The Searchers: An Appreciation

The Searchers: An Appreciation (2006)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Martin Scorsese, Curtis Hanson and John Milius are interviewed and share their feelings about John Ford's THE SEARCHERS. All three men start off talking about the first time they watched the film, what they picked up on repeat viewings and then they start to discuss certain scenes, images and messages in the movie. Fans of THE SEARCHERS should really enjoy this 30-minute featurette that features three great interviews edited together for a highly entertaining look at the Ford classic. I'd say my favorite part was early on when the three discuss their first time seeing the movie and especially Scorsese who reveals so many details that it clearly had a major impact on his life. He then talks about how overtime he started to see more hints in the story and picked up on the character that John Wayne played. All three men do a very good job with their passion on the film as it's clear they all love the movie. I really thought they did a great job at talking about what makes the story so special, the performances so good and of course why they feel it was such a personal film to Ford. They also deal with the racism in the movie and what the director was trying to say.