THE SEARCHERS
The Searchers is an American film directed by John Ford, starring John Wayne. The film is set in 1868 Texas, featuring John Wayne as the main character Ethan Edwards.  In the plot of this film Ethan returns from the American Civil War, to the home of his brother Aaron and his family. Shortly after Ethan's arrival, cattle belonging to his neighbor Lars Jorgensen are stolen, and when Captain Samuel Clayton leads Ethan and a group of Rangers to follow the trail, they discover that the theft was a ploy by Comanche to draw the men away from their families.

When they return home, they find the Edwards homestead in flames, Aaron, his wife and their son Ben dead, and Debbie and her older sister Lucy abducted. Ethan ventures off with Martin, her adopted older brother, to catch the natives tribe and get her back. We follow Ethan and Martin as they vigorously search for years to find Debbie and bring her back to them.  The film touches on several racial issues, as well, many of which will turn off the views people have today. Horses, gunfights, etc. this film is everything an old school western film will have, plus the amazing acting of John Ford. Although I enjoyed watching the movie I feel that John Ford made the film with too much montage.

This film relate to what we’ve discussed in class about Eisenstein and his use of montage. Eisenstein talked about using conflict in order to produce a montage. I don’t really watch western films because they don’t interest me that much but after watching this film it definitely caught my attention. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, although holds the traditional values and attitude of the Western genre, is quite different from The Searchers. There is a 14 year difference in release dates between the 2 two films. In contrast to The Searchers, this film had a much greener landscape. The editing is stronger; action scenes have extraneous amounts of jump cuts compared to The Searchers.

            The direction is also more innovative; medium shots have now been replaced with very personal close-ups. In simple words, although the film maintains the characteristics of an old-school western genre, it is the director’s experimental/innovative delivery that separates Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid from the Searchers.  In the article entitled The Searchers: An American Dream" by Brian Henderson e find how important The Searchers is to film industry. Directors like, Martin Scorocese, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Paul Schrader, John Milius, and Michael Cimino have been influenced by this particular John Wayne film. Scorcese and Spielberg even state that they make sure they watch The Searchers at least once a year.

Spielberg has gone as far as calling John Wayne's performance in the Searchers the best of his career. In conclusion I really enjoyed both of these movies but I would have to say that I enjoyed Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid better than the searchers. I believe since the movies were 14 years apart from each other Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid was able to improve their movie based on the traditional way of the searchers. In the Butch Cassidy film I really enjoyed watching the cops chasing butch and Sundance but were never able to be shown. As far as the searchers, he use of montage, realism, and Auteur make this film special. It is a unique film of its time and it should never be remade or duplicated.

Henderson, Brian. ""The Searchers": An American Dilemma." Film Quarterly 34.2 (1980): 9-23. abstract. (n.d.): n. pag. Print.

Yao, Liz H. "Life in the USA-301-Yojimbo, The Searchers, and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid: A Critical Comparison Concerning the Protagonists, Locations, Women, and Authority." Wordpress. Wordpress, 26 Nov. 2008. Web. 29 Nov. 2012. <http://lizhuoyao.wordpress.com/2008/11/26/life-in-the-usa-301-yojimbo-the-searchers-and-butch-cassidy-and-the-sundance-kid-a-critical-comparison-concerning-the-protagonists-locations-women-and-authority/>.

                                           

CHECKLIST FOR PLAGIARISM

*** (x) stands for criteria has been met

1) (x)  I have not handed in this assignment for any other class.

2) (x)  If I reused any information from other papers I have written for other classes, I clearly explain that in the paper.

3) (x)  If I used any passages word for word, I put quotations around those words, or used indentation and citation within the text.

4) (x)  I have not padded the bibliography. I have used all sources cited in the bibliography in the text of the paper.

5) (x)  I have cited in the bibliography only the pages I personally read.

6) (x)  I have used direct quotations only in cases where it could not be stated in another way. I cited the source within the paper and in the bibliography.

7) (x)  I did not so over-use direct quotations that the paper lacks interpretation or originality. 

8) (x)  I checked yes on steps 1-7 and therefore have been fully transparent about the research and ideas used in my paper.

Name: Brandon Strickland                                                     Date: 12/12/2012