The Searchers Vs. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

The Searchers; Film Slug
Released in 1956.
Directed by the infamous John Ford.
Stars John Wayne as the lead character. Also features Jeffrey Hunter, Vera Miles, and Ward Bond.
Based on ‘The Searchers’ written by Alan Le May.
Screenplay written by Alan Le May
Distributed by Warner Bros.
Budget: 3.75 million
Box Office: 9.8 million
American Film Institute considers it the best Western film of all time.


Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid; Film Slug
Released in 1969
Directed by George Roy Hill
Stars Paul Newman, Robert Redford, and Katherine Ross
Written by William Goldman
Distributed by 20th Century Fox
Budget: $6,825,000
Box Office: ~$102,308,889

Analysis of the films

Right off the bat, it must be stated that both movies belong to the western genres. However, these films could not be more different from each other. The Searchers, which is considered the best Western film of all time, shows large landscapes, monument valley; something John Ford is automatically associated with. It features John Wayne, who has probably worked with John Ford in over 40 projects. It features all the qualities a traditional Western would behold; a rugged character that is tough, strong, intellectual, brave and in control of his
emotions. The film touches on several racial issues, as well, many of which will turn off the views people have today. Horses, gunfights, anarchist attitude, etc. this film is everything an old school western film will have, plus the mass genius of John Ford.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, although holds the traditional values and attitude of the Western genre, is quite different from The Searchers. Keep in mind that there is a 14 year difference between the release dates of the two films. During this time, not only did American film industry change, so did the attitude of the filmmakers and the society in general. In contrast to The Searchers, this film had a much greener landscape. The editing is stronger; action scenes have extraneous amounts of jump cuts compared to The Searchers. The direction is also more innovative; medium shots have now been replaced with very personal close-ups. In simple words, although the film maintains the characteristics of an old-school western genre, it is the director’s experimental/innovative delivery that separates Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid from the Searchers.

Relating the Films to the Text

Instead of taking the easy way out and relating the films to the chapter that talks about the genres, I would actually like to use Chapter 7- Acting.  What I find intriguing in this chapter that relates to the searchers, is the persona of an actor.  Persona, as defined by the Merriam Webster dictionary, is the personality that a person (as an actor or politician) projects in public. John Wayne played the same heroic cowboy in the Searchers he plays in almost every film that he does. Its to the point where it would seem that John Wayne, in every movie that he is in, plays the role of John Wayne; a stereotype that he forever will be associated with. It has even been reported that his attitude on the screen, “the tough leader that does everything the way he wants to,” was also visible off screen. Sadly, his racial views in the film were also reflected in real life.

For Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, I would like to relate the film to the Chapter 8- Editing. As mentioned before, it is the style of editing and cinematography that separates Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid to the Searchers. The film uses a great deal of jump cuts that made the action scenes chaotic and exciting. I don’t think there was ever a scene during the action sequences where the camera was on the same shot for over 4 seconds. The editor does a good job in managing spatial and temporal relationships between shots, as well.

Relation to the Theory

Instead of relating these films to a theory, I would like to actually relate these films to a form of film; the buddy film. Buddy films, for its majority, involves two main characters, both of same sex, that have different attitudes on life, but believe in each other till death. It’s easy to relate this form with Butch and Sundance but we see elements of this in The Searchers, as well. Personally, I think Ethan, from the Searchers, would have just been a plain character if he did not have Martin accompanying him on his journey. They both had different attitudes towards life, and although they did not get along at first, they did soon start to appreciate each other; Martin’s
character strengthened Ethan’s character and allowed Ethan to show his comedic, and somewhat of an emotional side.

Relating Articles to the Films (non journal)

For this paper, I wanted to find articles that poured some light on the characters of the Protagonists. Being these films are relatively famous and important to the film history, finding articles relating to them was not a difficult task. For this paper, I’m am using the article entitled, “Life in the USA-301-Yojimbo, The Searchers, and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid: A critical comparison concerning the Protagonist, Locations, women, and Authority.”  For the comparison of the Protagonist, the writer claims that Butch and Sundance where more sympathetic and morally people than Ethan. This is definitely true. You can clearly tell that Ethan, at times had no remorse, his feelings towards people of other culture were sour, and that his pride exceeded the likes of others. Butch and Sundance, although running for their lives, never intentionally wanted to harm anyone. In fact, Butch had never even killed anyone until more than half the film was over; a unique feature that a traditional western character would not posses. 

Relating Articles to the Films (journal)

For the Journal article, I would like to use the article entitled, "The Searchers: An American Dream" by Brian Henderson. In this article, we find how important The Searchers is to film industry. Directors like, Martin Scorocese, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Paul Schrader, John Milius, and Michael Cimino have been influenced by this particular John Wayne film. Scorcese and Spielberg even state that they make sure they watch The Searchers at least once a year. Spielberg has gone as far as calling John Wayne's performance in the Searchers the best of his career. The writer of the article also sheds light on the fact that the film, although set in 1860's really consists of  characters that portray beliefs of the audience in the 1950's.

Views on the films.

Out of the two films, I think I prefer Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. I find the story and the characters of BCATSK more appealing. And although John Ford is a greater director, the direction of BCATSK is more out of the box. And the fact that I simply got more chills watching BCATSK just makes me appreciate it more. The characters are more sentimental, and the action sequences are more entertaining. The over exaggerated acting in the Searchers also turns me off to the film. The jokes in the Searcher are quite corny. In fact, I actually really like the dialogues, and their delivery, in BCATSK. But the element I appreciate the most in BCATSK is its ending.  Now many can assume that they both go in the blazing fire, but did they? Maybe they survived and managed to somehow take out the Bolivian police. This open-ended ending is something that really appeals to me. Plus, I really like how the cops chasing Butch and Sundance where never shown; now I am not that aware of how most western antagonists are portrayed, but the ones that the viewers never get to see must have been an element seen in no other.

Work Cited

Henderson, Brian. ""The Searchers": An American Dilemma." Film Quarterly 34.2 (1980): 9-23. abstract. (n.d.): n. pag. Print.
Yao, Liz H. "Life in the USA-301-Yojimbo, The Searchers, and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid: A Critical Comparison Concerning the Protagonists, Locations, Women, and Authority." Wordpress. Wordpress, 26 Nov. 2008. Web. 29 Nov. 2012. <http://lizhuoyao.wordpress.com/2008/11/26/life-in-the-usa-301-yojimbo-the-searchers-and-butch-cassidy-and-the-sundance-kid-a-critical-comparison-concerning-the-protagonists-locations-women-and-authority/>.

CHECKLIST FOR PLAGIARISM

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Name: Hemanshu Agnihotri                                            Date: 11/29/2012