The Searchers [DVD] [1956]

The Searchers is in my opinion the greatest 'Western' ever made, although I have to admit that 'True Grit' True Grit (1969) [Blu-ray][Region Free ] is the one I watch most often! The film was directed by the peerless John Ford in 1956 and was based on a novel written by Alan Le May in 1954. The film starts in 1868 in the wilderness of west Texas and stars John Wayne as a middle-aged Civil War veteran who returns from the American Civil War to the home of his brother; for me he gives the finest performance of his career in this film, yes True Grit's 'Rooster Cogburn' is probably a more memorable character, but if anyone ever suggests that 'The Duke' could not act then they should look no further than his incredibly powerful portrayal of the violent and racist Ethan Edwards in 'The Searchers'. From the moment Ethan comes through the door it is clear he is not your typical John Wayne character; in this film Ethan is a man who does some heroic acts, but at the same time he is deeply troubled and bigoted, he is also racist and violent but the fact that through Wayne's performance we the viewer still perhaps admire his determination is testament to both the acting and the writing. He tells his brothers family he is finished fighting and has returned to set up a home for himself. Almost the next day news reaches the homestead that their neighbour has had cattle stolen, and when the Rev. Capt. Samuel Johnson Clayton (the brilliant Ward Bond) and a party of fellow Rangers arrive at the door they take Ethan and the families adopted son Martin Pawley (played to perfection by Jeffrey Hunter, an actor who many will recognise from Star Trek's orignial pilot episode 'The Cage') out to follow the trail of the thiefs. It is not until they are quite some distance from home when they discover that the theft was in fact a clever ploy by Comanche Indians to draw the men away from their families. The party then turn and head for home as quickly as possible, but on arriving there they are met with the most horrendous of scenes, the home burned down, the parents and son murdered (and in the wifes case raped) and the two daughters (Debbie and Lucy) abducted. What follows is a quest by Ethan Edwards (John Wayne) and Martin Pawley (Jeffrey Hunter) to find the girls. Soon on in the journey they discover the body of the older of the two girls, Lucy; she has been brutally raped and murdered. They then continue searching for the next few years to find the other daughter Debbie; the two men travel through terrible weather and hostile terrain, all along putting any thoughts of personal comforts to one side, in a relentless mission to discover just what has happened to her. They eventually find Debbie, now an adolescent (and played by the beautiful Natalie Wood), and seemingly living amongst the Indians as one of their own. What follows is a long and difficult rescue mission, and the doubts remain that even if they can rescue Debbie will she remember them or even want to go with them. The film is most famous for its photography of the location, Monument Valley; it is utterly stunning and no film has captured it so perfectly before or since. The soundtrack is very typical of 'Westerns' of the era, this is not necessarily a bad thing, its atmospheric, it just isn't anything special. Watching the film now it is very difficult to understand how it didn't even receive any Academy Award nominations; but it is fair to say that the films real strength is its ability to appeal to audiences over half a century after its release. It has received far more recognition in modern times; the AFI (American Film Institute)named it the 12th 'Greatest American Movie of all time' in 2007 and 'The Greatest American Western of all time' in 2008. As recently as 2012 the film magazine 'Sight & Sound' ranked it as the 7th best film of all time. This REGION FREE Blu Ray edition is absolutely superb and although I have seen this film many time throughout my life, televison through to DVD (via VHS), it has never looked so gorgeous nor have I enjoyed it just quite so much. The level of detail is stunning, the textures of the land and the fabrics worn are truly bought to life like never before; the colours are amazing, particulary so with the desert and the skyline during a setting sun. The shots that particularly stood out for me were the two iconic 'door frame' images that bookend the film, they are just amazing and the contrast between the blackness and the colour is simply astonishing. I think the very reason why I enjoyed my initial Blu Ray viewing so much was due to the level of detail that high definition offers; despite countless screenings throughout the years I was still able to discover a huge number of previously unnoticed nuanced visuals. The main feature is presented in 1080p High Definition 16x9 (1.85:1), has Dolby Digital sound 1.0 in English, French and German, and it also has subtitles in those languages. There are some excellent Special Features including a commentary by Peter Bogdanovich (the Director, and also a Biographer of John Ford), a new featurette 'The Searchers: An Appreciation' and the original theatrical trailer. However, the best extras as far as I am concerned are the fascinating 30 minute documentary 'A Turning of the Earth: John Ford, John Wayne and The Searchers' narrated by John Milius, and the original black and white 'Behind the Cameras' segments; these are quite hilarious and offer a truly fascinating insight into the American movie business in the 1950's! Overall I consider this Blu Ray as an essential purchase for anyone who considers themselves a fan of films; regardless of whether you already own it on DVD (as I do) this is totally worth purchasing, for me it is the most worthwhile use of high definition I have seen to date!

This review is just for the 2006 release of the BluRay. Suffice to say the print transfer is excellent. One of the best BluRays I have seen. The sound is excellent too and the subtitles read easuily. So many interesting estras too. This is a fantastic package...The film isn't bad either

I was brought up watching Westerns on the TV, in those days there seemed to be hundreds of them. But when a big screen movie came onto the telly, well that was an event and The Searchers was one of those events all those years ago. Anyway, most people know what a great western it is, what a travesty it was that Wayne didn't get a best actor Oscar for his role of Ethan Edwards, and what a wonderful piece of film-making it is. But this review is about the transfer to blu ray. Which is top notch. I've got a few blu rays of older films and haven't been overly impressed by them, but this is stunning. It must be like, or damned near as close as you can get to seeing it at the cinema when it was first released. The picture is sharp, and the film's awe-inspiring locations have never looked better. The colours, the use of light and shadow, and the photography is simply something to be seen. Many have said that The Searchers is one of the best films of all-time because of its production alone, and with this blu ray you can certainly see John Ford's unique talents like never before. Someone has asked if its a true widescreen. I'm not that technical but I don't think it is because the letter box scenes are used in the documentary on the extras - which are really interesting as well - but not the feature. Nonetheless, this doesn't at all detract from the quality and The Searchers has never looked so good on your telly. So get rid of that disappointing DVD, and buy this, you won't regret it and certainly worth the current price on Amazon. In fact, if you only ever buy one western on blu ray, make sure it's this one.

Arrived as expected in cellophane, easy to set up once I'd found UK 🤦played well and as I remember

I can't deny i was drawn to this film by Quentin Tarantino's analysis of this film. I watched it and couldn't disagree..

Purtroppo non esiste ancora un edizione italiana in blu ray di Sentieri Selvaggi , ho ripiegato sulla versione inglese, ottima scelta aldilà delle qualità del film, la resa dei paesaggi in alta definizione è incredibile e attualizza il film.

J'ai reçu le BLUE-RAY (The Searchers) la prisonnière du désert avec emballage correct et rapide et avec piste sonore française ok , merçi !

Era para un regalo y gustó mucho. El envío fue muy rápido. El producto en perfecto estado.

Alles perfekt gelaufen, danke. Mehr kann ich nicht schreiben, so damit müssen Sie zufrieden sein. Ich wünsche Ihnen ein schönen Tag.

Je suis pleinement satisfait de mon achat auprès de ce vendeur. L'article est d'une excellente qualité sonore, je n'en suis que dès plus ravi.