(aka 'The River is Red')
directed by
Howard Hawks
USA 1948
"I’ll have that brand on enough beef to feed the whole country. Good beef for hungry people. Beef to make them strong, to make them grow."
Despite its inherent flaw an easy case could be made for touting this as the
greatest western of all time. Very easy. The mark of the 'western' genre is, for
the most part, the history of pioneering the American old west. Strong, fearless
men venturing to find a place of opportunity in which to settle. This epic tale
focuses on failed leadership by Tom Dunson (John Wayne), on the first cattle
drive down the Chisholm Trail. A man with single-minded desire for success and
to make his make his mark in the expansive land in Texas. Filled with many
subtle classic western-isms involving legendary gun handling, fighting Indians,
forsaking women for future gains, growing beef for the good of the country and
sticking to an honorable code. The flaw, as most know, is the ending - but being
aware of it allows one to forget its existence and enjoy a true branding of
Americana with some exquisite cinematography. This is beyond a gem folks, this
is a grand piece of cinema history that rightfully deserves it place topping
some for the best westerns of all time. A masterpiece of masterpieces.
out of
.
Posters
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Theatrical Release: September 1st, 1948
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
Recommended Reading for Western Genre Fans (CLICK COVERS or TITLES for more information)
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The Crowded Prairie: American National Identity in
the Hollywood Western (Cinema and Society) by Michael Coyne |
The Invention of the Western Film : A Cultural
History of the Genre's First Half Century (Genres in American Cinema S.) by Scott Simmon |
The Searchers (Bfi Film Classics) by Edward Buscombe |
The Western Genre by John Saunders |
Westerns: Films through History (AFI
Film Readers) by Janet Walker |
The Encyclopedia of Westerns (The Facts on File
Film Reference Library) by Herb Fagen, Tom Selleck |
Gunfighter Nation: The Myth of the Frontier in
Twentieth-Century America by Richard Slotkin |
The Western (Inside Film) by David Lusted |
Red River (Bfi Film Classics) by Suzanne Liandrat-Guigues |
Check out more in "The Library"
DVD Review: MGM - Region 1 - NTSC
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| Distribution | MGM - Region 1- NTSC | |
| Runtime | 2:12:36 | |
| Video | 1.33:1
Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 4.39 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s |
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NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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| Bitrate: |
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| Audio | English (Dolby Digital 2.0) | |
| Subtitles | English, English (Hearing Impaired), French, Spanish, None | |
| Features |
Release Information: Edition Details: • none |
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| Comments: |
There is a fair
amount of damage in the first 10 minutes, but once settling into the
film, the MGM DVD image is very good. Occasionally showing speckles of
dust the contrast is very strong and film grain is visible. Subtitles
are well done and audio is original. There are no extras. It is quite
reasonably priced being under $12 US and is a must-own disc.
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Subtitle Sample
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Screen Captures
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| DVD Box Cover |
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| Distribution | MGM - Region 1- NTSC | |
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