Post by kiddo on Jan 7, 2007 8:20:17 GMT -5
A mini-review for Howard Hawks western from 1959.
A more or less macho (as always) John Wayne, a on-the-verge-of-tears Dean Martin, and a cross, although sarcastic, Walter Brennan, are all the "good guys" in this highly entertaining western by Howard Hawks.
But this is not simply a film that deliver action sequences and romances so that the audience should be guaranteed pleasure in front of the screen; Hawks includes so many interesting aspects in this appetizer of a western-melodrama. There's so many feelings dancing in the air, and the diversity of the characters provide the film with this strong emotional core, laying under the more action-packed surface.
Dean Martin's acting is simply outstanding, contributing highly to the emotional part of the film. He manage to convey so many (often contradictory) feelings. He's playing one of the good guys, pretty fucking fantastic with the guns, but having some drinking-problem and some kind of an insecurity, he's in a conflict within himself. John Wayne is playing a more confident sheriff, but he's having some minor problems with the romantic part of his life. He easily hunt down some bad guys, but when it comes to feelings, he's not that good. Angie Dickinson is playing the (very pretty) girl that interrupt he's macho-attitude, and she has some very fancy lines now and then.
The plot is something like this: A villain is in jail in this small town and his brother, who is a bad guy himself, and his men is moving to the town to get him out of there. Now there's only three men to defend the prison (though it is a possibility that they get some help from the outside (I will not give away anything)). This is the setting, and it has been "copied" many times, the most known most probably beeing Romeros Night of the Living Dead and Carpenters Assault on Precinct 13 (both two excellent films).
Technically, the film is brilliant. The camera work is great; the pace is incredibly suitable and the composition is kind of letting you get into the universe of the film, grabbing the atmosphere by the balls. Not to mention the script, which has so many brilliant lines and has such a rich content, full of comedy.
Rio Bravo, Howard Hawks 50s masterpiece, is such a gorgeous blend of drama, action and comedy, working on several levels. Invite this to your heart.
********************
A more or less macho (as always) John Wayne, a on-the-verge-of-tears Dean Martin, and a cross, although sarcastic, Walter Brennan, are all the "good guys" in this highly entertaining western by Howard Hawks.
But this is not simply a film that deliver action sequences and romances so that the audience should be guaranteed pleasure in front of the screen; Hawks includes so many interesting aspects in this appetizer of a western-melodrama. There's so many feelings dancing in the air, and the diversity of the characters provide the film with this strong emotional core, laying under the more action-packed surface.
Dean Martin's acting is simply outstanding, contributing highly to the emotional part of the film. He manage to convey so many (often contradictory) feelings. He's playing one of the good guys, pretty fucking fantastic with the guns, but having some drinking-problem and some kind of an insecurity, he's in a conflict within himself. John Wayne is playing a more confident sheriff, but he's having some minor problems with the romantic part of his life. He easily hunt down some bad guys, but when it comes to feelings, he's not that good. Angie Dickinson is playing the (very pretty) girl that interrupt he's macho-attitude, and she has some very fancy lines now and then.
The plot is something like this: A villain is in jail in this small town and his brother, who is a bad guy himself, and his men is moving to the town to get him out of there. Now there's only three men to defend the prison (though it is a possibility that they get some help from the outside (I will not give away anything)). This is the setting, and it has been "copied" many times, the most known most probably beeing Romeros Night of the Living Dead and Carpenters Assault on Precinct 13 (both two excellent films).
Technically, the film is brilliant. The camera work is great; the pace is incredibly suitable and the composition is kind of letting you get into the universe of the film, grabbing the atmosphere by the balls. Not to mention the script, which has so many brilliant lines and has such a rich content, full of comedy.
Rio Bravo, Howard Hawks 50s masterpiece, is such a gorgeous blend of drama, action and comedy, working on several levels. Invite this to your heart.
********************
