El Dorado
1966 Directed by Howard Hawks
Synopsis
Cole Thornton, a gunfighter for hire, joins forces with an old friend, Sheriff J.P. Hara. Together with an old indian fighter and a gambler, they help a rancher and his family fight a rival rancher that is trying to steal their water.
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Is it fair, or even possible, to talk about Howard Hawks' El Dorado without comparing it to Rio Bravo from eight years earlier? The trilogy of films that Hawks made late in his career (which includes both films as well as Rio Lobo) are less a collection of interlocking stories than they are variations on the same theme: John Wayne staves off a bunch of outlaws with the aid of a motley crew of drunks, kids, and dames. The supporting players change from film to film, but it's still the same story of John Wayne being a general badass against seemingly insurmountable odds. So if Rio Bravo is just about the perfect entertainment (and I contend that it is), what…
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Howard Hawks has always been one of cinema's most accessible directors. He made a ton of classics, but the thing that set him apart from most directors was how easy his films were to watch. They were entertaining and quickly paced and usually made for a good fun watch.
That said, El Dorado is not one of his strong works.
Without comparing it to Rio Bravo, this just feels half-assed. There's a pretty big cast of diverse characters, including John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, and James Caan. Wayne pretty much phones it in the whole time and Caan, while having a pretty badass entrance, quickly becomes the "annoying sidekick." Mitchum's character is easily the most interesting, and the film starts falling…
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This was Howard Hawks penultimate film. Sadly, it does feel like a late career work. It is sloppy, and a bit too fun at times when dealing with what could (some would argue "should") have been much more serious subject matter.
There is something that feels a bit off about this movie. This is the point in the review that I mention that this movie is basically a half-hearten re-boot of an earlier, and much better, film: RIO BRAVO. The comparisons are so many that I won't bother to name them here. Of course, this isn't an official re-boot or re-make, but man does it feel like one.
In the film John Wayne plays a hired hand with a heart…
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The perfect western, as far as entertainment goes. Featuring two stars who each elevate the other's screen pretense, and in the hands of one of the best filmmakers of the western genre, El Dorado is a classic tale of friendship, loyalty, revenge, and redemption.
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Great film with an outstanding cast and director. Hawks can do wonderful things with a big cast. He and Ford own the west. A slower paced film, but it worked with getting to know all these lovable characters.
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It seems that every Western John Wayne made in the 60s focused on how old he was getting. No exception here; that last shot is pretty great.
James Caan's character should have been really annoying, but I actually found his performance pretty funny. Except for the part where he saves the day with racism.
Impossible not to compare to RIO BRAVO, but it's a well-made little western. The shoot-out in the church feels like Hawks had been watching some Sergio Leone.
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One of The Duke's best in my opinion. In this film, Wayne is one of the best gunslingers, and left his sheriff friend has been stranded. The Duke receives news from the sheriff about a greedy business man who plans to move in by taking land from a well-rooted family in the town of El Dorado. The Duke turns down the man's offer as gun for hire and teams back up with the sheriff, who has become a drunk due to heartbreak, and later they encounter "Mississippi," who can't shoot a lick.
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It takes a lot of guts to remake your own movie and it takes even more guts to remake your own movie that was pretty much flawless in the first place. Well, Hawks did it and, boy, he did it well (now Rio Lobo is another story). Without trying to compare it to Rio Bravo, I will say that El Dorado is absolutely entertaining. It has a beautifully constructed story, a light-hearted humorous touch, a lot of great lines and first rate supporting cast, especially Robert Mitchum as a drunk sheriff. So, yeah, if you can get past the fact that Hawks already made a movie like that before, there is absolutely no reason not to enjoy this traditional, old-fashioned western.
P.S. Charlene Holt! What a woman! And why didn't she have a better career?
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I thought the hat was pretty stylish.
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You guys are, by now, probably pretty aware of my complicated feeling towards the western genre. This film was like the epitome of that. I liked it, but I didn’t. It was kinda funny, but kinda racist. It was well made, but poorly written. I adore Robert Mitchum, but I can’t stand The Duke.
So, it was good, but it also wasn’t.
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Howard Hawks has always been one of cinema's most accessible directors. He made a ton of classics, but the thing that set him apart from most directors was how easy his films were to watch. They were entertaining and quickly paced and usually made for a good fun watch.
That said, El Dorado is not one of his strong works.
Without comparing it to Rio Bravo, this just feels half-assed. There's a pretty big cast of diverse characters, including John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, and James Caan. Wayne pretty much phones it in the whole time and Caan, while having a pretty badass entrance, quickly becomes the "annoying sidekick." Mitchum's character is easily the most interesting, and the film starts falling…
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I was always weary of watching this movie. I knew it was basically a remake of Rio Bravo which is one of my all time favorite movies.
I finally watched it and I can say that it is VERY similar. Sometimes the scenes and sequences are almost identical. It's funny that Howard hawks always denied that it was a remake/re-imagining when it's so clear to everyone else.
Regardless of that fact, I enjoyed this movie very much. There are just enough funny moments to balance the tense moments. And good performances all around. Robert Mitchum is no longer a household name like John Wayne, but he was pretty cool.
It isn't on the same level of Rio Bravo but it does share some qualities. Maybe because I love Rio Bravo so much the subtle similarities like the sweet film score give me good vibes. However, it's strong enough to stand on it's own. -
John Wayne basically putting his horse in reverse to back out of a tense situation - maybe one of the baddest things I've ever seen. Less cool: James Caan imitating a Chinese man for 30 seconds.
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This was Howard Hawks penultimate film. Sadly, it does feel like a late career work. It is sloppy, and a bit too fun at times when dealing with what could (some would argue "should") have been much more serious subject matter.
There is something that feels a bit off about this movie. This is the point in the review that I mention that this movie is basically a half-hearten re-boot of an earlier, and much better, film: RIO BRAVO. The comparisons are so many that I won't bother to name them here. Of course, this isn't an official re-boot or re-make, but man does it feel like one.
In the film John Wayne plays a hired hand with a heart…