Okay, not “heartbroken” but kinda sorry. FOMO’ed. I never really thought there was anything especially irksome or substandard about the 2015 Bluray version, but I love the idea of watching a richer, more vibrant version inside the big Chinese and basking in the whole Hollywood lore of it all (Steven Spielberg, Paul Thomas Anderson, Angie Dickinson).
Rio Bravo was shot in the summer of ’58, and released in April ’59. Russell Harlan‘s lensing used the Technicolor process. A restored Rio Bravo means what…punchier colors and richer black levels? Fine.
Like most invested film buffs I’ve appreciated and respected Rio Bravo for decades, of course, but I’ve never been a panting cultist like Quentin Tarantino. Rio Bravo is one of those oddly over-praised Film Catholic westerns that many if not most of the holy rollers have lost sight of, I suspect, because it’s been a long while since they’ve actually sat down and watched it. The cultists have been chanting and “ohm”-ing for so many years that the rep has overpowered or obscured the actual film.
Plus there’s something a tiny bit deranged about losing your shit over Rio Bravo to begin with. It’s a film about community and character and dependability, but that Ricky Nelson “I’ve Got A Feelin'” vibe gets in the way…that image of a teen idol sitting around the jailhouse with those holstered six-guns and that high-pitched voice of his. I love those Howard Hawks signature bits, but the film never feels truly dependable or genuine in any kind of “this is how it really was back in the Old West” sense. It’s just a comfortable, laid-back, easy-going Hollywood hangout film…a lot of talking, a bit of understatement and not that much shooting.
Plus I’ve always been more of a High Noon guy.
