UHD Review Rio Bravo UHD Review (2 Viewers)

[Todd Erwin]

Warner’s 100th Anniversary celebration continues with the 4K UHD release of Howard Hawks’ Rio Bravo from 1959.



Rio Bravo (1959)



Released: 04 Apr 1959
Rated: Passed
Runtime: 141 min




Director: Howard Hawks
Genre: Drama, Western



Cast: John Wayne, Dean Martin, Ricky Nelson
Writer(s): Jules Furthman, Leigh Brackett, B.H. McCampbell



Plot: A small-town sheriff in the American West enlists the help of a disabled man, a drunk, and a young gunfighter in his efforts to hold in jail the brother of the local bad guy.



IMDB rating: 8.0
MetaScore: 93





Disc Information



Studio: Warner Brothers
Distributed By: N/A
Video Resolution: 2160p HEVC w/HDR



Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audio:...

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[Rodney]

Thanks for the review. I'm bummed they didn't include a remastered blu.

 

[Matt Hough]

I watched the 4K edition last night and thought it was such a major improvement from the brown mush of the Blu-ray that I was bowled over often with the image's sharpness and colors. In another thread, someone mentioned the image occasionally looked 3D, and I agree. In certain instances, the depth and breadth of the color and clarity was 3D-like. Rio Bravo was the second Blu-ray I ever played on my home equipment, and while I remember being wowed by the HD sharpness all those years ago, the refinement of this image has left those memories in the dust.

 

[plektret]

It may look 3D-like but it sure doesn't look film-like. This is level of grain management is what I would've expected from Paramount, not WB/MPI. Thumbs down from me.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Well, all of us have opinions.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Thanks for the review. I'm bummed they didn't include a remastered blu.

Agreed but sadly Warner stopped doing that circa 2019 so this isn’t a new thing from them - I no longer expect a remastered BD anything from Warner.

It’s tough for them right now, all studios really, this market is declining quickly and anything that can be done to save costs helps. Most UHD customers aren’t interested in the redundant BD disc so they must have done the cost/benefit and determined cost of including a remastered BD exceeds sales lost to no BD.

 

[uncledougie]

The loss of a Blu-ray (remastered or not) would typically be no great loss, since 4K purchasers are buying for that format. The loss is when they don’t include previously available supplements on the 4K disc. If they utilized a disc with sufficient space, you’d think at least some extras could easily be included at the premium price.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

The loss of a Blu-ray (remastered or not) would typically be no great loss, since 4K purchasers are buying for that format. The loss is when they don’t include previously available supplements on the 4K disc. If they utilized a disc with sufficient space, you’d think at least some extras could easily be included at the premium price.

I don’t disagree but my understanding is that the previously available supplements are included with the Digital Copy that the package provides, so I guess that’s their way of doing it in these cases. Market research since 2004/2005 has consistently shown bonus features do not drive sales amongst the general public, and the remaining enthusiast disc buyers in many cases already have the previous BD release with those bonus features, so they probably see it as a non-issue.

Some of the studios are kind of stuck because they need general public level of sales to justify still being in the physical media business at all, but those aren’t the customers they actually have, and I don’t think they’ve entirely figured out how to handle this scenario where they’re a mass market company making a niche project.

 

[Dave Moritz]

Purchased this title and am going to try and watch it tomorrow.

 

[Robin9]

Joe Burdette, not John.

My disc has not yet arrived but I'll watch it the day it does. I'm very pleased that Warner has given us the mono soundtrack and has resisted to the temptation to mess about with a phoney 5.1 concoction.

 

[Todd Erwin]

Joe Burdette, not John.

Thanks. I have corrected my review.