The first time I watched it I was pretty let down. I tried again a year later but still couldn't see past the stiff acting, lame attempts at comic relief, and the abruptness of the ending. I didn't see this as a classic film, not in the same league with the great Westerns of Hawks.
Now I've seen it a third time, on a larger screen, I'm much more impressed. I finally realize what makes Ford great, which is quite different from what makes Hawks great (which was largely dialogue and character). It's largely the visuals - not just the gorgeous views of Monument Valley, but the close shot of the anguish on John Wayne's face when he thinks about the family he has left behind to be massacred, and the dark, twisted look he gives the children who have been driven mad during their captivity. And that truly evil moment when Wayne shoots out the eyes of the dead Indian (off-camera) and gloats that his soul will be condemned to wander forever between the winds. And then the final shot, which tells us that this will be Wayne's own fate.
It's still got all those flaws I mentioned, as well as a truly bad theme song, but I find myself phasing them out when I think about the movie, because the moments of genius stand out so much. What do you think?
― Justyn Dillingham, Wednesday, 10 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)