Rio Bravo (1959)

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. October 3, 2008

rio bravo dvd

Very good service, the dvd in mint condion and arrived just a few days after I ordered. September 30, 2008

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. August 18, 2008

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. August 7, 2008

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 July 16, 2008

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