Amazon.com essential video: When it comes down to naming the best Western of all time, the list usually narrows to three completely different pictures: John Ford's The Searchers, Howard Hawks's Red River, and Hawks's Rio Bravo. About the only thing they all have in common is that they all star John Wayne. But while The Searchers is an epic quest for revenge and Red River is a sweeping cattle-drive drama ("Take 'em to Missouri! Yeeee-hah!"), Rio Bravo is on a much more modest scale. Basically, it comes down to Sheriff John T. Chance (Wayne), his sobering-up alcoholic friend Dude (Dean Martin), the hotshot new kid Colorado (Ricky Nelson), and deputy-sidekick Stumpy (Walter Brennan), sittin' around in the town jail, drinkin' black cofee, shootin' the breeze, and occasionally, singin' a song. Hawks--who, like his pal Ernest Hemingway, lived by the code of "grace under pressure"--said he made Rio Bravo as a rebuke to High Noon, in which sheriff Gary Cooper begged for townspeople to help him. So, Hawks made Wayne's Sheriff Chance a consummate professional--he may be getting old and fat, but he knows how to do his job, and he doesn't want amateurs getting mixed up in his business; they could get hurt. This most entertaining of movies also achieved some notoriety in the '90s when Quentin Tarantino (director of Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs, and Jackie Brown) revealed that he uses it as a litmus test for prospective girlfriends. Oh, and if the configuration of characters sounds familiar, it should: Hawks remade Rio Bravo two more times--as El Dorado in 1967, with Wayne, Robert Mitchum, and James Caan; and as Rio Lobo in 1970, with Wayne, Jack Elam, and Christopher Mitchum. --Jim Emerson
Wonderful Western Classic The two-disc special edition of Rio Bravo is a classic "American Western." John Wayne, Angie Dickinson, Dean Martin, Ricky Nelson,& Walter Brennan spin this classic western yarn. Howard Hawks gives outstanding direction with his artistic expertise. A glimpse into America's golden movie era. You won't want to miss the insightful glimpse through Howard Hawk's genius, as he takes you behind the scenes into movie making. Your western movie collection is incomplete without Howard Hawk's Rio Bravo.
rio bravo dvd Very good service, the dvd in mint condion and arrived just a few days after I ordered.
Amazon sells defective product I ordered two different copies of this collectors edition. Both times Amazon sent defective products. There were two of the same discs in the set and one disc was missing.
Great movie, but not so great Blu-Ray The movie Rio Bravo is one of the all time greats in my opinion, but I am specifically reviewing the Blu-Ray version of the movie here.
This Howard Hawks Rio Bravo with John Wayne and Dean Martin is one of the all time best western movies. Make no mistake, if I were to be rating the movie alone, it would receive 5 stars. It is the strength of this movie that gets 4 stars for this review, but I could not award 5 stars for this Blu-Ray version since that is presumably the reason a person would be reading this review. That is, they are considering spending the few extra dollars to purchase this Blu-Ray version.
In a nutshell, I would stick with this Rio Bravo (Two-Disc Special Edition) version of Rio Bravo if I had it to do all over again. It just seems that the transfer for this Blu-Ray version is not all that crisp. It does not really seem an improvement upon the Two-Disc Special Edition DVD that is close to half the price. This is not to say that the transfer is awful. It just seems that the picture and audio are about as good as it's going to get with the DVD version. That is, short of a complete rework of the master for transfer.
Now back to the movie. Anyone who loves westerns and/or John Wayne would likely appreciate having the movie Rio Bravo in their collection. I think Dean Martin's performance is exceptional. He shows a depth of character in this role. Dean Martin shows that he was more than just a singer who was doing some acting. It appears to me that he had much talent. John Wayne does his typical excellent performance. There is more to this movie than would meet the novice eye. The opening scene provides an ode to the silent era where Dean Martin demonstrates his talent. Also as a background, this movie was a response of sorts by Howard Hawks and John Wayne to the communist movement in Hollywood of that era. For students of history and this genre, there are some rather interesting historical dynamics and background to this excellent and entertaining film.
Rio Bravo - a must see If you like Westerns and have not yet seen "Rio Bravo" - buy/rent it today - you will not be disappointed. Yes, Dean Martin and Ricky Nelson costar with John Wayne and Walter Brennan, but it works. Howard Hawks directs this diverse cast in his usual masterful way. The basic plot was so good that it was remade by Hawks as "El Dorado" 8 years later, and others - one example "Assault on Precinct 13". Watch and Enjoy! WP
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