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Post by cineclassics on Mar 3, 2023 12:51:34 GMT
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Post by cineclassics on Mar 3, 2023 13:11:53 GMT
John Ford's subversion of the genre he helped to create, The Searchers has received a boost in publicity in recent years with famed directors such as Martin Scorsese championing its brilliance. The film also contains some of the best work of John Wayne's career, as he portrays the anti-hero, Ethan Edwards. And the beautiful vistas of Monument Valley in VistaVision are a sight to behold.
Turning the mirror on the egomaniacal film industry, Billy Wilder's 1950 gothic-noir continues to captivate audiences with its razor sharp dialogue, cynical writing, and motifs that would be utilized again and again (how many films since have utilized a dead man as the voice over narrator?). Wilder's brand of cynicism may have never been darker than it is here. Holden never better, and Gloria Swanson, already a silent film legend, cemented her legacy for modern audiences with her portrayal as Norma Desmond.
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Post by BunnyWhit on Mar 3, 2023 17:05:15 GMT
The wide open sprawl of the great frontier vs. the claustrophobic world of a Hollywood has-been? Interesting match-up!
Frankly, neither Ethan Edwards nor Norma Desmond are likeable characters. They both bare a tragic superiority complex, (but not of the same type or for the same reason), and they both are hopelessly lonely. Thematically, both films tackle uncomfortable subject matter: The Searchers exposes the "underbelly of the American psyche" (to quote Scorsese) as Ethan lives and breathes racism, while Sunset Blvd. presents a picture of mental illness (paranoia, narcissism, or co-dependence, anyone?) and how that is misunderstood or manipulated by others.
Both films feature top-notch performances and direction with beautiful cinematography. Both feature iconic final scenes that have since been homaged numerous times.
For me, the The Searchers edges out for the win here. Quite simply, it is a gorgeous film, well-written to the point of being at times down right poetic, and it is perhaps the best John Ford/John Wayne collaboration.
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Post by sepiatone on Mar 3, 2023 17:23:56 GMT
Somehow, THE SEARCHERS didn't grip me as much as it seems to have others. I got the impression, often, that those who insist on telling me THE SEARCHERS is the best western ever made is because they've been worn down by others who insist it is because they feel one HAS to think that way about it or be thought of as some kind of fool.
I can't argue with the opinions about the look of the movie though. But that depends on whether you like western stories, or are interested in seeing a Western story and travelogue wrapped into one film.
Sepiatone
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Post by cineclassics on Mar 3, 2023 17:32:57 GMT
The wide open sprawl of the great frontier vs. the claustrophobic world of a Hollywood has-been? Interesting match-up!
Frankly, neither Ethan Edwards nor Norma Desmond are likeable characters. They both bare a tragic superiority complex, (but not of the same type or for the same reason), and they both are hopelessly lonely. Thematically, both films tackle uncomfortable subject matter: The Searchers exposes the "underbelly of the American psyche" (to quote Scorsese) as Ethan lives and breathes racism, while Sunset Blvd. presents a picture of mental illness (paranoia, narcissism, or co-dependence, anyone?) and how that is misunderstood or manipulated by others.
Both films feature top-notch performances and direction with beautiful cinematography. Both feature iconic final scenes that have since been homaged numerous times.
For me, the The Searchers edges out for the win here. Quite simply, it is a gorgeous film, well-written to the point of being at times down right poetic, and it is perhaps the best John Ford/John Wayne collaboration.
Great analysis. I may have a slight affinity for Ford/Wayne's collaboration on The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, but the images in The Searchers tend to linger much longer in my mind after the credits roll. |
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Post by Andrea Doria on Mar 3, 2023 17:55:05 GMT
That's my favorite western but there are hundreds I've never seen.
I voted for, "Sunset Blvd," because claustrophobic character study is just my cup of tea.
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Post by Lucky Dan on Mar 3, 2023 18:11:49 GMT
This search is over.
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Post by sagebrush on Mar 4, 2023 0:19:32 GMT
John Ford and Billy Wilder are two of my favorite directors. I could watch just about any of their films over and over again. Of these two films, SUNSET BLVD always holds my attention from start to finish. And who doesn't love a film in which the narrator is a dead guy? 
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Post by topbilled on Mar 4, 2023 0:24:19 GMT
I voted for Sunrise Avenue, my pet name for Sunset Boulevard.
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Post by sagebrush on Mar 4, 2023 0:29:13 GMT
I voted for Sunrise Avenue, my pet name for Sunset Boulevard. I actually live on Sunset Blvd, but not in Hollywood.  |
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Post by sepiatone on Mar 4, 2023 17:09:07 GMT
But thanks to this woman, I can't take Sunset Boulevard serious anymore  .  Sepiatone |
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Post by BingFan on Mar 5, 2023 1:34:44 GMT
To me, SUNSET BLVD. tells the more unique, unexpected story. THE SEARCHERS certainly takes the western someplace it’s never been before, but it’s still within the western genre, so it seems a bit less unique to me.
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