The Searchers at 65: No More Heroes - 65th Anniversary Video Essay | Movie Birthdays
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- čas přidán 17. 08. 2021
- The Searchers 65th Anniversary Video Essay
John Ford was arguably the most prolific and influential American directors of all time. In his lengthy career he worked across many genres and with some of the most iconic Hollywood actors from the studio era. Most famous for his Westerns he would become inseparable from the American myths and legends he created and for decades to come filmmakers would follow the trail he already blazed.
This video looks back at "The Searchers" and the legacy of Ford and asks whether his influence still remains or whether it is cinema from another time and for another generation. Or is there still something to learn from his canon of work? Check out video and let me know what you think.
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#johnford #johnwayne #thesearchers - Krátké a kreslené filmy
John Ford is one of the greatest directors ever.
Greatest director ever. Could do anything.
I disagree with your final assessment of Ethan. He had changed and he had gained redemption, but his quest had been completed. Their family had been reunited and Martin and Laurie's future could begin. Ethan was alone because his true love, his brother's wife, was gone forever. Great film.
Nicely articulated, thanks for the comment.
I agree. The fact he didn’t kill Debbie showed his change. Love overcame hate. His job was done. What a wonderful movie.
Just look at the last scene. Ethan is still the Outsider.
Good point.
I don't see his brother's wife as his true love I see him devoted to her and her devoted to him because of family. He loved her because she married his brother. John Ford was able to show the depth of devotion on film . He did it so well that's some imagine that there is more or something other than devotion but that is it and that is John Ford's genius
John Ford is arguably the greatest director ever.
His filmography is a treasure trove. Still working through it.
You may have gotten the ending completely wrong. In picking up Debbie and holding her, possibly recognizing his own daughter and taking her home, rather than killing her Ethan has finally transcended the hate and prejudice that drove him. We see it beginning to unfold when he accepts Marty as family and heir, almost his son. But in the final shot, Ethan turns away from the door and back to the desert, not out of his inability to change, but for the acceptance of the loss of the only love of his life- Martha- and a settled life that will never be. She was the woman that made this man to wonder and roam, and turn is back on home in the beginning. This acceptance of loss was the ending shot. Leaving Debbie and Marty in a home he could never create or provide. He takes hold of himself by the arm, and walks off.
Thanks for such a great articulation of the ending and I completely agree. I’m sorry you don’t agree with my interpretation of the ending, I try to look at the other layers of meaning that are at play. Especially in movies that have spanned decades and still moves us with their power.
Thank you for your opinion, you could be right but I don't think so
Excellent and moving review of Ford and Wayne. Clementine, The Grapes of Wrath, The Searchers, all masterpieces.
The Searcher’s and the Man Who Shot Liberty Valance are the two greatest movies ever made.
"The Searchers'' is my favorite western. The author here talks of Ford's work being ignored now, but it was ignored in 1956 when I saw it at my third-run neighbood theater as an eight years old. I remember the suspense and the horror I felt as the brownish shading of the lighting accented the fear of the family as it awaits the Indians' attack. As an adult, I marveled at Wayne's acting from it. This as he recognizes Ethan's racism, knows it is wrong but can't remove himself from it. This is powerful stuff and should have been recognized with Oscar nominations, if not wins. Yet, the Academy ignored ''The Searchers'' whiie egregiously honoring the overly-bloated ''Around the Wlrld in 80 Days.''
Overlooked by the academy for a throwaway film, seems to be how the story goes. I guess it was easy to overlook the movie as just another western from Ford. But the fact that it had endured says it all we need to know. Unforgettable imagery and ideas flow from this undisputed classic.
John Ford is one of the greats and I'll always be grateful to George Lucas for not only making great films but also introducing me to so many different corners of cinema because his homage to The Searchers in both AOTC and ANH lead me to Ford's filmography. There's just so much Ford has done and everything I've seen from him so far is great. Also great video!
Really thoughtful and beautiful analysis of the Ford classic. Thank you!
I've seen it 50 times and everytime i pickup something even more interesting and cool.My Top 5.
The Searchers
The Magnificent Seven
Shane
She wore a yellow Ribbon
Major Dundee
Great top 5, all absolute classics.
I used to go to my grandparents every Sunday & my grandad would have a western on without fail and his favourite was The Searchers.
Cool video mate, you brought some nice memories back for me.
Thanks, it’s definitely a genre that I attribute to an older generation for the same reasons. We grew up with these westerns and took them for granted as they were always on tv, but if we pay more attention to them there’s a lot of artistry and some very challenging and bold stories that are still very relevant today.
What a beautiful.... Vision.....thank you. You open my taste to new movies
Thanks a lot, I hope you enjoy the other videos on this channel too.
Vera Miles still lives!
Wow! Thoughtful. Insightful. I’m grateful you shared this.
Well done.
Thanks you so much
Thank you so much for this meticulously produced and insightful essay. I've been rediscovering some of the westerns I loved most as a kid. Perhaps it's a way in my old age to recapture memories of some the best times spent with my father. I recently read Glenn Frankel's book that tells not only the story about the making of the film, but the historical source material of Le May's original novel. About the abduction of Cynthia Ann Parker, on which both the book and film are loosely based. I'm a musician and am always looking for inspiring visuals and recently created this music video using footage from the film. I attempted to recast this as the epic tragedy it really was, and not just for the Ethan character, but for Natalie Wood's character, the real Cynthia Ann Parker. Here was a 10-year-old girl who witnessed her family savagely murdered, only to grow up and have her new family and adopted tribe, including two of her sons, seemingly slaughtered by Cavalry soldiers. Something that should never happen to anyone she experienced twice in her short life. She spent her last tormented years, first as a public curiosity - never fitting in, not ever wishing to become "white", never knowing that one of her sons managed to escape the massacre and become the famous chief Quanah Parker who helped negotiate peace between tribes and the federal government long after her death. Hence the bibilical Job theme from one of my favorite English composers, Vaughan Williams, seemed quite appropriate, especially the horse scenes in the Monument Valley and that funeral-like dirge during Debbie's wary return and the Duke's iconic exit. czcams.com/video/7QTeAazY0FQ/video.html
Thanks for such a meaningful comment. It’s amazing how classic movies can transport us not just into the past but into our own memories through the associations we have with them and the people we watched them with. They can be portals into different generations.
Good job,🤠🇺🇸. I'm big fan of John Ford, maybe even a product of his work and employees. Start many a morning with Elmer Bernstein playing in the background. I don't think you have to have everything right for me to say you nailed it.
The idea that Debbie is actually Ethan's child makes his quest even more personal.
Absurd. Nowhere to be found in the script.
Everyone at the time thought that because of the way his brother's wife acted toward him.
Ethan has been away from home so long that he thought Debbie was Lucy. Debbie was't born until Ethan had been away for some years fighting the American Civil War.
@RaymondCore in the movie Ethan was gone for 8 years, and Debbie is 8 years old. In the original script, Debbie was 11 when he came home after 8 years. John Ford changed it. I don't believe he did things like that on a whim.
Difficult and heart wrenching for all.
A different perspective than 1878 or even 1956.
Human can cruel animals.
The cruelest.
That aspect is perhaps what makes the movie timeless
A very moving and insightful analysis, thank you! I think that John Ford is cinema. Even when younger filmmakers ignore his works his thematic and stylistic elements are still in films today. And eventually, a new group of filmmakers will discover his work. As Prof Sue Matheson notes in her book on his Westerns and War Films, he'll always be there.
You’re right, his imagery has been embedded into cinema and will always be part of the language - eventually people will discover the source. I’m going to track down the book by Matheson.
Thanks for your comment.
Just came across your videos (on a Strange Days kick) and OMG you absolutely nailed The Searchers! I’ve loved this movie forever and had a hard time justifying/explaining its greatness which you were able to do in the span of about 10 minutes. Thanks for your analysis!
Thanks so much. We’re at that time where there is a lot of change happening and classic movies are becoming like relics, movies have changed a lot in the last few decades not only in their form but also their values. As I say in the video, the classic movies shouldn’t be dismissed or ignored just because they on the surface don’t seem to fit with values of today. If anything, a great movie explores themes that are not only universal, but eternal.
I’m glad Strange Days brought you here, it’s one of those movies that I find myself going back to a lot too. 👍
Your best video yet. Your editing from the upteenth clips available is brilliant and, like the video, serves as a reminder of the richness of Ford's, and by extension, Hawks' works, particular their works in colour. Even though some modern audiences now scoff at their work (whether its due to sensitive themes, or just simply whether or not the Duke will be able to get on and off his horse) Ford's films are very much the definition of shaping the cinematic definition of American culture. It's this cinematic definition and viewpoint that has sold America and its landscapes to the world and has gone onto influence countless generations of filmmakers. Ford and, by extension, Hawks are very much the true auteurs of American cinema, and yet they never really identified themselves as such. Ford was dismissive of the theory by stating that others did the work on his behalf, yes it was his vision, but it took others to execute it.
The Searchers is Ford's key film, a revenge story of patience told within the context of a brilliant colour palete and breathtaking cinematography. What always interested me about Ford, especially in his later years, was in how he tried to deconstruct the American myth, that he had so richly put on the screen in the first place, with films such as Liberty Valance (IMO his best film) This theme in turn would pave the way for a new generation of westerns filmmakers, some of whom would take Ford's tropes and, at times, would improve upon them, either due to a differing viewpoints, different methods or simply the change in censorship rules. When it comes to Ford, I at times compare him to Jean Luc Godard, in that the framing, the shot compositions and cinematic techniques that these two filmmakers have pioneered have gone onto influence the future, and sadly, at times, have been used to better effect in better films.
Great comment. I love what you said about deconstructing the myths he created, you definitely see that starting with The Searchers and Liberty Valance is pretty much devoted to that theme.
Revisiting Ford’s work and watching many of his non-westerns was such an eye opener as to the depth of his abilities and the themes he explored. His work became very self reflexive but still touched on universal ideas, in the past I was out off by his war pictures, especially the naval/submarine stuff but this was a big part of his identity and he pushed further and further to make films that were personal, reflect Ed his interests but always had something new to say. He developed a formula and a way of working that gave hike freedom to do what he wanted within it and I suppose that became his signature.
As you said, he had no time for lofty film theory, he would probably hate this video, but ultimately he created the standards that most films are measured by - the notion of the auteur being on of them.
If I'm not mistaken, I think Peckinpah tried to expound on Ford's films....
@@classiccinema9490 He did indeed, I added a quick shot from
“Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia” at 5:53 just to show the lineage.
@@MovieBirthdays Sweet! I will check it out. I talked about Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid in a recent one, but not as in depth as you! Haha
All new ground for me, so informative in the extreme.
Well done and very interesting! I was taken by 'The Searchers' on first viewing. Each time I see a another perspective on it, my appreciation for it grows. Ford has created such a haunting character in Ethan- we appreciate him for his dedication, humanity, and courage, but are repelled by his racism and hatred- he embodies the some of the best and worst traits of the traditional Western hero, a myth we've grown up to admire and believe in- it is as timely today as it was when it was made.
It’s the true mark of a classic when it evolves over time. A film like The Searchers which is loaded which such powerful imagery and complex characters will forever unlock new meanings. Thanks for the comment.
Beautifully done! Carefully selected, super high-quality images that support your comments perfectly! Thank you!
Thanks so much, glad you appreciated the effort.
I love this. Thanks for creating it and posting it.
Glad you enjoyed it, thanks for your comment.
Agreed that the Searchers is one of the greatest of all time and Duke at his best. As with the cavalry trilogy Ford did with John Wayne.
Your commentary is spot on. Thank you.
Glad you enjoyed the video.
Oh man that a treat. I was just about to go through your list as I’m determined to watch them all as I sell my guitar pedals I’ve collected and have somewhat of addiction to buying being a guitarist but nothing like a great John Wayne line. Your edits are getting even better. I watched “
The Town “ last night and was very impressed. 140 films is quite a feat. John Wayne is truly and American hero and his voice has been imitated countless times. I think these Westerns inspired films way outside the genre, especially Tarantino even spanning into comedy as I’ve heard many comedians reference old westerns as a main influence most likely because they grew up on them. Your script for this document is extremely fluid and you’re definitely improving. I hope this channel blows up which I’m sure it will, but it’s always nice to find a channel before it’s gets a ton of followers.
Glad you enjoyed the video, I wasn’t sure what the reception was going to be like for this movie as it’s going back a bit. I hope the episode binge is treating you well there’s a lot of good movies in the back catalogue, really appreciate your support and encouragement. 👍
This is a real youtube gem.
Beautifully done👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
Thank you so much.
Very nice analysis. Thanks.
At the end, that wasn't his home, he had no home...the woman he loved, and his brother, were dead. He is left to wander.
Been watching your videos for a bit man, theyre very sick. Really well though out with unique nuanced opinions and thorough backup. No Idea why youre channel and this concept isnt much bigger. But thank you for all you do, will definitely be signing up for your patreon
Thanks so much, nice to be appreciated. It’s getting there slowly, fallen behind a bit as they get more challenging trying to make them as unique as possible by searching for new interpretations. I’m aiming for at least two videos a month and still have a lot of great movies on the list for this year, so stay tuned and keep commenting. I love the discussions on here.
Ford was beyond great. This was a special film. I still remember how shocked I was when I found out John Wayne's real name was Marion Morrison.
A timeless classic. I guess Marion wasn’t the best tough guy name
@@MovieBirthdaysFrancis Marion?
Most folks that know me, know that I like movies. They learn that I enjoy the classics and most have never heard of, I'll end up talking about these movies with the fathers of most of my friends since many younger folk haven't viewed them. I'm sometimes asked what my favorite movie is and I struggle to answer, I love so many you see. So I often just say that I don't know which is my personal favorite, but that the best movie ever made is probably The Searchers.
This was a very beautifully poetic comment. A fitting tribute to a classic.
He's doomed to wander between the winds.
Great video!
Thanks a lot.
PATRICK Wayne/ Natalie Wood And Myself A Few Months Apart In Age. First Western~ Stagecoach age 7. View Anytime thanks to B. BAND! Debbie. Now 85.
Wow! Excellent essay on Ford! And I say that as someone who spent the last month (re-)watching my own 28-movie retrospective of Ford's career.
Thanks I feel honoured by your compliment. I had to revisit and discover a lot of Ford movies to prepare for this video, such a huge career.
@@MovieBirthdays John Wayne’s legacy has been further damaged this past month by the apparently completely false story of “six security guards” holding him back at the Academy Awards in 1973 from assaulting the Native American actress who took the stage in award-winner Marlon Brando’s place. It seems that no one ever even heard the story until 1988 when Wayne’s was already dead for 9 years. Nonetheless, Wayne’s politics and mindset are problematic today, but what a star he was for over 50 years…and an underrated actor!
@@RanDyLan Culturally it shows the conflict between the new Hollywood taking over from the old guard, perhaps perfectly embodied by Wayne’s behaviour. Which isn’t a justification but an interpretation, Wayne was as old school as it gets, he built his name on being what he perceived to be a true American - but America and the world was changing and continues that way.
@@MovieBirthdays Well said!
For sure ,the greatest western ever !! Cheers !!
Thanks, glad you enjoyed the video.
Thanks
*the climax of the movie makes it a classic*
Ford is my favorite all American director.
I hear you, Coach!
I never looked at the ending in quite such a negative way. Does his leaving alone have to imply he rejects her acceptance back into the family? Maybe he just had other things he had to do at that time.
It’s possible, it all adds to the mystery.
Only remembering this channel now. You hit 1k! Congratulations! I knew you'd get their some day.
Thanks for coming back. The channel is still going, I have a whole lot of videos coming up so please stay tuned and thanks for your support.
@@MovieBirthdays I hot that subscribe button! Can't wait for the new videos!
@@themovieboy0848 thanks, I try to get out 1-2 videos a month. Will hopefully get back to weekly next year.
I love film history as well. Amazing work Ford did during and after WW2 as well.
Absolutely, there’s an amazing canon, some of the dramas and non-western films are also a standout such as “The Last Hurrah”.
@@MovieBirthdays Good job on the editing and fades. I'm still working on that! Do you have any movie info/history resources you could recommend?
@@classiccinema9490 thanks a lot. I generally research on a case by case basis. I’m prep for this I watch around 20 John Ford movies and read a Ford biography by Andrew Sinclair. Generally, I do deeper research for the older movies, but a lot of the time I avoid reading or watching anything about the movies I’m doing in order to keep the interpretation fresh. I go on memory and then fact check once it’s written.
With the films I’ve grown up with I dive straight in and form a concept or them based on whatever comes from the film. I studied film at university so that helps, I read a lot of movie books and screenplays growing up and retained the knowledge from that. I used to keep a reading recommendation list on my website, there are some books on there. If you’re interested, I will update it more regularly - I might even branch out and do a video with some book recommendations.
One of the best books in my opinion is Film Art by Bordwell and Thompson, it really emphasises how to read images. But the Film noir series of books by Ursini and Silver are really good too. I’ll add more references in the video descriptions going forward, but keep an eye out on the library page on the website for more. Hope that was helpful.
Often wondered if Bob Dylan had Ethan in mind when he wrote 'Like A Rolling Stone'. Edwards passes' forever between the winds' at the end with no direction home. Some think Debbie might actually be Ethan's daughter as the feelings between he & Martha are very clear, if unspoken...complex film...
The Searchers gave us the all time classic record 'That'll Be The Day' by The Crickets
I thought it came from there. 👍
And indirectly American pie. “This’ll be the day that I die”. Is obviously a reference to drunken boys changing the lyrics of Buddy Holly’s song in black humour, given his unfortunate death.
I agree with others. Ethan had realized that he couldn’t finish the rest of his life in hate. Holding Debbie broke thru the horror he saw in the Civil War and on the plains. Remember Ford was surrounded by WWII veterans. He understood PTSD.
I never realised that allegory, thanks for the insight.
Thank you for a fine piece of work. An interesting feature of Ford as he matured was his tendency to demolish myths he had himself colluded in, such Fort Apache (1948) and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962). I wonder what you think of Two Rode Together, with James Stewart and Richard Widmark, which is a very obvious and cynical parody of The Searchers?
Thanks, I’m glad you enjoyed the video. I completely agree it seems that he became more self reflective as his career progressed. Two Rode Together is almost a response to the ambiguity of the end further exploring the clash of cultures and the concept of home and identity in America.
What is the film clip used at the start of the video?
It’s from “The Last Hurrah” starting Spencer Tracy. Directed by Ford.
Sigh. Look up the Parker kidnapping, the creation of the Texas Rangers, the horrors of Comanche attacks and what happened to Ethan’s family, and you’ll understand the theme this film portrays. It asks us, “what happens to a man who is able to fight these bastards?”, “what becomes of his soul?”, “can he live in our sanitised world?” In the end Ethan obtains peace with rescuing Debbie, peace with his past and he hands her over to the “future”. The American’s won , and the Comanche terror raids stopped. All it took was a few men’s souls and Ethan knows this. His walking off is the culmination of his sacrifice to make Texas, to make America.
Thanks for the insightful comment. I will look into the events you cited to widen my context.
It's curious that the movie is set in Texas when none of it is filmed there and the iconic scenery is recognisably Monument valley on the Utah-Arizona border.
I guess it’s part of Ford’s myth making by using iconic settings over factual ones.
Hey, my man. I LOVE this work you're doing. Are you still doing them?? I haven't seen a new one in a while. Plenty of 50th birthdays await you.
Thanks. I have a a few new videos in the works, will be posting soon.
The Searchers magnificent, as sure as the turnin of the earth! From a Stranglers fan, No More Heroes says all that needs sayin! Cheers, from Belfast! x
Glad you picked up the reference. Thanks for the kind comment.
@@MovieBirthdays Just noticed My "Says all that needs sayin!" Could have come from Ethan`s own lips! ha cheers!
@@joedoyle5593 You definitely channeled him.
@@MovieBirthdays ha cheers mate.I will add a few points soon. Too much to say. x
@@joedoyle5593 Look forward to it.
And Today. Real Treat. RIO GRAND. Colorized ~ Brilliant ~ Technology !
Definitely a treat, I watched it again over Christmas, but I’ve not see. The colorised version.
2 years hope I get "once we're warriors"! Also last of the Mohicans is coming up in September!
Ford got good work out of Duke on "The Searchers." I tell people who knock John Wayne to watch this superb film. Give it a try. ❤❤❤
Will we ever get another John Wayne I don't think so
Not in that form, some have come close but never had the longevity that he had.
The lesson of the Searchers is revenge and hate poison you, and many looking back at this film fall into a self-hatred which is equally odious. Normal people that watch The Searchers grasp these concepts, but critics seem to feel embarrassed and need to justify. It's the ever-evolving asterisk they have to attach. I highly doubt the same people will lament their own as they too fade into obscurity like so many other groups throughout history. The graveyard of history is full of well-intentioned appeasers.
Well young lady you are entitled to your opinion
👍
Your videos are great, did you stop making them?
I have a few in the works that I’ll be posting soon. I took a break to work on some other projects but I will be back. Thanks for the encouragement.
@@MovieBirthdays awesome looking forward to seeing more!
People focus so much on Ethan that they think this is an anti-hero movie. If you look past Ethan, not easy because John Wayne dominates the hell out of the movie, there is a hero hiding in plain sight. Martin Pauley. Old Mose finds Debbie and Martin saves her.
That’s a great observation. Giving Old Mose his dues.
The big trail
Nice video! Tight and humorous editing, esp how you illustrate audience reactions around 06:30. Just watched Searchers for the first time and one question that lingers is, Did Ethan kill Lucy? Is that why he’s so shaken? He was ready to kill Debbie over her “lost virtue,” so why not Lucy, too, who by then would presumably have been violated?
I think it’s quite possible that he killed Lucy, he is almost a prisoner to his beliefs which are very rigid and as you point out the scene where he considers killing Debbie gives us a subtle hint at the depths of Ethan’s brutality.
@Raylan Givens you’re probably right, but it’s interesting how audiences have found that to be such an ambiguous moment over the years. It’s almost like they’re becoming absorbed into Ethan’s character and thinking like him.
@Raylan Givens that’s really good and actually works. I never saw that before but it’s very plausible. Thanks for the insight.
@Raylan Givens 👍
Never thought Ethan killed Lucy. He found her back there, killed, raped, very possible mutilated. Natives dealt with women captives in the most gruesome manner. If you doubt my word, go do some studying. Without going into details, it will make you sick. Etan was physically sick & shaken. He knew what he would find, that's why he sent the other two on Goose chase. That's why he lied about his missing coat. Lucy was naked & tortured.
Being a slave to current trends is anathema to greatness in any field of endeavor no matter the era. If your work does not transcend modern sensibilities (if you can define all this latest woke crap as sensible), it is quickly forgotten. The values which held society together are being ripped asunder. It is not that Ford and Wayne are merely forgotten as much as they have been forced out by the mediocre and the talentless hacks of modern cinema. Fear rules the day in every aspect of our culture and we are NOT the better for that.
I wonder if Quentin Tarantino was influenced by John Ford.
I would think he is, you can see a lot of it in Django and The Hateful Eight.
He claims to despise Ford, and especially _The Searchers._
@@lindajohnson4204 Visually the references are there especially in Django.
people tend to empathise with ethan, obviously being the main character, his character is explored the most. being maori im more interested in the scar character, having his land, family and way of life taken, a way of life that existed for thousands of years in america. for me the loss is beyond anything ethan experiences. one criticism of war movies is that even if theyre anti war movies they tend to glorify war, as with westerns up to this point the films almost always empathised with white characters, which says a lot about the times and the people
It's fair for modern audiences to question the treatment of Native Americans in this movie but when people write it off as racist they miss the point which you explain very well. Ethan's hate and intolerance keep him apart from the rest of the community in the end.
Absolutely, I think audiences should question it, they should even be able to dismiss the movie but only after it has been watched. Too many movies from the past are ignored and not given the chance as some viewers find them troubling without having watched them.
Talented directors site John Ford as an influence like abused children say their parents didn't know any better.
It’s a strange dynamic, but the greats say it with pride. Spielberg’s latest “The Fabelmans” pays a grand tribute to Ford.
Debbie. MY Stagecoach -- Anniversary 'MUG' Delivered TOday. I am Nearly 87yr. MY 1st. John Ford-- Western! She 7yr. End ww2.
I do not understand the take on the end of the movie, that Ethan now sees that he will wander forever, like the Indian whose eyes he shot out was supposed to wander. I don't understand that take, except that people want the darkness to consume Ethan, further separating them from the infamy of his racism, his darkness, so no pesky guilt by association transpires, I guess. That just seems like an incredibly shallow take on the movie, and everything it is about. When Ethan shot the eyes out of that dead body, he was already like that. He was sharing his misery with the body, and whoever of the Indians who happened to see him afterwards. And I can't understand that anyone would miss that there was grace that had happened to Ethan at the end, who had been so determined to kill Debbie. And the final end of the movie is in the light of that grace. Everything is not made alright, but of what story do we actually demand that at the end, all things are now fixed, and every question solved? Would we really want a completely happy movie ending, when there is still so much wrong with everything? If Ethan (who sure enough doesn't belong, as Debbie doesn't belong) walked in hale and happy, his back being slapped, congratulatory cigar put in his mouth, and he's grinning because of how accepted and belonging he finds himself, in the heart of the family? But does anyone really believe that the Jorgenson's are rejecting him (it is their moment welcoming Debbie back, of course!)? Isn't it Ethan who needs to separate himself from them, and think about what has happened? Sparing Debbie was an act of grace in Ethan's heart; why would he have forgotten so soon? Grace = hope for someone who has been condemned to wander eternally.
As a Christian, I can't help but notice the important symbolism of the serpent gingerbread in the doorway, as Ethan stands there looking in, then walks away, pondering all that has happened, and what has happened to him. The serpent is a well-known symbol of Satan and evil. But there is another meaning for a serpent lifted up in the Bible, and it is the message of grace. Appearing in the doorway of that all-important shot, I cannot believe that its intention is just decorative, or an accident.
It’s a very complex and ambiguous ending that has mystified audiences for decades and the magic is that everyone perceives it’s meaning in different ways.
I really like your interpretation and I had not noticed the snake symbolism. It’s definitely not there accident. I’ll have to revisit the movie and watch it through your lens.
Thanks for such a great comment.
Where does the bible correlate a serpent with grace?
@@leroyjenkins4123 John 3:14
14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:
15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
@@lindajohnson4204 amen and thanks!
He could not stay there because of the romantic connection he had with his brother's wife
That’s the other reading, as there is a sense of history between them and the suggestion that Debbie may well have been his daughter.
Thanks for your video. But your conclusion is way off. Your "take" makes me wonder if you watched the movie thoroughly and carefully, or just read about it. I've seen the movie a dozen times. You ignored the most climactic scene--Ethan's moment of change and repentance at the cave. He picks up Debbie in his arms, holds her and says, "Let's go home Debbie,". He accepts her. He lets go of hate. Yet at the end of your video, you said he is "incapable of change" and that he thinks Debbie is "lost and corrupted". You missed it sir.
I’m sorry if our interpretations differ. I see the significance of the cave scene and saw that as Ethan performing a duty to the family regardless of his feelings, perhaps he would stay if there was true acceptance.
Thanks for taking you time to watch the video and for your great comment. Im always open to new interpretations and insights. Also, let me assure you that I don’t read any reviews, or view any other essays around the films I feature on the channel. I research the directors and actors as well as doing fact checking around information surrounding the production of the films. I work hard to form my own readings and watch each film several times before writing the script, even when it’s a film I’ve seen countless times before. It ensures that I back up my theories and find the images and sequences that support them.
Just a quick comment to say I hope you're doing ok.
Hi, doing good thanks. Had A brief pause due to work commitments but will have a new video up soon. Hoping to get quite a few out by the end of the year.
@@MovieBirthdays looking forward to it! Thanks man 😊
" his niece" Ethan Edwards goes off to fight a war that wasn't his for country that surrenders before he does he comes home to see his brother and his brothers family butchered by animals and hunts them down by the way Debbie is clearly his daughter he betrayed his brother before he left and that's another reason why he has to search for that child
great cinematography, fine acting by Wayne, but quite a mess with plot and script. Vastly overrated movie----sorry.
As much as it’s classic movie, it’s definitely not universally loved.