DVD Review: “Rio Bravo”

The Duke is turning 100 this year, so Warner Brothers is commemorating the occasion by releasing a newly remastered version of Rio Bravo (complete with a showing at this year’s Cannes Film Festival). Wayne plays Sheriff John T. Chase, a man trying to protect a town from a gang of thugs bent on freeing one of their members from jail. With the help of his ragtag group of deputies (Martin is a recovering drunk, Nelson a baby-faced gunslinger, and Brennan a cantankerous old cripple), he saves the town and manages to win the heart of a very lovely Angie Dickinson. While there’s nothing new or original about this movie, it is a shining example of the archetypal western: good and evil in a land where the only ambiguous thing is the law. This movie ambles through its 2 1/2 hours, but it really fleshes out its characters (especially Martin’s Dude) and builds its setting, complete with a wink, quip or a song. This new edition is lavishly produced, with a newly-remastered print, plenty of special features and even a sleeve of glossy behind-the-scenes photos. Those special features include a commentary track by director John Carpenter (yes, the horror movie guy) and historian/critic Richard Schickel, behind-the-scenes featurettes on the making of the movie and the setting and a lavish career profile of Howard Hawks (narrated by Sydney Pollack). If you’re looking for a good example of what a western can be, you can find little better than this.