Upon the film's release, Bosley Crowther of "The New York Times" called it a "ripsnorting Western" (in spite of the "excessive language in its ads"); he credits Ford's "familiar corps of actors, writers, etc., [who help] to give the gusto to this film. From Frank S. Nugent, whose screenplay from the novel of Alan LeMay is a pungent thing, right on through the cast and technicians, it is the honest achievement of a well-knit team." Crowther noted "two faults of minor moment": "Variety" called it "handsomely mounted and in the tradition of "Shane"", yet "somewhat disappointing" due to its length and repetitiveness; "The John Ford directorial stamp is unmistakable. It concentrates on the characters and establishes a definite mood. It's not sufficient, however, to overcome many of the weaknesses of the story." The "New York Herald Tribune" termed the movie "distinguished"; "Newsweek" deemed it "remarkable". "Look" described "The Searchers" as a "Homeric odyssey". "The New York Times" praised Wayne's performance as "uncommonly commanding". "The Monthly Film Bulletin" wrote, "Though it does not consistently achieve the highest Ford standards, "The Searchers" is surely the best Western since "Shane"." The film earned rentals of $4.8 million in the US and Canada during its first year of release. "The Searchers" has been cited as one of the greatest films of all time, such as in the BFI's decennial "Sight & Sound" polls. In 1972, "The Searchers" was ranked 18th; in 1992, fifth; in 2002, 11th; in 2012, 7th. In a 1959 "Cahiers du Cinema" essay, Godard compared the movie's ending with that of the reuniting of Odysseus with Telemachus in Homer's "Odyssey". In 1963, he ranked "The Searchers" as the fourth-greatest American movie of the sound era, after "Scarface" (1932), "The Great Dictator" (1940), and "Vertigo" (1958). The 2007 American Film Institute 100 greatest American films list ranked "The Searchers" in 12th place. In 1998, "TV Guide" ranked it 18th. In 2008, the American Film Institute named "The Searchers" as the greatest Western of all time.