BBC viewers are raving after the channel aired what’s widely considered the greatest Western of all time – with many in agreement over its status as a cinematic masterpiece. The 1956 epic The Searchers, directed by John Ford and written by Frank S. Nugent, has long been hailed as a cinematic masterpiece. Loosely based on Alan Le May’s 1954 novel, it stars John Wayne in arguably his most iconic role – playing Civil War veteran Ethan Edwards, who spends years scouring the frontier to rescue his kidnapped niece after the rest of his brother’s family is massacred in a brutal Comanche raid.
Filmed in Ford’s beloved Monument Valley using VistaVision and Technicolor, the movie was a hit when it came out and has only grown in stature over the decades. The American Film Institute crowned it the greatest American Western and Entertainment Weekly called it the best ever made. Even the British Film Institute’s Sight & Sound magazine ranked it among the top ten films of all time.
The story, set in 1868, follows Ethan and his adopted nephew Martin Pawley (Jeffrey Hunter) as they battle unforgiving landscapes, violent clashes and Ethan’s personal struggles.
By the time they find Debbie (Natalie Wood) years later, she’s living as the wife of Comanche chief Scar – setting up a tense final act that still sparks debate today.
Ethan’s obsession with finding Debbie takes him across desolate plains, into violent stand-offs, and through freezing winters.
The journey spans several years, with shifting alliances, ambushes, and moments where his own moral compass is called into question.
One line in particular struck a chord with viewers. When Reverend Captain Samuel Clayton asks Ethan why he shot out the eyes of a dead Indian, Wayne’s character replies: “Ain’t got no eyes so he can’t enter the spirit land, has to wander forever between the winds.”
The film’s impact isn’t just in its story. Fans raved about Max Steiner’s sweeping score, with one review calling it “the picture’s driving force – its backbone… without his music much of the picture’s impact would be considerably diminished.”
Fans heaped the film with praise. One viewer wrote: “The best western ever made… John Wayne’s most winning performance. Ford’s Monument Valley never looked more spectacular.”
Another added: “It’s a beautiful spectacle of sight and sound… a lesson on psychology, sociology and filmmaking all at once. I love it.”
Another praised the film as “an epic visual feast,” penning: “It tells a story in it’s own impeccable time. The dialogue is brilliant, I love the way the characters express themselves.
“The concept of the ruthless, merciless good guy isn’t new but in this film I feel it’s produced to perfection. I can only imagine that this movie is one of the first of it’s kind.”