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The Searchers [Chat]
Thomamelas
Only one man can kill this many Russians. Bring his guitar to me! Registered User regular
Only one man can kill this many Russians. Bring his guitar to me! Registered User regular
The Searchers.
There are times in film when an actor transcends mere typecasting to the point where their roles are iconic. Where merely saying their name conjures very specific images, roles, codes and words. John Wayne did this and became the most iconic cowboy of all time. When he was paired with John Ford, viewers knew what kind of film they were in for. Good and Evil will be well defined. The landscape will be beautiful and empty. Civilization will triumph over lawlessness. The two men created a shared mythology that has never been equaled by any other combination. Some have come close. Scorsese and Bobby D would come so very close with crime films. But no one every quite had the magic of the Two Johns. It is with this in mind that audiences went to the movies and saw The Searchers.
It was not the film they were expecting. Ethan isn't a good man. He's not a decent man. John Wayne took all that had he put into the myth of a cowboy and turned it just a little so the light fell differently. The stoicism of the cowboy became nothing more then a lack of humanity. The use of weapons to tame a wild land became nothing more then a nightmare of violence. The creation of civilization was nothing more then wanton destruction. The belief in the superiority of the White Man's culture was little more then racism. All that the two men had held up as good was turned so it's flaws could exposed as evil. Ethan is a little racist at first, not really an issue for the audience at the time. Then he gets a little more racist. And then he achieves a level of racism that even the audiences of the 50's found excessive. But the characters the audience sympathizes with, the ones that play our role as observer aren't much better.
I know that John Wayne isn't an actor that one thinks of when you think great dramatic roles. A number of his films didn't ask a heck of a lot of him. But again, this film isn't those films. Much of the movie revolves around the subtext of Ethan's love for Martha. Something that only shows up in early scenes in the form of touches that linger too long, or looks shared that are too tender to give to a sister in law. Of his anger and rage at her rape mixed in with the hatred and racism already in his heart. Ethan isn't a card board cut out of a character. He's evil and vile but not without his charm. And John Wayne plays the role with a depth that only very good actors can really achieve.
Like many Westerns, it's a story of obsession. Ethan and Martin are seeking a little girl. Martin's adopted sister and Ethan's niece. She's been taken in the raid that left Martin's adopted family wiped out by the Comanche. So the two men set off on a quest to find her. Martin wants to rescue her but Ethan has a different goal for the little girl. To remove the taint of the Indian from her by killing her. The two men develop a relationship, a twisted father and son relationship of admiration and hate. One that builds to an unexpected but unavoidable climax, leaving us with perhaps the most perfect ending in film.
It wasn't the first deconstructionist Western. Not even close. But the two John's had a power that few would ever have. They had brought back the Western with Stagecoach. They created a new shared myth of the west. And then with thunder they broke the myth apart, knowing it's flaws in a way that only a creator can. This is what audiences saw when they sat down to watch The Searchers, and yet few would realize the importance of what they were watching. They would say all that needed to be said about the Western, and all that would be left with was the good-byes. It would be up to men like Leone to invent a new myth of the West.
In the end, this fine movie would be passed over by the critics of it's day. No academy awards, no praise, no nothing. But the film makers of the 70's saw this film, and they saw it for the classic it is. It would influence people like Martin Scorsese, Paul Schrader, Steven Spielberg, John Milius, Jean-Luc Godard, Wim Wenders, and George Lucas. Bits of The Searchers ends up in many of the works of the 70's. Taxi Driver takes the theme and transfers it to modern New York. Schrader would make it again in Hardcore. Spielberg would use Devil's Tower in Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Milius would talk about how he would always try to put a little bit of The Searchers into each of his films. Godard compared the ending to Ulysses being reunited with Telemachus. Wenders would take bits of it and put it into Paris Texas. And the shot of Luke finding his aunt and uncle's farm destroyed mirrors Martin finding his family's farm destroyed both in story and in visuals. Buddy Holly would take Wayne's signature line from the film and turn it into song. It left an impact on film and culture that lingers among us to this day.
There are times in film when an actor transcends mere typecasting to the point where their roles are iconic. Where merely saying their name conjures very specific images, roles, codes and words. John Wayne did this and became the most iconic cowboy of all time. When he was paired with John Ford, viewers knew what kind of film they were in for. Good and Evil will be well defined. The landscape will be beautiful and empty. Civilization will triumph over lawlessness. The two men created a shared mythology that has never been equaled by any other combination. Some have come close. Scorsese and Bobby D would come so very close with crime films. But no one every quite had the magic of the Two Johns. It is with this in mind that audiences went to the movies and saw The Searchers.
It was not the film they were expecting. Ethan isn't a good man. He's not a decent man. John Wayne took all that had he put into the myth of a cowboy and turned it just a little so the light fell differently. The stoicism of the cowboy became nothing more then a lack of humanity. The use of weapons to tame a wild land became nothing more then a nightmare of violence. The creation of civilization was nothing more then wanton destruction. The belief in the superiority of the White Man's culture was little more then racism. All that the two men had held up as good was turned so it's flaws could exposed as evil. Ethan is a little racist at first, not really an issue for the audience at the time. Then he gets a little more racist. And then he achieves a level of racism that even the audiences of the 50's found excessive. But the characters the audience sympathizes with, the ones that play our role as observer aren't much better.
I know that John Wayne isn't an actor that one thinks of when you think great dramatic roles. A number of his films didn't ask a heck of a lot of him. But again, this film isn't those films. Much of the movie revolves around the subtext of Ethan's love for Martha. Something that only shows up in early scenes in the form of touches that linger too long, or looks shared that are too tender to give to a sister in law. Of his anger and rage at her rape mixed in with the hatred and racism already in his heart. Ethan isn't a card board cut out of a character. He's evil and vile but not without his charm. And John Wayne plays the role with a depth that only very good actors can really achieve.
Like many Westerns, it's a story of obsession. Ethan and Martin are seeking a little girl. Martin's adopted sister and Ethan's niece. She's been taken in the raid that left Martin's adopted family wiped out by the Comanche. So the two men set off on a quest to find her. Martin wants to rescue her but Ethan has a different goal for the little girl. To remove the taint of the Indian from her by killing her. The two men develop a relationship, a twisted father and son relationship of admiration and hate. One that builds to an unexpected but unavoidable climax, leaving us with perhaps the most perfect ending in film.
It wasn't the first deconstructionist Western. Not even close. But the two John's had a power that few would ever have. They had brought back the Western with Stagecoach. They created a new shared myth of the west. And then with thunder they broke the myth apart, knowing it's flaws in a way that only a creator can. This is what audiences saw when they sat down to watch The Searchers, and yet few would realize the importance of what they were watching. They would say all that needed to be said about the Western, and all that would be left with was the good-byes. It would be up to men like Leone to invent a new myth of the West.
In the end, this fine movie would be passed over by the critics of it's day. No academy awards, no praise, no nothing. But the film makers of the 70's saw this film, and they saw it for the classic it is. It would influence people like Martin Scorsese, Paul Schrader, Steven Spielberg, John Milius, Jean-Luc Godard, Wim Wenders, and George Lucas. Bits of The Searchers ends up in many of the works of the 70's. Taxi Driver takes the theme and transfers it to modern New York. Schrader would make it again in Hardcore. Spielberg would use Devil's Tower in Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Milius would talk about how he would always try to put a little bit of The Searchers into each of his films. Godard compared the ending to Ulysses being reunited with Telemachus. Wenders would take bits of it and put it into Paris Texas. And the shot of Luke finding his aunt and uncle's farm destroyed mirrors Martin finding his family's farm destroyed both in story and in visuals. Buddy Holly would take Wayne's signature line from the film and turn it into song. It left an impact on film and culture that lingers among us to this day.
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I spent the lunch break talking with the girl I have a crush on.
About random stuff like PAX East...
Either she's into me or she's just being polite and friendly. Either way, she doesn't hate me!
Check out my site, the Bismuth Heart | My Twitter
the fact that it looks kind of like chocolate takes it from regular shitty to a whole new level of cruel joke
I'm not sure if you are making an obscure reference or are under the impression that I keep birds as pets.
Unrelatedly my tablet's autocorrect has been guessing wildly incorrectly all day, for some reason.
man i thought you owned birds.
is it reptiles? voles? i thought you were an eccentric pet dude.
All hail Winky God.
Check out my site, the Bismuth Heart | My Twitter
Well..well...did you already post the bearded dragon dressed up as a real dragon?
this is the goal
godspeed
When I was an undergrad, I would never remember it's Halloween. I would just wander out to class and I'd spend an hour wondering why the hell so many people are in stupid outfits.
I have two cats. I did have some fish for a while.
I have a sister who is a vet and kept a lot of animals when I lived at home: guinea pigs and dwarf hamsters and such.
That's about it.
The free market has once again benefited the consumer
The monopoly of Halloween is over
/coslibertarian
As a cosbytarian...
Doo wop de doop whagga whagga whag.
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Anytime anyone tells me that the private health care market smooths out inefficiencies, I'm just going to laugh and laugh.
as far as i know Japan is a full on cat owner and well aware of how scornful they can be
it's only the love of Bob that keeps him sane
I have to admit I was rather impressed when I saw a guy do up a full Iron Man armor set with a motorized faceplate at the comic expo here earlier this year. While one part of me wonders what it would take to make something like that another part of me is a bit weary of the stigma that comes with it.
what..it..but..i...but..doesnt that...but...
hmmm
Arch,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_goGR39m2k
stigma? fuck the stigma
if you can make something like that you're set
you know how much people would pay for that shit?
man i don't know why i thought that. sorry for saddling you in my mind with stupid pets that are a lot of work and don't love you.
he has a lump over one of his eyes that the doctor thinks is a tumor. they're cutting it out.
they have to put him under, obviously. it sucks, since he's 13 now and it carries risks. he's healthy and fairly vigorous but it still scares me.
I'm just now wondering what might have given that impression. The avatar, maybe.
I'm just now wondering what might have given that impression. The avatar, maybe.
nsfw http://i.imgur.com/wfobEla.jpg
That point had crossed my mind as well.
But it's something I had started pondering this week, probably because of Halloween and all and just wondering what it would take. I'd have to learn a bit about wiring I would surmise for any lighting and such as well as if I had wanted to do a motorized faceplate similar to his but then there would be figuring out out how to make all of it as well. It seems almost daunting and time-consuming but at the same time I'm sort of intrigued at the challenge of it.
AGREED