The John Wayne movie Ray Winstone calls his favourite: “Such a great performance”
In terms of British cinema icons, they don’t get much bigger than Ray Winstone. Known and loved for his “hard man” roles, Winstone has gone on to work with some of the most prominent filmmakers of all time, including Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg and Jonathan Glazer. Few people would have guessed that Winstone would go on to have such an impressive career.
After making a handful of early appearances in the likes of The Summer!, Scum and Quadrophenia, Winstone delivered his unique and realistic take on acting with some of the most intense performances in the history of British cinema, like in Glazer’s Sexy Beast and Gary Oldman’s directorial debut, Nil by Mouth. These roles cemented him as one of the greats of British cinema.
While Winstone has contributed so much to the cinematic medium through his time on the screen, he’s no stranger to giving his deepest appreciation to films as an audience member, too. When the London-born actor named his five favourite films in a feature with Rotten Tomatoes, he stated his love for the works of Sergio Leone, Robert De Niro and Michael Caine. They have operated as some of the finest actors in the land and provided Winstone with countless inspiration.
Another cinema icon who took Winstone’s eye is the legendary John Wayne, and Winstone proceeded to name his favourite movie starring The Duke. “The Searchers, with John Wayne,” he began. “It’s a wonderful film. Brilliantly shot, you know. And Wayne’s playing a bigot in it. A man who’s got a hatred about him, but by the end of it, he changes.” It’s a piece of cinema that will live long in the memory of Wnstone and cement itself in cinema legacy.
The Searchers is John Ford’s 1956 epic western movie based on Alan Le May’s 1954 novel. Taking place during the Texas-Indian wars, Wayne plays a Civil War veteran who sets out on a journey to find his abducted niece, played by Natalie Wood, joined by his adopted nephew (Jeffrey Hunter).
Wayne’s character, Ethan Edwards, is a complex man who is driven by his desire to rescue his niece and also his deep-seated hatred for Native Americans. Wayne delivers a performance that epitomises the quest of the antihero, with Winstone noting, “It’s such a great performance, hero playing a man like that.” Wayne wasn’t exactly known for his commanding performances, famously saying of himself that he only played “John Wayne type roles”.
The Searchers becomes a reflection on the nature of racism and the constant search for redemption, shown through the obsessive nature of Wayne’s bigoted character. A fearless confrontation of the darker side of American history and the psyche informed many of those who served in the Civil War. It’s one of the more potent pieces of Wayne’s resume.
Not only does The Searchers hold narrative worth, but it is also considered one of the most visually stunning movies ever made, with Ford using Monument Valley as the backdrop to the film’s action, shot in glorious VistaVision on an Eastmancolour negative, processed by Technicolor.
Winstone had expressed his love for Martin Scorsese’s Raging Bull in the list of his favourite movies, and Scorsese himself is no stranger to the brilliance of Ford and Wayne’s The Searchers. The director once noted, “He literally acts out the worst aspects of racism in our country. It’s right there. You can see the hate. And you can also see how he could go that way.”
“That’s the craziness of Ethan Edwards and the craziness of race hatred,” Scorsese also said, “Murderous fixation and disgust are side by side with fascination and attraction.” Evidently, Ford’s film left a deep impression on cinema fans across the world, so it’s easy to see why many consider it to be one of the greatest western movies ever made.
Check out the trailer for The Searchers below.
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