John Ford's The Searchers! Thurs, Sept 19th.

Not just one of the most important Westerns of all time, but one of the most important American films. John Ford spent the first 2 decades of his career as a director building the cinematic mythology of the American West; and in his later years, with this and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence, he started tearing it apart (much as Clint Eastwood would do 4 decades later with Unforgiven). This movie was made in the 50s; and intentionally mirrors a lot of the racial bigotry present then (particularly towards mixed marriages, which would remain illegal in many states until 1967). This is John Wayne as you never seen him before; dark and driven. It is one of his bravest choices as an actor, and this ended up being one of his very favorite films. Buy your tickets soon, and please RSVP. Can't wait for our post-show discussions on this one!