Leonard Maltin On THE SEARCHERS

Leonard Maltin talks about the classic Western film THE SEARCHERS during an interview for AFI's 10 Top 10 (2008).

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[blavia77]

I think that happens with most of the films we love, you notice something new every-time you watch it.

[NillumNaes]

I saw this movie, thought it was good. Then I watched this video, watched it again, and thought it was amazing.

[grabit1]

@TrevorKingKwong

Be patient. It commands multiple viewings. There is so much going on that one viewing, even several, aren't enough. It is a jigsaw puzzle that requires becoming familiar with the individual pieces, one viewing after another, in order to appreciate the whole. And once you're there, you see the seamlessness and then wonder, "Why wasn't I this impressed the first time I watched it?"

[TrevorKingKwong]

I'll have to watch this again in the future. I saw it today and the only emotional reaction I had was to that beautiful opening shot. Other than that, I was bored with the rest of the film. I couldn't connect with it. May have been my state of mind, the environment at the moment, I don't know, but I just couldn't find much to like. I'll wait another few years.

[AgentSmithClan]

I know its widely considered one of the best westerns ever made and one of the best movies ever, but I still feel its underrated. There are so many layers to it, pretty much every character is nuanced with some depth... even the characters that are usually dismissed as "silly comic relief". Each time I watch, and it feels more and more like a masterpiece and the characters make more sense. When I see superficial reviews decrying racism in it or something, I just shake my head. So much more to it

[dilmao]

@FGalaxie Not a common trait among native american leaders, I suspect. Just pointing that out, because it disrupts an otherwise interesting film for me.

[FGalaxie]

@dilmao he was german in real life

[shelly10538]

A rockin' chair by the fireplace...

[dilmao]

Scar, the indian chief, has blue eyes. 

[RogerHWerner]

Watch it for the 50th time and you will think it is better still. Maltin is right. This film has so many layers one never tires of watching it. I practically have the dialog memorized having seen the film for the first time in 1961and every time I watch it I get tears in my eyes. It is one of the most emotionally powerful films I've ever seen. Few films honestly knock your socks off but this one truly does that.

[GPa2010]

I loved this movie the first time I saw it as a boy, because John Wayne changed his hat several times throughout the film. And a lot of time passed.

And not realizing it at the time, but the scene with Duke, Ward Bond & "Martha" in the house with no dialog and "Sweet Lorena" playing is still one of my very favorite scenes.

[TwoUselessLegs]

Monument Valley is, itself...a myth. It's beautiful all right. It's just that NOBODY in their right mind would ever live there. During the summer, this is the LAST place you want to be. Even with air conditioning it is a cruel environment. I love it when Europeans and Asian tourists run out there in the summer. Not a single one of them realizes what they're getting themselves into!