Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5506 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-05-28
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Box set, PAL, Special Edition
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 135 minutes

Synopsis
No-nonsense Texas border sheriff John T. Chance (John Wayne) fights off ruthless mercenary gunmen in order to keep a murderer in custody. But he can’t do it without the help of a ragtag band of locals (a singing kid, a toothless old man, a recovering alcoholic, and a feisty woman) who want to see justice restored to their embattled little town. There’s even a sing-along interlude featuring the Duke himself!

Customer Reviews

Highly over rated
It had been a long time since I first watched this on TV when I picked up this DVD. Quite frankly, I think it's nowhere near as good as other reviewers here suggest. I'm in my 40's a grew up on films like this so it's not as if there's some sort of generational gap involved in me not rating it.

First off, there is little or no chemistry between the leads. Dean Martin is likeable and I enjoyed his scenes most of all. Walter Brennan turns in his usual effective old-man performance. The Wayne-Dickinson romance is unconvincing and rather turns my stomach at the thought of it. He was not a credible romantic lead at this stage in his career. He looks like a somewhat fat old man in this film- and that hat! It's got to be the silliest looking hat in a cowboy film.... ever.

There's no real tension - there's no sense that the good-guys are really trapped and alone. You never think for one moment that they're really under any sort of threat and no build up of tension. The final battle is highly anti-climatic. Again, no sense of threat to the good guys. There are far better westerns out there- the Magnificent Seven was made only a year later than this but still stands up extremely well. Rio Bravo must have seemed dated and rather stale even in 1959.

Maybe not a popular point of view amongst fans of John Wayne, but please don't get me wrong; John Wayne made many fine westerns- I just happen to think this is far from the best of them.

What is it about this film that I can't give it five stars?
I like this film. Always have. Like the story. But something always makes it not quite tops.

I think it is something about that time in Hollywood when singers wanted to be actors and the whole incestuous Hollywood system let them - and, of course, there had to be a song somewhere.

Dean Martin does make a good job as Dude. There is no doubt that this is one of his best acting pieces. For once he is not parodying himself. Maybe it's just that I can't get the singer and actor out of my head and the images are confusing.

I know Ricky Nelson started as a juvenile actor before being a pop star but so what? He doesn't really do anything except look good and sing.

John Wayne gives one of his standard performances - effortless, solid and professional but without the glory of Stagecoach, The Searchers or Red River - let alone True Grit.

Walter Brennan is magnificent. Every performance he has ever done is a delight.

And Angie Dickinson. For those who first came across her in tv's Police Woman in the seventies, sexy older cop, Rio Bravo with the 26 year old version is a revelation. I think she acts rather better than most of the men - and I don't need the scene in tights to convince me of that - marvellous as it is. What a shame she didn't do a lot more.

Still I suppose you have to have the four star film to clearly identify the really great five star movies. I love this film and four stars is about right.

Essential Hawks
Hard bitten sheriff John T Chance (John Wayne) finds himself a prisoner in his own town with only the town drunk(Dean Martin),the grizzled old campaigner(Walter Brennan) and the young gun(Ricky Nelson)for company against a ruthless gang of outlaws determined to spring their leader from jail.
Quintessential Hawks espousing his familiar themes of mail bonding in adversity and the lot of the "professional" amongst well meaning amateurs,Rio Bravo was a welcome commercial success for both himself and his aging leading man.Whatever your opinion about John Wayne, here as in Red River and more notably The Searchers he is very good, nicely underplaying to Dean Martin.Ricky Nelson is a little out of his depth but Walter Brennan is his usual brilliant self.Good action,dialogue and performances offset the film being 20 minutes too long.
Excellent extras include two superb documentaries on Hawks with plenty of anecdotes and pertinent comments from a host of well qualified commentators.
Howard Hawks directed amongst others Scarface,Dawn Patrol,Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,Red River and Bringing Up Baby to name but a few.In short some of the best American films of the century.
He was both versatile artistically and a audience pleaser generally and all in all the Best American Director of the 20th century bar none.
He followed Rio with El Dorado 8 years later with Robert Mitchum and Jimmy Caan in essentially the Martin and Nelson roles - I prefer it.