Brendon Jones
It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.
Staci Frederick
Blistering performances.
Isbel
A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.
guyinnanaimo
This western was SO disappointing! John Wayne was rather tame in this one, and seemed bored by it all; Brennan was OK; Dean Martin was NOT good; Ricky Nelson was forgettable. Dickinson was the best of the lot, and that ain't saying much. It just seemed it was filmed on a poor set ~ lifeless all the way around. I think it may have been a 6 or so in its day, but this oater doesn't hold up to some of the good western that came out in the late 50's/early 60's. The '4' I give it now is GENEROUS!
vincentlynch-moonoi
The number of Westerns that Hollywood has made is mind boggling. I hate to think how many there have been. And, Westerns have suffered because of that. Just about everything you could do in a Western has been done over and over again, of course with variations, but I guess you could say that there's nothing new under the desert sun.So, to be considered one of the very best Westerns ever made is quite a compliment. But what is it that makes this Western truly special. There's nothing new here. Just about every thing in this film had been done in some other Western. But here, all those various elements come together in one film. The sheriff in trouble; nothing new. A boozy cowboy; nothing new. A hot shot young gunfighter' nothing new. A Gabby Hayes like sidekick; certainly nothing new. A seemingly floozy woman gambler; nothing new. A bully who thinks he can control everything and everyone; nothing new. A bully; nothing new. A shootout; nothing new. Ac crusader; nothing new there. And, most importantly, the camaraderie; nothing new there, either. Most Westerns are lucky to have a few such elements, but in "Rio Bravo", all those elements and many others come together perfectly.The opening scenes of the film are considered by many to be brilliant. NO DIALOG as the drunk (Dean Martin) walks into a saloon, and is seemingly offered a drink by the bully (Claude Akins), who throws a coin into a spittoon. The drunk is beginning to reach into the spittoon when it is kicked away by a towering man (John Wayne). The drunk reacts by clobbering the sheriff with a piece of firewood. The bully laughs, and is in turn attacked by the drunk. The drunk is beaten. A bystander steps in and is hot to death. The bleeding sheriff follows the bully to another saloon. Nearly 4 minutes later, finally some dialog. But that opening sequence sets the stage (so to speak) for all that is to come.A second brilliant set of scenes takes place again in a saloon after Ward Bond's character is shot to death. The assassin apparently runs into the saloon, but then disappears. Dude (Dean) wants to go in the front door for a change, so Change (Wayne) goes in the back. But no bad guy. Dude orders a drink, and then just a few drops of blood drips down from the loft above into a mug of beer. Absolutely fantastic scene.When it comes right down to it, the pivotal character in this film is Dude, played by Dean Martin. Almost everything in the film revolves around the drunk's redemption. Even Wayne once noted it. Dean's character here, however, isn't just a drunk. He coming off of a drunk and having withdrawal symptoms. A commendable performance, and an indication of what Dean was capable of...when he summoned up his ambition to really act.Another strength here is a strong supporting cast. Ricky Nelson does quite well in a very laid-back role as a sharpshooter. Angie Dickinson -- never one of my favorites -- does nicely here as slightly disreputable woman who ends up with...well, you know. And, by the way, John Wayne was often rather clumsy in romantic scenes, but here he plays well off of Angie Dickinson. And of course, special commendation to Walter Brennan -- always great -- for one of his very best film performances. And there's also Ward Bond, a character actor that I have always felt was highly underrated. For comic relief there's Pedro Gonzalez-Gonzalez as the hotel keeper. Gonzalez-Gonzalez made an interesting splash in show business about this time -- first noticed for a visit to Groucho Marx's "You Bet Your Life".Some have made much about the "singing segment". As illogical as it is, it works. Dean's performance of "My Rifle, My Pony, And Me" is one of Dean's finest vocal performances. And, it advances the story.Of course, there's got to be real shootout, and the shoot out in "Rio Bravo" is a humdinger and rather unique. Dude is kidnapped after a foiled jailbreak, add in dynamite at an old warehouse, mix in Wayne, Deal, and Nelson, and you've the recipe for an explosive...yet fun...conclusion. And then there's the concluding scene..,implying that Wayne and Feathers are having sex...but it's done in a clever and humorous way.A perfect picture? Well, no, but then again how many films are...probably none. I can't find anything here to criticize, but lots to praise.Well, actually I do have one criticism, but it's not about the film. It's about the Blu-Ray disc from Warner Brothers. It's not up to what we have come to expect from Blu-Ray. That's not to say it's a bad print, but it's also not top-notch.
Fred Schaefer
John Wayne detested HIGH NOON and Howard Hawks thought even less of it, the sight of Sheriff Gary Cooper humbling himself by asking cowardly townspeople for help against a vicious outlaw seems to have deeply offended their concept of who and what constituted a hero in a Hollywood western. So like good Americans, they didn't just bitch and complain, they made their own movie and told the story their way, the result being RIO BRAVO, and the big winners were us movie buffs and western fanatics.The plot of RIO BRAVO is simplicity itself: Sheriff John T. Chance locks up brutal outlaw Joe Burdette (Claude Akins) on a murder charge and awaits the arrival of the Marshall in a few days. Nathan Burdette (John Russell), Joe' wealthy rancher brother, hires a gang of killers with the intention of freeing his brother, at the same time making sure the good citizens of Rio Bravo get the message that if they try to come to Chance's aid, it won't be pretty. Wayne's John T. Chance is a true professional, who does not bemoan his fate or beg for help, he stands for the rule of law and won't be intimidated, going about his job calmly and without without any outward fear. But the script (co-authored by Leigh Brackett) makes it very clear that as good as John T Chance. is, he does need help in this tight spot and gets from a most unlikely group: Walter Brennan's crippled old deputy, Stumpy; Ricky Nelson's young gunfighter, Colorado; Angie Dickinson's dance hall girl, Feathers; Pedro Gonzales Gonzales's hotel operator, Carlos; and most significantly, from Chance's alcoholic deputy, Dude, played by Dean Martin in what is surely his finest hour. This typical rag tag band of misfits come together for a common good, and prevail over the villains by being loyal to each other and exhibiting competence in a crisis, thus earning the respect of Chance and the esteem of the others. Courage is defined not as the absence of fear, but as the willingness to confront danger in spite of it. All of these are some of Hawks's favorite themes, thus making RIO BRAVO intensely personal while at the same time, deliberately commercial. There are great touches of humor and lots of great dialog, while each scene appears to be laid out with great care, especially the famous wordless opening in a saloon; the positioning of the actors, the laying out of the sets (mostly the dusty streets, the town's hotel and the jail) appear to have been done with an eye that knew how to tell a story visually. Few reviewers note how well the night time scenes are done.John T. Chance is probably the finest realization of a John Wayne hero in any film, a compliment from Chance is the highest honor a man could receive, and I think Wayne smiles more in this movie than any other, often at the antics of Brennan, in the kind of role he played better than any other. Martin's performance as Dude, a role originally offered to Montgomery Clift (who worked with Wayne, Brennan, and Hawks in RED RIVER), is a revelation; nothing much tops the scene where he pours the whiskey back in the bottle when the band starts to play the "cutthroat" song, which Santa Anna used in an attempt to frighten the defenders of the Alamo. Angie Dickinson's Feathers (with her stunning legs on display) has to give the sexiest performance of any of Wayne's leading ladies, we even get inside her bedroom, a rarity for westerns at the time. Many think Ricky Nelson was out of his depth in this movie and was cast only for box office appeal, but I think he more than holds his own. RIO BRAVO is the last pairing of old pals and frequent co-stars Wayne and Ward Bond.At two and a half hours, RIO BRAVO moves along very leisurely by modern standards; maybe Hawks should have copied HIGH NOON's tight pacing.In the end, I think HIGH NOON told us much about contemporary America and the degradation and corruption of civilization; while in RIO BRAVO, Wayne and Hawks give us the heroic myth of the Old West at its finest. Both films are equally valid in what they say and are enduring classics in their own right. Want to see how relevant RIO BRAVO is, go see GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY.
Ross622
Perhaps Howard Hawks' most acclaimed film Rio Bravo is not really that bad of a western movie but there was only just one problem that I had while watching this movie and that was the overrated performance by Angie Dickinson. Otherwise it was a good movie, and what a decent cast for a western movie which includes some of his Red River stars John Wayne and Walter Brennan, who end up teaming with Dean Martin, Ricky Nelson and the man who ends up in most of Wayne's films Ward Bond. The movie goes on a par with western movie greats such as High Noon, Unforgiven, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The Big Country, Pale Rider, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, Winchester 73, The Naked Spur, The Cowboys, The Sons of Katie Elder, True Grit, The Shootist, and as I mentioned earlier Red River. Director Howard Hawks made this movie what it really is but it is not a great movie it is a good movie and a near masterpiece.
