True Grit) on DVD

The Best of John Wayne Collection 1
Rio Lobo / El Dorado / True Grit
Actors: John Wayne, Kim Darby, Robert Mitchum, Jorge Rivero, Glen Campbell
Directors: Henry Hathaway, Howard Hawks
Genres: Action & Adventure, Westerns, Drama, Military & War

G 2005 6hr 7min

El Dorado — El Dorado (1967) doesn't quite have the scope or ambition of Howard Hawks's greatest Westerns, Red River and Rio Bravo. But this relaxed picture, made near the end of Hawks's marvelous career, still shows the st... more »eady, sure hand of a master. Hawks reunites with John Wayne, playing a hired gun mixed up in a range war; Robert Mitchum is Wayne's old pal, now a sheriff in the midst of a hopeless drunken bender. James Caan, in one of his first sizable roles, plays a kid who can't shoot straight and wears a funny hat (every character in the movie makes fun of this hat). As the plot moves along, it begins to resemble Rio Bravo rather closely ("I steal from myself all the time," Hawks was fond of admitting). But in El Dorado the heroes are a bit older, their powers a bit weaker; at the end Wayne must revert to a bit of subterfuge in order to get the drop on the steely gunslinger (ice-cold Christopher George) he needs to put down. As relaxed as the movie is, Hawks and Wayne and company are in good spirits, with plenty of broad humor and easy camaraderie on display. Hawks and Wayne would make just one more film, the disappointing Rio Lobo, before ending their fruitful partnership. --Robert Horton True Grit

John Wayne hams it up as a one-eyed, broken-down marshal in this 1969 adaptation of Charles Portis's bestselling novel. Kim Darby plays the formal-speaking adolescent who goes to Wayne for help tracking down her father's killer, and singer Glen Campbell straps on his guns to join the quest. Directed by old lion Henry Hathaway (Rawhide), this is largely a showcase for Wayne (who finally won an Oscar®), but it is also a decent Western with a particularly stirring final act. --Tom Keogh Rio Lobo

The final film by the legendary director Howard Hawks, released in 1970, found him paired with longtime leading man John Wayne in a story slightly similar to their more familiar Rio Bravo and El Dorado. Set at the end of the Civil War, the story finds Wayne playing a Union army colonel who recovers some stolen gold and roots out a traitor. Though a little creaky (Hawks had been making films since 1926), Rio Lobo nevertheless has his trademark, crackling dialogue, appealing characters, and ensemble spirit among the cast. This was a worthy finish to a fantastic career by a first-rank filmmaker. --Tom Keogh

Larger Image

Movie Details

Actors: John Wayne, Kim Darby, Robert Mitchum, Jorge Rivero, Glen Campbell
Directors: Henry Hathaway, Howard Hawks
Creators: Hal B. Wallis, Burton Wohl, Charles Portis, Harry Brown, Leigh Brackett, Marguerite Roberts
Genres: Action & Adventure, Westerns, Drama, Military & War
Sub-Genres: John Wayne, Westerns, Love & Romance, Military & War
Studio: Paramount
Format: DVD - Color - Best of
DVD Release Date: 08/02/2005
Original Release Date: 06/07/1967
Theatrical Release Date: 06/07/1967
Release Year: 2005
Run Time: 6hr 7min
Screens: Color
Number of Discs: 3
SwapaDVD Credits: 3
Total Copies: 0
Members Wishing: 1
Edition: Box set
MPAA Rating: G (General Audience)
Languages: English

Similar Movies

Rio Bravo
Blu-ray
Director: Howard Hawks

UR 2007 4hr 7min

Sons of Katie Elder
Chk

2001

The John Wayne Signature Collection
Stagecoach / The Searchers / Rio Bravo / The Cowboys
Directors: Howard Hawks, John Ford, Mark Rydell

UR 2004 8hr 12min

John Wayne Collection Vol 2
Director: Robert Bradbury

NR 2008 10hr 40min

Similarly Requested DVDs

Guys and Dolls

NR 2000 2hr 30min

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Director: Milos Forman

154

R 1997 2hr 13min

Deliverance
Director: John Boorman

131

R 2004 1hr 50min

O Brother Where Art Thou
Directors: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen

250

PG-13 2001 1hr 46min

The Last Samurai
Two-Disc Special Edition
Director: Edward Zwick

356

R 2004 2hr 34min

A River Runs Through It
Director: Robert Redford

229

PG 1999 2hr 3min

Army of Darkness

172

R 1998 1hr 21min

Dr No
Special Edition
Director: Terence Young

PG 2002 1hr 50min

Dr Seuss - The Cat in the Hat
Original Television Episode
Director: Hawley Pratt

NR 2003 0hr 30min

Cars
Full Screen Edition
Directors: Andrew Jimenez, Dan Scanlon, Joe Ranft, John Lasseter, Mark Andrews

277

G 2006 1hr 56min

Movie Reviews

THREE GREAT LATTER DAY DUKE WESTERNS

Tim Janson | Michigan | 08/04/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"i have to say that the John Wayne Westerns of the mid 60's through the 1970's were always my favorites since they are the ones that I grew up on and saw many at the show such as "The Cowboys" and "The Train Robbers". This set features three of Wayne's best films of this period.

El dorado is basically a remake of Rio Bravo with Mitchum playing the drunken sheriff in place of Dean Martin and James Caan playing the young gun instead of Ricky Nelson. Wayne is Cole Thornton, and aging gunfighter is offered a job by evil land grabber Ed Asner to kill Mitchum and run the rightful landowners off their land. Thornton refuses and instead goes to El dorado to help his friend against the other gunmen Asner hired led by Nelson McCloud played by Christopher George. Caan plays Mississippi a young man who cannot use a gun and is given a sawed off shotgun as his weapon. Arthur Hunnicut plays Bull and essentially takes over the role that Walter Brennan played in "Rio Bravo".

True Grit was perhaps Wayne's most famous role and the one he won an Oscar for playing U.S. marshall Rooster Cogburn who is hired by the young Kim Darby to go after the murderer of her father. They are joined by Texas Ranger Glen Campbell as they hunt down the man who has joined a band of outlaws led by Lucky Ned pepper played by a young Robert Duvall. Wayne is great as the grizzled, drunken, but tough as nails lawman. The climax with Cogburn facing off against the four outlaws single-handedly is one of the great scenes in Western history.

Rio Lobo is yet another remake of Rio Bravo. Wayne essentially playing the same role as he hunts down a rogue former Union officer who turned traitor. This time crazy-eyed Jack Elam takes over the Walter Brennan/Arthur Hunnicut role as the old gun hand. This time Mexican actor Jorge Rivero plays the handsome young gun who was a confederate soldier and has now joined with Colonel McNally (Wayne) to hunt the man down. The Lovely Jennifer O'Neill co-stars along with Chris Mitchum.

True Grit is a classic and the other two are very good westerns. Lots of action and the Duke was still a commanding presence on screen. You can't go wrong with this set. Bravo to paramount!

"