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Rio Bravo

Play trailer Poster for Rio Bravo 1959 2h 21m Western Play Trailer Watchlist
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96% Tomatometer 50 Reviews 90% Popcornmeter 10,000+ Ratings
When gunslinger Joe Burdette (Claude Akins) kills a man in a saloon, Sheriff John T. Chance (John Wayne) arrests him with the aid of the town drunk, Dude (Dean Martin). Before long, Burdette's brother, Nathan (John Russell), comes around, indicating that he's prepared to bust his brother out of jail if necessary. Chance decides to make a stand until reinforcements arrive, enlisting Dude, an old cripple named Stumpy (Walter Brennan) and baby-faced cowboy Colorado Ryan (Ricky Nelson) to help.
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Rio Bravo

Rio Bravo

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Critics Consensus

Rio Bravo finds director Howard Hawks -- and his stellar ensemble cast -- working at peak performance, and the end result is a towering classic of the Western genre.

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Critics Reviews

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Richard Brody The New Yorker 04/23/2013
The movie is simultaneously an apogee of the classic Western style, with its principled violence in defense of just law, and an eccentrically hyperbolic work of modernism, which yokes both bumptious erotic comedy and soul-searing rawness to the mission. Go to Full Review Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times 04/23/2013
4/4
To watch Rio Bravo is to see a master craftsman at work. The film is seamless. There is not a shot that is wrong. It is uncommonly absorbing, and the 141-minute running time flows past like running water. Go to Full Review TIME Magazine 04/27/2009
Wayne, of course, walks off with the show -- not by doing anything in particular, but simply by being what he is: at 51, still one of the most believable he-men in Hollywood. Go to Full Review Moira Walsh The Catholic World 11/28/2023
In addition to its excessive length and consequent slow pace the film has other liabilities... Nevertheless the characterizations are unusually solid and get more interesting as they go along. Go to Full Review Matt Brunson Film Frenzy 08/10/2023
4/4
A marvelous motion picture. Go to Full Review Noah Gittell Washington City Paper 07/21/2023
It's pure romantic bliss that feels about as far away from a political statement as you could imagine. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Fred 10/24/2024 It looked spectacular on the big screen. It's a wonderful film, with a great cast. See more steve 05/22/2023 Great great movie!!! Everyone is wonderful and perfect for their roles.it’s also very funny 🤠🤠🤠 See more Kyle M Jan 8 Whilst bloated to stretch its plot thin and thus characterizes in environmental self-indulgence on indifferent terrains, it merely coasted on stellar showcases amid developmental purposes to minimally materialize an epic sense. (B) See more Ola G @Ollie1972 Jan 3 Howard Hawks and John Wayne were a part of the essence of the western genre and I personally think that "Rio Bravo" is their finest collaboration and it's a true classic. The foundation of the storyline might not be unique, but it's Hawks direction, the character development and the performances from the ensemble cast that just creates magic. John Wayne as John T. Chance and Dean Martin as Dude are excellent and has great chemistry with Walter Brennan adding comic relief as Stumpy and Angie Dickinson and Ricky Nelson add more great layers to the development of the storyline. It's a slow moving and dialogue driven western, that creates so much more than a classic action driven western and the story contains comradery, justice, alcoholism, personal hardship, complicated love, death and male stubbornness. Yes, the portraying of a hero who does not show fear or inner conflict and who never repudiates his commitment to public duty can be discussed. "Rio Bravo" is still a classic. See more Mickey B. @Mickerdoo Dec 28 What a squad! Wayne is the swagger, Nelson the handsome youth, Brennan the sass. Talented Martin as the hostage. Dickinson is gorgeous. See more Laurian D @Laurian Dec 5 I gave it 2,5 stars out of respect for a movie that's almost seven decades old and the nice looking transfer. Other than that, it's incredibly overrated. Flat, one-dimensional characters, locations that scream "I'm a Hollywood set!" (just as the costumes), a horribly slow pace and shootouts that are as unconvincing as the lines delivered by the characters. Watch it only if you're simply curious about the 50's and don't expect much. See more Read all reviews
Rio Bravo

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Cast & Crew

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Howard Hawks

Director

John Wayne

Sheriff John T. Chance

Dean Martin

Dude ("Borachón")

Ricky Nelson

Colorado Ryan

Angie Dickinson

Feathers

Walter Brennan

Stumpy

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Rio Bravo

Rio Bravo (1959) Rio Bravo (1959) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis When gunslinger Joe Burdette (Claude Akins) kills a man in a saloon, Sheriff John T. Chance (John Wayne) arrests him with the aid of the town drunk, Dude (Dean Martin). Before long, Burdette's brother, Nathan (John Russell), comes around, indicating that he's prepared to bust his brother out of jail if necessary. Chance decides to make a stand until reinforcements arrive, enlisting Dude, an old cripple named Stumpy (Walter Brennan) and baby-faced cowboy Colorado Ryan (Ricky Nelson) to help.
Director
Howard Hawks
Producer
Howard Hawks
Screenwriter
B.H. McCampbell, Jules Furthman, Leigh Brackett
Distributor
Warner Home Vídeo, Warner Bros.
Production Co
Armada Pictures
Genre
Western
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Mar 18, 1959, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Sep 11, 2015
Runtime
2h 21m
Sound Mix
Mono
Aspect Ratio
35mm, Flat (1.85:1)
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