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RIO BRAVO Howard Hawks ***** 5/5 Under-rated at the time of its release, this
majestically paced western is one of the finest achievements of the
genre, and stands as a career-best for many of its participants, its
above-average length and simplistic plot masking a work of depth and
artistry. Originally intended by director Howard Hawks as a riposte to
the liberal High Noon, the movie boasts a quality and class that owe little to what had gone before, save some dialogue lifted from Hawks's earlier To Have and Have Not.
This is a definitive study of male camaraderie, particularly in the
wordless opening sequence as John Wayne attempts to preserve the
drunken Dean Martin's dignity. The casting is perfect (if you believe
Ricky Nelson as a gunslinger) and the sense of fun contagious. Superb
Technicolor photography and a Dimitri Tiomkin score provide the icing
on a very impressive cake.
UK B/W 135 mins(1959) |
