Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.5

The Searchers Blu-ray Movie Review

Merry Christmas! Here's some gold.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III December 24, 2024

John Ford's The Searchers is a landmark Western; it's the personal favorite of many legendary filmmakers, historically significant, and has the distinction of marking Warner Archive's long-awaited first venture into UHD. This one's been in the works for quite a long time, replacing Warner Bros.' then-heralded 2006 Blu-ray with a high-resolution scan of the VistaVision camera negative, extensive manual cleanup, and careful color correction for a truly authentic presentation. It's been a hotly anticipated boutique label release since the surprise announcement back in early November, and with it comes extremely high expectations from die-hard fans. The best way to watch it is via their 4K UHD combo pack (which also includes a remastered Blu-ray), but this solid 1080p disc is also available on its own.

Now almost 70 years old, The Searchers has been analyzed and picked apart countless times during the last several decades, and as such a synopsis isn't really necessary. In any case, Martin Liebman already penned a short but succinct appreciation for the film in his 2006 Blu-ray review linked above (while even admitting "it's all been said before" back then), so any newcomers should start there first and then return here for the long-winded technical stuff.

The Searchers Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

As usual. please see my recent review of the 4K UHD combo pack for background information and other comments about The Searchers' stunning new 4K restoration, which was the source for this 1080p/SDR transfer on Blu-ray. It's a downscale but hardly a compromise at that, obviously a few steps behind the UHD's 2160p/HDR presentation while still catapulting ahead of WB's 2006 VC-1 Blu-ray as seen in these direct-from-disc screenshots. Image detail, textures, color representation, and contrast are all well-handled within format boundaries, with this restoration's particular focus on authenticity doing most of the heavy visual lifting. This means that The Searchers' varying native light levels and occasionally unusual colors -- which mostly arrive during a handful of day-for-night scenes that feature odd hues long since baked into the original camera negative -- are still noticeable but unwaveringly authentic to original theatrical presentations, although the lack of HDR and wide color gamut means that a handful of tones aren't quite as exact. Nonetheless, almost everything that I said about the 4K's game-changing appearance still applies here to a certain degree, as the overall look and feel of this scaled-back but still jaw-dropping presentation will surely impress fans and first-timers on small to medium-sized displays. Simply put, second place never looked so good.

It should also be noted that, like the 4K disc, the encoding of this remastered Blu-ray was handled by the reliable authoring house Fidelity in Motion; they've established quite a name through work for other boutique labels like Second Sight and Arrow Films. Unsurprisingly, The Searchers runs at a very supportive bit rate on this 50GB disc, consistently sticking in the high 30Mpbs range with no obvious signs of posterization, macro blocking, or other eyesores.

The Searchers Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

For my thoughts on the DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio mix, please see my recent review of the 4K UHD combo pack.

The Searchers Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This release ships in a standard keepcase with striking poster-themed cover art. Most of the extras are recycled from WB's 2006 Blu-ray, although two newcomers have been found. (Incidentally, a lot of care went into the HD upscaling of these extras and, for the most part, they play flawlessly.) More details about each are in my 4K review.

• Audio Commentary

• Original Theatrical Trailer (2:47)

• 1996 Introduction by Patrick Wayne (1:52)

• The Searchers: An Appreciation (31:01)

• A Turning of the Earth: John Ford, John Wayne, and The Searchers (33:10)

• The Searchers World Premiere in Chicago: Newsreel Coverage (0:44)

• Outtakes (11:42)

• Behind the Cameras (21:49 total)

• Meet Jeffrey Hunter
• Meet Natalie Wood
• Monument Valley
• Setting Up Productions

The Searchers Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

For many fans, John Ford's The Searchers belongs on the Mount Rushmore of Westerns and was reportedly a personal favorite of star John Wayne, who even named one of his sons after the main character. Warner Archive was the perfect candidate to make it their very first 4K effort, as the film's rough cultural undertones likely didn't make it a natural fit for parent company WB's typical lineup. (See also Gone With the Wind, which has yet to reach UHD.) This Blu-ray's strengths are obvious... but unless you've no plans to upgrade ever, I'd still recommend the 4K combo pack: right now it's only $5 more than the stand-alone Blu-ray and includes this disc, a top-tier UHD copy, and a slipcover too.