The Silver Screen Oasis

Maybe we should devote a thread of the great Cameramen of the past and present ... I don't pay attention to them but some of you guys do? ... Just a thought!

Aaaahhhh...maybe Life has changed since....

I watched The Searchers again for the first time in about three years. Watched the old DVD with the correct color, the only way to see it. Over a decade has passed since I read the novel on which the film is based.

Ford's comedy bothers me more than it used to. The Searchers tells its story in starts and stops, constantly interrupting the momentum and abandoning story threads for a comedic moment. It then picks up, after diffusing everything that came before. Frankly, the comedic interruptions are just plain aggravating. I'm beginning to see how a remake can improve on the original, although objectively speaking, what the original does right can never be improved on.

Don't completely disagree. It does, for me, give a sense of time passing. I will admit to not being fond of the wedding day fight scene. My biggest problem in a Ford movie for an inappropriate comedy scene is the middle of "Cheyenne Autumn." It really gets in the way. It is far too long too.

THE SEARCHERS is one of my favorite movies, but I do agree with your assessment, Richard W. The good parts are SO good, and the not so good parts are OK. For that reason, I praise it as a great and complex work. But the moments of silliness do make me feel as if Larry and Curly have stumbled onto the set, and Ethan and Marty have gone in search of Moe! Ford's very best films are taken a little more seriously throughout.