But I heard the Duke really loved curry, vindaloo and roganjosh: "The Searchers"

What's that? That's the other kind of Indian? Oh, my bad.

Chatter on another post tipped my hand here, so let's just get going: "The Searchers" is without question the best looking Western I've ever seen, and maybe the best Western, period.

I had TiVoed this John Wayne classic before the release of the latest AFI list, on which the 1956 film rocketed from No. 96 to No. 12. Can't say I knew too much about it, other than it was considered a four-star collaboration -- one of many -- by Wayne and the legendary John Ford. I maybe remember hearing it was a good-looking movie, too. That, um, is something of an understatement. Really.

The story is somewhat simple. The Duke returns home to Texas after the Civil War, where he fought with the Confederacy. He's not back too long when Indians kill his brother and his brother's wife and kidnap their two daughters. That leads Wayne and his nephew (Jeffrey "Captain Pike" Hunter) on a quest to find the girls.

As it turns out, things aren't as simple as they seem. First, there's the subtle question of how Wayne's character, Ethan Edwards, really feels about his sister-in-law, begging the question of whose kids these really are. Then there's Ethan's hatred of the injuns, which goes above and beyond the usual tension out West. How that factors into Ethan's plans for when he finds his niece is something to keep an eye on.

While the story and action grabbed my interest more than the usual Western, that was nothing compared with the scenery. Here is Ford's love of Monument Valley in all its splendor. From the start, we get truly stunning vistas. I should note here that I recorded this not from TCM, but from one of my HDTV channels. Man, was that a stroke of luck. I really can't overstate how great the locations looked in full high-res, letterbox glory. I have never been blown away by a Western like this. It was relentless, I tell you.

OK, OK ... I'm calming down. But when you've got amazing scenery, a tortured "hero" of questionably morality and some solid action, you've got a pretty good Western, and one that holds up well enough a half-century later. Sure, there are some quibbles -- Wayne's too old, Texas doesn't look like that, the Indians are simple savages. But none of that registered with me while watching this movie. I was too busy trying to accept that when it came to the best use of Monument Valley, another movie finally had displaced "Vacation."