Rio Lobo Blu-ray

Rio Lobo (Blu-ray)
Directed by Howard Hawks

Studio: CBS/Paramount
Year: 1970

Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1   1080p   VC-1 codec
Running Time: 114 minutes
Rating: G
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 English; Dolby Digital 2.0 English, French, German, others 
Subtitles: SDH, French, Spanish, German, others

Region: no designation
MSRP: $ 24.99

Release Date: May 31, 2011

Review Date: May 24, 2011

The Film

3/5

Howard Hawks directed his first film in 1926, a silent war film The Road to Glory whose success quickly solidified his place as a director of promise. Over the next forty-four years, he had a string of hits in every conceivable movie genre, even with screwball comedies and musicals, genres that don’t immediately leap to mind when this man’s man/director is mentioned. Rio Lobo, made in 1970, was his last film, and it starred an actor whom the director had made quite a few big hits with during his career, John Wayne. Though Red River and Rio Bravo both rank high on the list of quality Hawks-Wayne collaborations, their swan song together was not quite so fortuitous. There certainly is evidence within the film of Hawks’ fondness for comic camaraderie between his male stars as well as his intention to launch new careers with budding performers. But Rio Lobo also shows signs of a sluggishness in pacing that makes the film seem longer than either Rio Bravo or Red River even though those two films run far longer than two hours and Rio Lobo does not. It’s still entertaining, but it doesn’t rank high in the director’s pantheon of all-time great films.

After a successful career as a Union Army colonel, Cord McNally (John Wayne) finds himself on the same side as two Confederates he had captured in the last days of the war: Captain Pierre Cordona (Jorge Rivero) and Sergeant Tuscarora Phillips (Christopher Mitchum) when Phillips and his uncle (Jack Elam) come under attack of some land swindlers buying up all the territory around Rio Lobo by using threats and intimidation. The outlaws are led by the mysterious Ketchum (Victor French) who has Rio Lobo’s sheriff (Mike Henry) on his payroll. With the help of plucky Rio Lobo resident Shasta Delaney (Jennifer O’Neill), McNally and Cordona attempt to recapture the town from the outlaws with a small amount of fire power and a large amount of strategy and cunning.

Leigh Brackett and Burton Wohl’s screenplay really doesn’t offer many variations to the very familiar western scenario, but they have scripted and Hawks has directed a simply dynamite opening twenty minutes which involves a stolen gold shipment in the waning days of the Civil War with Wayne and the Union and Cordona and the Confederates taking turns surprising and one-upping one another.  Unfortunately, that opening sequence is the last evidence of real ingenuity and brisk pacing in the entire film. Most of the rest seems by the numbers shopworn including the expected shootout in the film’s climactic ten minutes and several overly talky strategizing scenes that simply crawl by. Hawks’ fondness for casting screen newcomers in their first big breaks goes disastrously awry here as only one of his decisions (Christopher Mitchum who must have gotten tips from his famous dad) delivers anything like an appealing performance. The others, the singularly handsome Cordona and the girl next door O’Neill (who plays the typically frisky and aggressive Hawks heroine waiting to find a man who will tame her) along with two other truly terrible actresses Susana Dosamantes and Sherry Lansing (who later went on to run Paramount), are embarrassingly bad.

The script works in some passing nods to Wayne’s added girth (one of the men compare his weight to that of a baby elephant), but he does his usually good, reliable job with the part as written. Jack Elam steals every single scene as the cranky Rio Lobo ranch owner who refuses to back down against the formidable odds against him. Victor French makes an acceptable rascally villain though it’s clear he needed his gang to run interference for him. Mike Henry gets a couple of good scenes as the real bad guy behind the villain. David Huddleston has a very memorable dentist scene with John Wayne that gives a real lift to the middle of the movie. Jim Davis, Robert Donner, and George Plimpton are all recognizable faces as part of the outlaw gang.

Video Quality

4/5

The film has been framed at 1.78:1 and is presented in 1080p using the VC-1 codec. Most of the film is beautifully clean and clear with only occasional dust specks (some more prominent in the film’s second half) interrupting the artifact-free imagery. Color is pleasing in its level of saturation without ever being overdone. Flesh tones seem a bit rosy early on but settle down to more realistic tones as the film progresses. Black levels are pretty impressive. There are three or four shots in the film’s second half that are quite blurry and which clash with the otherwise crisp image delivery. The film has been divided into 12 chapters.

Audio Quality

4/5

The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 sound mix has surprising heft for a film of this period. Gunshots and explosions certainly have some weight behind them, and panning effects for the gold train go through the soundstage during that opening sequence with great clarity and a surprising amount of ambiance. Jerry Goldsmith’s excellent, atmospheric score also gets nice placement through the soundfield though it remains more front-directed than thoroughly immersive. Dialogue is cleanly recorded and has been placed firmly in the center channel.

Special Features

0/5

There are no bonus features at all with this release.

In Conclusion

3/5 (not an average)

Howard Hawks and John Wayne completists will be delighted to add Rio Lobo on Blu-ray to their collections. Though the movie doesn’t rank near the top of either of their filmographies, it’s a professional job all around and is entertaining enough until we can get our hands on other, better Hawks-Wayne collaborations like Hatari! El Dorado, and especially Red River in high definition.

Matt Hough

Charlotte, NC