be disturbing in the attitudes of Ethan Edwards and, to a degree, of most of the other settlers. I found the movie worked for me in part because it is ethically problematic and encourages reflection by its viewers. In addition to the relationship between the settlers and the Indians, the film explores the life of a loner and probably an outlaw in the settlement of the west, as exemplified by John Wayne's character, and juxtaposes it with the path towards settlement and community. The story of the development of a common life, as compared to the life of a wandering loner, is a strong theme of the film. The cinematography and the ever-present music add to the passion this film encourages for the country. Lists of the best films, or the best of anything, have little significance. "The Searchers" both moved and troubled me. For those at home during the pandemic, watching "The Searchers" is an excellent use of time. Robin Friedman

The word masterpiece gets thrown around a lot. However, one measure of artistic greatness is the ability for a work of art to communicate different things to different people at different times. When viewed in this way, it is hard to imagine The Searchers as anything but a masterpiece. I first saw this movie when I was about 13 or 14 years old on cable television. At that time, it seemed like a good western yarn set in Texas with John Wayne as the stereotypical protagonist riding off in the sunset, presumably, to kiss his horse. Indeed, Wayne has some awesome one-liners in this move. Phrases like "Not hardly" and "That'll be the day" are the ideological grandfathers of todays "Make my day, punk" or "I'll be back". As you may know (and other reviewers have pointed out), "That'll be the day" inspired the Buddy Holly song of the same name. Years later, this viewer was able to see deeper meanings in this morality tale. Ultimately, this tale is not about Ethan Edwards versus the Comanche. Rather, the true conflict is between Martin Pauley (Jeffrey Hunter) and Ethan Edwards (John Wayne). While there are whole levels of analysis about the Indians and their role in society as portrayed in the movie, they are, on some level, merely the prop (the gizmo in the box) that create the reason for the conflict of wills between Ethan and Marty. Who is Ethan Edwards? He is a character shrouded in mystery. Speaking fluent Comanche and possessing a deep understanding of their religion, culture, and lifestyle, he is for some unexplained reason filled with bitter, psychotic all-consuming hatred for all Indians, but especially Comanche. This is true even before they kill his brother's family and kidnap his two nieces. We learn this when Moses Harper talks about the Indians not missing Ethan while he was away during the Civil War. There is a strong emotional tension between Ethan and his brother's wife. One can clearly see the emotion in her eyes when Ethan returns from the Civil War and when she sends him off to take part in the hunt for rustlers/Indians who have stolen Jorgensen's cattle. Ethan seems to have an estranged relationship with his brother, offering to pay him for staying at his farm. One can only assume that Ethan had a relationship at some point with his brother's wife. Was Ethan at some point a captive of the Comanche? In that absence did the woman he loves marry his brother? Also, why did Ethan wait three years after the end of the Civil War to return home? Where did he get the large stockpile gold, unmarked and uncirculated "Yankee" gold coins? It is clear from his comments to the Reverend/Captain Clayton that Ethan considers the Civil War still ongoing and, indeed, when we first see Ethan, he is still wearing his uniform. Ethan further states that he doesn't believe in surrenders and he still feels his oath to the Confederacy still binding. Has he been fighting some sort of one man guerrilla war against the Union Army, attacking the wagon trains that supply the distant Forts in the West - they often had newly minted gold to pay soldiers? Did he return home because he was tired of fighting or does he intend to renew his relationship with his brother's wife? We will never know because within a day of his return home, his brother, his brother's wife, and nephew are killed by a Comanche raiding party. His two nieces are kidnapped, one dying shortly thereafter when she is presumably raped by the raiding party. Ethan becomes, if he wasn't already, obsessed with revenge. He sets out on a never ending quest to kill all Comanche to include, and especially, his niece who he believes will become more Indian then white and must be destroyed. Marty (Jeffrey Hunter) is motivated by love. Love for his adopted family. Love for life. His only desire is to find his adopted sister and free her from the Indians. One reviewer described Marty as being reasonable, but in his own way he is as obsessed as Ethan. He turns down personal wealth, not once but twice, to stay with Ethan as they hunt for the girl. The first time is when Ethan offers to let him oversee his cattle and work with Jorgensen. The second is when Ethan offers to make him a beneficiary in his will tacitly recognizing that his niece, Marty's adopted sister, is dead. Additionally, Marty risks losing the love of his life by staying on this seemingly never ending quest. Jeffery Hunter looks like a little boy, perhaps baggy wardrobe helped a bit here, next to the swaggering Wayne. His inexperience and relative physical weakness cause one to wonder how he can hope to prevail in this unrelenting battle of wills. This story ends in a way which is guaranteed to touch your heart. On a side note, while many reviewers have commented on image quality issues with this movie, this is the first time that Monument Valley was filmed in color. It is simply breath taking. This alone is worth the price of the DVD. In conclusion, there are layer after layer of stories wrapped into this excellent film. Not only is this movie appropriate for the whole family, it has themes and sub-plots that mean almost anyone can find something to like.

One of the best Wayne movies of all time. Each frame looks like a picture. Acting good, story accurate for the time. Dark moments coupled with semi comedic. Great cast.

John Wayne, the duke. That really should say it all, but since that probably wont fly, I'll pontificate further. From the opening shot, a door being open and through it seeing the wide, open red desert, you know you're in for an old school western treat. I first saw this film not that long ago, probably around Christmas, 2010. It was AMC, and I decided to sit down with a pizza in the freezing cold and watch it. I was, to say the least, AMAZED. At sixteen, I'd never really seen a John Wayne film, as sad as that is, its true. My dad's always been a huge fan, but I was never able to get into the old westerns, that is, until I saw this one. Wayne's performance as the bigoted Ethan reminded me so much of the people I'd see and meet, hard shelled, soft centered. A real anti-hero, and a fabulous performance. I live in California by the way, Central Valley, Nor Cal, and what I mean by him reminding me of people I know if, is well, some of my fellow Caucasians are well-meaning morons, I've been around many that just constantly insult the Hispanic population around here, which just makes them dislike us in general even more, a vicious cycle if there ever was one. Anyway, I could relate to the young character of Martin, perhaps the moral character of the story, trying to hold back the old ways, trying to keep justice from becoming in-justice, just faced in the opposite direction. The characters all seem so real, even after fifty years, and many changes in the styles of film acting, John Wayne still holds his ground for me. And I have, yes, grown to love many a John Wayne film, from Rio Bravo to The Sons of Katie Elder, is, most definitely, in my top twenty favorite actors. The story itself revolves around Ethan and Martin trying for over ten years to find a girl who was kidnapped by a group of Comanche, who also slaughtered and raped the girls parents and siblings. The real greatness of this film is the interactions between Wayne and Jeffery Hunter(Martin), and how, at the end of the film, Wayne's character, Ethan, does change into a better, less bigoted and prejudiced man. The only thing that I could see from the film that could have been better, or perhaps just enhanced the film, would be the final act, I felt like it ended too quickly and happily, though I think it DOES work, I almost do wish that it ended more grimly, and that the film had more of the somber elements that are found through out, but, as it lies, it is a grand and wonderful film.

Este Blu-ray llama poderosamente la atención por tener unas imágenes fabulosas que le dan a esta obra maestra un plus excepcional. Parece distinta porque se realiza todo de manera espectacular. La labor hecha sobre ella ha sido soberbia. Uno de los mejores trabajos de restauración que he visto hasta ahora. The Searchers - y no centauros del desierto que manía más ridícula de doblar títulos originales, así son de chapuceros en este país - es para mí junto a The Quiet Man las dos mejores obras de John Ford seguido de cerca por Horse Soldiers ( misión de audaces) constituyendose las tres como obras maestras del cine mundial. Para mí tanto El hombre que mató ( disparó) a Liberty Valance cómo La Diligencia no llegan a la calidad 10 de las tres anteriores. Ni tampoco La Legión Invencible ( qué traducción más ridícula) ni Fort Apache consideradas todas ellas por ciertos críticos cómo de 10. Las tres primeras están muy por encima del resto y para mí en el top ten de las 100 mejores películas de todos los tiempos e incluso entre las 10 mejores junto al gran Kurosawa. Contemplar esta edición mejorada es como verla de nuevo por primera vez saboreando cada plano de manera entusiasta. Es un auténtico deleite ser acariciado por las arenas del desierto sintiendo su calor o por la nieve de la montaña que surcan Wayne y Hunter en su incansable búsqueda de Debby. Pagué menos de 10 euros cosa que merece todavía más la pena.

I first saw this film as a young eighteen year-old Western aficionado on its first theatrical release to the English provinces in 1956. I came to it with great expectations fresh from reading Alan Le May's book of the same name. I came away knowing I'd seen a great film but I was disappointed on two counts first the search lasts for ten years in the book and second, Wayne's character Ethan is killed off in the penultimate battle with the Indians. In the subsequent years I've seen this film dozens of times and it never fails to amaze me that on each fresh viewing I never fail to notice something new! John Ford and John Wayne collaborated on several films most of them westerns. Although this was their first Western for six years since they completed the last of the Cavalry Trilogy RIO GRANDE (1950). As with the trilogy, Ford once again choose to shoot the most of the film in Monument Valley Utah, when using this his favourite location Ford became an acclaimed visual poet of the West. With Ford's "Western Director" to Wayne's "Western Star" they were unequalled in the making of Westerns producing an outstanding body of work between 1939 and 1962! Although THE SEARCHERS remained totally unrecognised by The Academy Awards for 1956. Fifty-odd years later it still stands at the top of the many peoples list as the greatest Western of all time. Also appearing in most if not all of The Greatest 100 Movies Of All Time Lists. Three years after the Civil War Ethan Edwards (John Wayne) a dark brooding mysterious character returns home to his brother Aaron (Walter Coy) homestead. Ethan takes his brother place on a posse led by Texas Ranger Rev. Capt. Samuel Johnston Clayton (Ward Bond) on the trail of a raiding party, coming across some slaughtered cattle they realise they've been lured away whilst the main Indian party attacked either the Edwards or Jorgensen Homesteads. The main body of the posse head back towards Jorgensen's place whilst Ethan along with Mose Harper (Hank Worden) rest their horses before heading back to the Edwards homestead, meanwhile Martin Pawley (Jeffrey Hunter) who had raised by the Edwards as their own raced on ahead against Ethan's advice. Arriving back at the smoking Edwards homestead their worse fears are founded, the two girls Lucy (Pippa Scott) and young Debbie (Lana Wood) have been taken captive and the rest killed. After the burial of his family a demented Ethan sets out after the Indians with a posse led by Captain Clayton. Following a skirmish with the Indians at the river, Clayton elects to take the wounded back home. Ethan reckons on going on alone but Martin and Brad Jorgensen (Harry Carey Jr.) insist on going too, not least because they fear what Ethan might do the girls. So the three (later two) searchers set out on the trail of the Indians for five long years a couple of trips back to the Jorgensen homestead when the trail was lost and twice pointed in the right direction by Shakespearian Fool Mose Harper, that leads to a band of Comanche led by a chief called Scar (Henry Brandon). At the camp they discover the older Debbie (Natalie Wood) dressed as an Indian girl of marriageable age. Will Ethan carry out his threat to kill her or will Martin be able to stop him? John Ford was the master of conveying terrible events to his audience through suggested violence, like the returning posse coming across the burnt out homestead with Martha's dress laying on the ground outside indicating the horrors that lay inside. Again when Ethan returns to Martin and Brad from finding Lucy's remains we just see the haunted look on his face as he plunges his knife in the earth to remove the Indian blood from the blade, all powerful stuff but left to our own imagination! And not only suggested violence but also suggested love too, hardly a word pass between Ethan and Martha but the viewer is left with little doubt of a passed tender relationship between the two. The long narrative is held together by a couple of visits back to the Jorgensen Homestead and a letter from Martin to Laurie, read out to one and all! Ford's ending of the film has turned out in the end to be one of the most iconic endings in movie history. How could I have been so presumptuous as to think anything else? This Two-Disc Special Edition includes new digital transfer from restored Vista Vision Picture with an introduction by Co-Star Patrick Wayne. Plus: The Searchers: An Appreciation and other extras. Don't miss John Ford's Masterpiece all at a bargain price from Amazon. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

モニュメントバレー等、バックの景色が素晴らしい。

"Der schwarze Falke" von John Ford ist neben Howard Hawks "Red River" und Fred Zinnemanns "12 Uhr mittags" sicherlich der beste klassische Hollywood Western. Unvergessen schon die erste Einstellung, die Kamera wandert vom Haus hinaus und gibt den Blick auf eine Wüstenlandschaft irgendwo in Texas frei. Jemand reitet auf das Farmhaus zu. Es ist Ethan Edwards (John Wayne), der Kriegsveteran des Bürgerkriegs. Der Krieg ist schon Jahre zu Ende, nun kehrt der verlorene Bruder heim. Auf der kleinen Farm lebt sein Bruder Aaron (Walter Coy) mit Frau Martha (Dorothy Jordan), den Kindern Lucy (Pippa Scott), Ben (Robert Lyden) und Nesthäkchen Debbie (Lana Wood). Ausserdem gehört Pflegesohn Martin Pawley (Jeffrey Hunter) zur Familie, der als Baby von Ethan gefunden wurde, nachdem die Indianer die Eltern getötet hatten und der geistig etwas zurückgebliebene Mose Harper (Hank Worden) . Das weite, wilde Land ist noch lange nicht erschlossen. Die nächsten Nachbarn sind der aus Schweden Stammende Lars Jorgensen (John Qualen) mit seiner Frau ( Olive Carey) mit den bereits erwachsenen Kindern Brad (Harry Carey Jr.) und Laurie (Vera Miles). Zwischen den beiden einsam gelegenen Farmen weit und breit nur Wildnis, erschwerend kommt hinzu, dass es Indianerland ist. Aus Blicken und Gesten erkennt der Zuschauer die tiefe, heimliche Zuneigung zwischen dem Heimkehrer Onkel Ethan und Martha. Am nächsten Tag formiert sich unter der Leitung von Reverend Samuel Johnson Clayton (Ward Bond) eine Bürgerwehr, bestehend aus den Jorgensens, den Edwards und weiteren Farmern der Gegend. Die Männer wollen Banditen, vielleicht auch Indianer verfolgen, die Vieh gestohlen haben. Ethan reitet anstelle seines Bruders Aaron mit, der bei der Familie bleiben und diese schützen soll, falls die Indianer tatsächlich auf dem Kriegspfad wären. Als die Männer irgendwann das tote Vieh entdecken ist klar, dass eine der Farmen im Umkreis überallen werden soll. Die Komantschen haben die Männer fortgelockt und tatsächlich wird die Ranch der Edwards vom Häuptling Scar (in der deutschen Fassung "Schwarzer Falke" gespielt von Henry Brandon) dem Erdboden gleich gemacht. Die beiden Mädchen Lucy und Debbie entführt, alle anderen werden tot aufgefunden. Als Ethan die brennende Ranch erreicht ruft er nach Martha, die er tot findet, vorher wurde sie brutal vergewaltigt. Danach zieht der hasserfüllte Ethan, besessen wie ein Kapitän Ahab aus "Moby Dick" auf der Suche nach den Mädchen kreuz und quer durch den Wilden Westen. Begleitet wird er von dem jungen Martin, der immer mehr erkennt, dass die Suche nur gemeinsam einen Sinn macht, da er merkt, dass Ethan von seinen fanatsichen Rachegedanken geleitet wird und damit das Leben der Verschleppten gefährdet. Zudem erweist sich Ethan als Indianerhasser... John Ford drehte sein Meisterwerk im bekannten Monument Valley zwischen Utah und Arizona. Die markanten roten Sandsteinfelsen sind grandios einfangen, sie bieten sowohl einen majestätischen als auch einen ehrfruchsgebietenden Anblick. Diese unglaubliche Weite lässt die darin agierenden Menschen sehr verletzlich erscheinen. Es ist der ständige und tagtägliche Kampf ums Überleben spürbar. Die Haupthandlung erzählt von einer obsessiven Suche. John Wayne spielt als Onkel Ethan die Rolle seines Lebens. Der unbeugsame Antiheld ist verzehrt von Haß und sein unversöhnlicher Rassismus treibt ihn an immer weiterzusuchen. 5 lange Jahre. Gemeinsam mit Martin, dem "Achtel Cherokee, der Rest ist walisisch und englisch" wie der junge Mann zu sagen pflegt. Die gemeinsame Odyssee verbindet die beiden unterschiedlichen Männer. Zuhause wartet Laurie auf Martin. In der Zeit schreibt er seiner Geliebten nur einen einzigen Brief und erzählt darin auch noch wie er bei den Indianern einen Teppich erstehen wollte und schließlich eine junge Squaw (Beluah Archuletta) für einen Hut ihrem Vater abgekauft hat. Mit diesen Szenen lockert John Ford den düsteren Hauptpart immer wieder auf. Der Zuschauer sieht die Freude bei den Jorgensens als innert von einem Jahr sogar ein zweiter Brief durch den Postboten Charlie McCorry (Ken Curtiz) zugestellt wird. Und wie Laurie an ihrem Martin immer wieder verzagt "er unterschreibt so förmlich mit Martin Pawley, warum kann er nicht einfach Martin schreiben". Dies führt auch zum Auftauchen der beiden Heimkehrer, kurz bevor Laurie aus lauter Verzweiflung vorhat Charlie McCorry zu heiraten. Als sich die beiden Kontrahenten prügeln, sieht man im Hintergrund eine begeisterte Laurie, die sehr geschmeichelt zu sein scheint, weil sich zwei Männer wegen ihr raufen. "Der schwarze Falke" ist ein Film mit unvergessenen Filmszenen, etwa die als der Suchtrupp durch ein breites Tal reitet. Auf den Höhezügen rechts und links erscheinen in Kolonne die Najeki-Komantschen, die nun ihren Verfolgern als tödliche Eskorte folgen und nur der schnelle Ritt zum Fluß kann die fatale Umzingelung auflösen. Am Ende des brillianten Westernepos scheint der Zuschauer zu wissen, dass Ethan die kleine Debbie als unrettbar verdorben durch den Kontakt mit den Indianern hält. In einer Schlüsselszene des Films sitzen Ethan und der Häuptling Auge um Auge im Wigwam. Es wird nicht nur deutlich, dass auch "Scar" geliebte Menschen durch den Kampf zwischen Rot und Weiß verloren hat, sondern er sogar eine Art Spiegelbild von Ethan darstellt. Auch wenn Ethan Edwards, dieser besiegte Soldat in Friedenszeiten, immer wieder Kriegsschauplätze aufmacht und als Rassist auftritt - Ford gelingt es dennoch die Sympathie für den gebrochenen Charakter beim Publikum aufrechtzuerhalten. Vermutlich deshalb weil die Verzweiflung bei ihm viel tiefer sitzt als bei allen andern Figuren. Am Ende des Films kristallisiert sich der Narr Mose Harper sogar als der erfolgreichste Sucher heraus, er gibt Ethan den entscheidenden Hinweis. Mit diesem Ende wird auch ein brutaler Überfall auf das Indianerdorf gezeigt. Eine Szene zeigt einen Indianervater, der ganz schnell sein kleines Kind in Sicherheit bringen will, als die reitende Kavallerie ohne Rücksicht auf Verluste das Dorf niedermetzelt. Sowohl Ford als auch Wayne waren der Ansicht, dass "The Searchers" der beste Film sei, den sie zusammen gedreht hatten. Deutsche Filmregisseure wählten den Ausnahmewestern 1995 zum besten Film aller Zeiten. Bei den Filmkritikern von "Sight and Sound" rangiert der Film auf Platz 7 der besten Filme aller Zeiten. Auch das American Film Institute wählte ihn auf Platz 12 der einflussreichsten und besten US-Filme. In der Best of Liste von "Cahiers du Cinema" belegt Fords Western mit den vielen Bedeutungen, Inhalten und Sinnebenen ebenfalls einen Top 10 Rang. Bei seinem Erscheinen war er ein guter Publikumserfolg, konnte aber keine einzige Oscar-Nominierung erhalten Kurioserweise gabs dann aber einen Golden Globe - die bekam John Waynes Sohn Patrick, der an der Seite seines Vaters den Grünschnabel Lt. Greehill spielen durfte. Die komisch angelegte Rolle brachte ihm den Preis als Bester Nachwuchsdarsteller ein. RocknRoller Buddy Holly nahm Ethans Spruch "That'll be day" für seinen Song auf und landete damit einen Riesenhit in den Charts des Jahres 1957.

MERCI POUR LE DVD