During a career that spanned six decades, John Ford directed more than 140 films and is considered the architect of the Western, as well as one of America's most influential directors. His collaborations with John Wayne - the quintessential screen cowboy - helped shape the genre as we know it, and none of their 21 films together is more widely praised than 1956's The Searchers . Wayne plays Ethan Edwards, a disenchanted Confederate soldier, looking for a new cause after the Civil War ends. When Comanche Indians massacre his family, he heads off in search of his abducted niece (Natalie Wood), reluctantly taking Jeffrey Hunter’s part-Cherokee neighbour along for the ride. So begins an epic seven-year odyssey that sees Edwards' gallantry warp into a murderous obsession, as he is consumed by fears young Debbie has "gone native". This deeply personal struggle plays out amidst the turbulent climate of a country looking to rebuild itself. Ford juxtaposes these introspective crises beautifully against the vast wilderness of Monument Valley, magnificently photographed by Winton C. Hoch in stunning Technicolor. Often criticised for his stiff onscreen demeanour and lack of emotional range, Wayne's performance in The Searchers is one of the most nuanced and compelling of his career. Edwards represents a flawed hero from a bygone era, unable to find his role in peacetime. This sentiment is realised perfectly in the film's opening and closing shots, where the door of the family homestead opens to welcome Ethan, only to shut him out once order has been restored.

17/5+

(Fri)

7:30pm

Cinema, Hong Kong Film Archive

*Post-screening talk speaker changes to Ka Ming (in Cantonese)
+Additional post-screening talk with Sam Ho (in Cantonese)