Ridley Scott is renowned for his signature world-building and character-driven cinema. Through his films, like Alien and Blade Runner, Scott gravitates towards large, sweeping epics with complex characters and gritty emotional depth. What’s less known about the influences on his cinematic vision is his reverence for a John Wayne western. In his early days, Scott encountered John Ford’s 1956 gem The Searchers, and he was so blown away by the film that he decided that he wanted to be a director.
In an interview with Alex Simon for Venice Magazine, Scott was asked about the film that grabbed his interest in directing. Scott responded:
” The Searchers (1956). I remember just being blown away by that film. I love westerns. I want to do a western some day. I don’t think anyone else ever captured the west the way John Ford did. I actually went to the hotel in Monument Valley, where they used to stay. They have the “John Ford Room” there with all these production photographs that he took. Vistas, panoramas, that sort of thing. They’re the most extraordinary photographs.”
How ‘The Searchers’ Inspired Ridley Scott
Ridley Scott’s admiration for Ford’s directorial craft and its influence on him can be seen in Scott’s filmography, however subtle. The Searchers is a film with sweeping visuals, moral ambiguity, and masterful storytelling. The film was also a detour for John Wayne, where he embodies one of his darkest characters as a cowboy. It follows Ethan Edwards (Wayne), a Civil War veteran driven by vengeance and prejudice. Through the film, John Ford fearlessly confronts the racism of the time by providing a mirror to society.
“Uncle Ethan”, as his beloved nephews and nieces endearingly call him, hates Native Americans with a passion. So much so that in one scene, he shoots the eyes of one who is already dead, so that he never finds peace in the afterlife. Ethan’s racism permeates through his attitude toward his adopted nephew Martin (Jeffrey Hunter) who is of Native American heritage. The Searchers’ premise is fueled by vengeance. Ethan returns three years after the Civil War to his brother’s (Walter Coy) loving family. They spend some quality time together in which we get hints about the good, the bad, and the ugly of the man. These early scenes have elicited intriguing fan theories about Ethan’s obsessive motivation in the film. And then, just as Ethan is settling in, his brother’s entire family is killed, except for his most beloved niece Debbie (Natalie Wood), who is abducted instead. Wayne’s Ethan becomes bloodthirsty for revenge. He spares no resources to find his niece and kill her abductors.
Though Ridley Scott’s work is diverse, a look into some of it reveals parallels with the cinematic techniques and thematic approaches in Westerns, particularly The Searchers. His cinematography is often sweeping with environments that reflect his protagonists’ emotional journeys. From his directorial debut The Duelists, through the futuristic Blade Runner to his epic blockbuster Gladiator, Scott places his characters in larger-than-life settings that shape their internal struggles. This is evident in The Searchers. Straight from the opening sequence in which Ethan rides alone against the spectacular wide shots of Monument Valley, The Searchers utilizes this rugged environment to raise the emotional stakes in Ethan’s character arc. For instance, there is a scene in which Ethan and his posse on horses are surrounded by Native Americans in the vast wild, and Ford’s use of wide shots in his cinematography not only creates a visually immersive experience but also heightens the tension, and puts you right beside the protagonists. Similarly, Scott uses vast, often desolate landscapes to highlight the isolation and inner turmoil of his characters. A memorable scene in Gladiator where Maximux (Russell Crowe) rides to find his family murdered, is set against a windswept burning battlefield that emphasizes the despair and emptiness he feels. This scene is also akin to Ethan’s return to find his brother’s family murdered.
What Would a Ridley Scott Western Look Like?
Per the interview with Alex Simon, Scott talks about his desire to direct a Western. But what would that look like? Much like what The Searchers brought to the screen, Scott’s take on the genre would almost certainly delve into the emotional and psychological layers of its characters. After being associated with the movie adaptation of Wraiths of the Broken Land that never was, Western movie fans still hold a glimmer of hope that Scott will one day deliver the Western he has long dreamed of making. Until then, we await to see what else is left under the talented director’s sleeves in his sequel Gladiator II.