If you grew up thinking Westerns were just about "white hats" and "black hats" shooting it out in the dirt, you haven't seen _The Searchers_.

Released in 1956, this John Ford epic didn't just redefine a genre; it essentially became the North Star for the guys who built modern Hollywood.

When the American Film Institute (AFI) updated its 100 Years... 100 Movies list, _The Searchers_ climbed…