Eric F

Any good? Haven't seen any reviews of this classic anywhere.

Only $12.99 so I'm considering it.

Ethan Edwards

I watched this movie today. It's always hard to judge the quality of a movie that is 40 years old. I thought it looked fantastic, and even sounded sharp. For that money, you will be extremely happy.

Now. . .the movie itself is awesome. I love John Wayne movies, but this one, to me, is literally a perfect movie. He has never been better, looked cooler, and, with the possible exception of "The Searchers", acted better. And Walter Brennan and Dean Martin are fantastic. Ricky Nelson takes some time to get used to, but he does a good job. And man, Angie Dickinson in 1959 must have been one of the best looking females on the planet. The action is great, the dialog is great and the last 30 minutes are a lot of fun.

Again, I love John Wayne movies and this one rates a close second for me, right behind "The Searchers".

I hope this helps.

Eric F

Thanks. I've seen the movie before and loved it, so I was just wondering how good the DVD transfer was. I went out and bought it earlier, but I did notice on the back it said that the DVD was taken from a matted print. What I don't really understand is how and why it's both matted and anamorphic. Would someone care to explain this?

All you Mel Brooks fans who want to know what Blazing Saddles parodies owe it to themselves to pick up this film. It's also a classic "buddy" picture and set the standard for all the "buddy" pictures to come afterwards, and is still emulated by Hollywood today.

[Edited by Eric F on 05-09-01 at 02:56 PM]

Falc04

I wanted to know the same thing. The back says it is "matted", while all the reviews say it's "anamorphic". In my own opinion, I'd say it's matted, and not worth the price. It looks to me like they just laid black bands at the top & bottom of the full-screen presentation. Since this is such a great movie, I wrote Amazon to see if they could shed some light on it. Alas, they couldn't, but they sent me a $5 GC. Pretty nice company.

Struz

Eric,

The transfer is great. Enjoy.

hitch_fan

You can find a review of it here: http://www.thecinemalaser.com/dvd2/r...-bravo-dvd.htm

It's a very good anamorphic transfer of one of the greatest westerns ever. Very highly recommended.

Psi

Eric,
This site has a great search engine for DVD reviews: http://www.dvd-basen.dk/uk/soegr1.php3 . It shows 6 reviews of Rio Bravo.

Rand

All 1.85:1 films, such as Rio Bravo, are matted. They
are filmed on 1.37:1 stock and then matted to 1.85:1.
It's anamorphic because the dvd has been enhanced for
16x9 screens. This is quite normal and correct.

Btw, Hawks and Wayne remade the film as El Dorado. If
you like Rio Bravo then check out El Dorado, you decide
which is best.

chuckd21

Quote:

Originally posted by Rand
Btw, Hawks and Wayne remade the film as El Dorado. If you like Rio Bravo then check out El Dorado, you decide which is best.

Also, Rio Lobo has some similar aspects as well. You figure what works once will work again and again...

[Edited by chuckd21 on 06-15-01 at 11:52 AM]

djones6746

Has not looked better.....I felt the transfer was very nice for a film of this age. Another great western from the John Wayne era.

Falc04

Sorry guys...I just can't agree with all the positive comments about this transfer. My 2 biggest grips is that the "widescreen" transfer is nothing more then black bands place on the top & bottom of the full-screen image. I know that someone mentioned it was filmed this way, but compare it to the laserdisc image, and you are just being shortchanged picture information. The second is the audio. During the open 10 minutes, when there is no dialog, you'll notice a distinct hiss. Other's have attributed this to the films age, but I have many other films on DVD that were released prior to 1957, and the soundtrack is very clean.

These two reasons make the Rio Bravo DVD not a candidate for multiple viewings for me. I'll throw on the laserdisc's version in the future. If you want to see an old film restored properly, get "The Horse Soldiers". MGM did everything right releasing this classic to DVD.

Rand

You're hardly being shortchanged by seeing the film
in it's OAR. Open matte films not only destroy the
intended composition but often show material not
intended to be seen. If OAR 1.85:1 films bother you
then dvd probably isn't the media for you since the
majority of dvd's are OAR 1.85:1 films.

Falc04

Not true Rand. I throughly enjoy the DVD medium, and the wide-screen images. But take, for example, the transfers of The Horse Soldiers or The Searchers. These motion pictures were filmed in the 1:66 to 1 aspect ratio. The composite wide screen image is properly frame, and enhances the viewing experience, because you are gaining picture information. With Rio Bravo, whereas you'd see John Wayne's face, neck, and hat on a close-up,...on DVD you get his face, and the brim of his hat. Plus, you are not adding any picture information to the sides.

I understand what you are saying about the "soft" matting, and that's fine for a large theater screen, I'm just saying I would always prefer more picture presentation then less at home.