Howard Hawks stages the definitive cow opera with beautiful, lyrical, exciting sequences of stampeding, rough weather, cowboying and Indian skirmishes.
Red River (1948)
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Reviews Counted:6
Fresh:6
Rotten:0
Average Rating:8.6/10
Runtime: 2 hrs 16 mins
Genre: Westerns
Synopsis: RED RIVER, Howard Hawks's masterpiece, is one of the greatest Westerns ever filmed, a saga of obsession and rivalry between a man and his adoptive son amid an epic struggle for survival in the Old... RED RIVER, Howard Hawks's masterpiece, is one of the greatest Westerns ever filmed, a saga of obsession and rivalry between a man and his adoptive son amid an epic struggle for survival in the Old West. Tom Dunson (John Wayne) journeys west to Texas to build a cattle empire and adopts Matthew Garth, a young boy orphaned by an Indian raid. Years later, Matthew (Montgomery Clift) returns from the Civil War and joins Dunson on a massive cattle drive north undertaken to avoid financial ruin. Stampedes and Indian attacks build tension, but it is Dunson's ironfisted leadership that causes the most problems, finally bringing the action to a boiling point that pits father against son. This bold canvas of the American frontier features stirring performances, including Clift in his first film and Wayne in one of his finest and most complex roles, stunning photography shot on location in Arizona, and a perfect balance of action, drama, romance, and comedy from one of Hollywood's greatest directors. [More]
Starring: John Wayne, Montgomery Clift, Walter Brennan, Joanne Dru
Starring: John Wayne, Montgomery Clift, Walter Brennan, Joanne Dru, Coleen Gray, John Ireland, Noah Beery, Harry Carey
Director: Howard Hawks
Director: Howard Hawks
Producer: Howard Hawks
Screenwriter: Borden Chase, Charles Schnee
Composer: Dimitri Tiomkin
Reviews for Red River
Of the may big names involved in the making of Red River, few made greater films.
Immaculately shot by Russell Harlan, perfectly performed by a host of Hawks regulars, and shot through with dark comedy, it's probably the finest Western of the '40s.
The staging of physical conflict is deadly, equalling anything yet seen on the screen.
Even despite a big let-down, which fortunately comes near the end, it stands sixteen hands above the level of routine horse opera these days. So strap on your trusty six-shooters and race to the wind-swept Capitol, you lovers of good old Western fiction.
It's a sign of the movie's complexity that John Wayne, often typecast, is given a tortured, conflicted character to play.
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