rio bravo

THE FLICK: Plenty of films have been crowned the “Greatest Western of All-Time!” At any given point in history you’ll find The Searchers, Stagecoach, or High Noon at the top of the list. Meanwhile, Howard Hawk’s Rio Bravo, which also has it’s avid supporters (director John Carpenter, whose films have all been a variation on Hawksian themes, even contributes a commentary on this DVD), always seems to linger in that second tier of classic cowboy adventures. Perhaps because Hawks’ own Red River (1948), which gave star John Wayne his most ambitious role to date, ranks so highly that any other Western suffers by comparison. Whatever your preference, Rio Bravo still is a landmark film for a number of reason. As with Red River, it provided a career resurgence for Wayne, marking his transition from rough ‘n tumble action-hero to a middle-age movie star whose stare spoke a thousand words. The script established a template for innumerable action pics to come, trapping its heroes in an isolated setting against unbeatable odds. And it featured the one real performance from Rat-Packer Dean Martin that ever really mattered, as “Dude,” a recovering alcoholic struggling to regain his dignity. Inspired by the serial Westerns popular on TV at the time but shot with the sort of Technicolor hyper-reality of a Vincent Minnelli musical, the film even features a couple of numbers from co-star Ricky Nelson (who was quite the teen idol at the time) joined by Dean Martin’s smooth-as-Scotch vocals. Rio Bravo feels too “manufactured” to be placed alongside Hawks’ best work, although it does incorporate his penchant for overlapping dialogue, hardcore male bonding and a tough-as-nails broad to keep them company. He even goes “Hitchcock” for a completely dialogue-free opening sequence that arranges the mechanics of the story without a word spoken. Pretty impressive for a guy at the tail end of a legendary Hollywood career. THE FEATURES: Out on Blu-ray courtesy of Warner Brothers, who was kind enough to include all the extras from the standard-def version released a few weeks before, this is a very pleasing presentation of a 1959 film. After a shocking amount of dirt and debris during the opening credits, the transfer settles down to become very smooth and film-like. The colors quite overt, as Technicolor should be, drenching the Tucson backdrop in brilliant sunsets and eye-catching costumes. Historian/Critic Richard Schickel is joined by director John Carpenter for a running commentary on the film, which repeats much of the material presented in the 30-minute featurette Commemoration: Howard Hawks’ Rio Bravo, featuring interviews from directors, cast and crew as well as audio segments from Hawks himself. Old Tucson: Where the Legends Walked is a profile of the shooting location used for a variety of Westerns from the ‘30s to present day. But perhaps the most substantial special feature is the excellent 60-minute Men Who Made The Movies: Howard Hawks episode which reminisces over the director’s entire catalog of work. A collection of vintage John Wayne trailers completes the package.