Rio Bravo [HD DVD] [1959] [US Import]

Apart from the fact that Ricky Nelson couldn't act to save his life (he plays the fast gun Colorado), the big revelation in Howard Hawks' High Noon rerun is Dean Martin who is just superb as the drink-obsessed Dutch - sidekick to sheriff John Wayne and his trusty buddy Walter Brennan.

The Blu Ray version is disappointing print wise for the opening credits - there's blocking, speckles on the print etc, but thankfully it doesn't stay that way for long. Although there are other weak points in the transfer later on in the movie, for about 90 % of the time I'd say it looks really good - not great - but certainly better than any other version of it that I've ever seen.

There's a night time sequence where one of the bad guys hiding out in a barn near the prison tries to shoot John Wayne - it cuts to Dutch outside worried about his friend inside - the clarity of sweat and dirt on Dean Martin is wonderful to see - and startling. When John Wayne stops Angie Dickenson at her bedroom door suspected of card shark tricks in the saloon she's just left below, her face and clothing look sensational too (what a beautiful woman she was). But then in other places there's a disappointing feeling of the focus being slightly off or the print's vibrancy being washed out.

It might just be that in 1959 the colour process was not quite there yet, but you can't help but feel that if this negative had been given real care and effort - the print would have been a genuine joy to look at - rather than being something that just elicits the word 'good' out of you every now and then.

"Rio Bravo" is a very good transfer to Blu Ray, but like so many oldies that aren't treated to proper restoration, you can't help but feel that an opportunity was missed here - because it's a Western that's stood the test of time.

Hawks' great film finally gets a special edition DVD release. RIO BRAVO is one of the finest American Westerns from one of the greatest American filmmakers, although sadly the cult of Hawks seems to be waning amongst younger film fans. Nevertheless, this 'special edition' DVD release of RIO BRAVO is exemplary, a dream come true for the film's fans. The documentaries are brilliant, offering great insight into Hawks' craft and themes, and the commentary track with Richard Shickel and John Carpenter is excellent: Carpenter clearly knows this important and influential movie inside out, and on the commentary track he laments the way in which society has turned against the professionalism of Hawks and now venerates the amateur. Nowhere is this more apparent than in modern popular cinema, where the professionalism, honesty and narrative economy of a filmmaker like Hawks seems to have been almost completely neglected in favour of spectacle and narrative 'flab'.

If you're a fan of the movie, no doubt you've already made up your mind and ordered this disc; if you've never seen RIO BRAVO before and are considering ordering the DVD, please do so--you won't regret it, and you'll see how one of the best examples of how movies used to be made, and perhaps more importantly how more modern movies should be made.

Rio Bravo is probably my favourite movie. It's funny and charming, with a great cast, great story and it's just so much fun. I've seen this abpout ten times. I've already owned it on dvd in couple of releases and now i got it in Blu ray. Yes the film is great and this is the best possible release of the film. It looks great most of the time. At times it's absolutely breathtaking, but it's not flawless release. At times the picture is soft and there are some disturbing effects. So the release could have been better. This is no way as good as the release of "north by northwest" for example, but it's not bad either. But I still hope someday for a better quality release of the film, because I believe, it could have been better. Still, like I said, this is the best available way to watch the film and it is far superior to the DVD releases. So if you love the film (like i do) and you have blu ray, you better get it. I give the film 5 stars, the picture and sound get 4 stars.