A few months ago I “reviewed” the cowboy flic Open Range, and confidently asserted that it was the best Western ever concocted. Then I set out to find justification for that assessment; I Googled “Best Western Movies in Order. There were many lists, as you might imagine. Much to my surprise, Open Range didn’t appear on any of them. But, said I – these were film critics talking: what do they know, right? However, I couldn’t ignore the fact that, heading almost all lists was The Searchers. So last night I watched it. Wow! For once the critics got it right. I still think that Open Range is a darned good movie, maybe even a great one. But Searchers is better.
So it is a John Ford, John Wayne movie, filmed in Monument Valley but supposed to depict events in Texas – so what? And, yes, the Indians with talking parts are mostly Italians, the rest being Navajo, not “Comanch”. Say what you will, the scenery, and the background music, make this film offering sore. It is so good I may watch it again tonight!
And will there ever be an actor better suited for a role loke this than John Wayne? That’ll be the day! A
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