El Dorado DVD (1966)

El Dorado

1966

Overall rating: 3.5 out of 5

from 1806 members

Having struck pay dirt with his 1958 western Rio Bravo, Howard Hawks more or less remade the picture twice in the 1960s. The first of these rehashes was El Dorado, with Rio Bravo star John Wayne back for more. Wayne plays a gunfighter who rides into El Dorado to link up with his old pal, sheriff Robert Mitchum (It's the big one with the big two! declared the film's advertisements). Wayne has turned down a job with evil land baron Ed Asner, who'd hoped to drive a family off the land that he needed for its water. That family, headed by R.G. Armstrong, is convinced that Wayne is working with Asner; when Armstrong's son Johnny Crawford dies, Wayne is held responsible, earning him a bullet in the spine from Crawford's sister Michele Carey. A year passes: Wayne returns to El Dorado, in the company of his new saddle pal James Caan. They find that Asner is still up to his old tricks, and that Mitchum has descended into alcoholism. Several plot twists and power shifts ensue, leading to the slam-bang climax, with the partially paralyzed Wayne, the newly crippled Mitchum (on crutches), and the concussion-suffering Caan battling together to stave off Asner's minions. The final long-shot, of Wayne and Mitchum limping off together arm-in-arm, is one of the most enduring images in the entire Hawks canon. If they loved it twice they'll love it thrice: in 1969, John Wayne and Howard Hawks teamed up for a third Rio Bravo derivation, Rio Lobo--which, like the first two films, was scripted by Leigh Brackett. Incidentally, that's famed artist Olaf Weighorst (whose paintings appear in the title sequence) in a cameo as the gunsmith.~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

El Dorado details

Format:	PG DVD
Starring:	Robert Mitchum, James Caan, Michele Carey, John Wayne, Edward Asner
Director:	Howard Hawks
Genre:	Action/Adventure - War
Studio:	PARAMOUNT HOME ENTERTAINMENT
Collections:	100 Wild Westerns

DVD 1 disc

Name	Discs
El Dorado	PG Feature

DVD Information

Run time:	2 hours 1 minute
Rental release:	22 Apr 2002
Main languages:	English
Dubbed:	German, French, Spanish, Italian
Subtitles:	Arabic, Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Icelandic, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish
Hearing impaired subtitles:	English

Write your own review

Most helpful review El Dorado

A descent ripoff of Rio Bravo

By Jimbo from England , 08 Jul 2004

[Highly rated reviewer]

This Film is a blatant copy of Rio Bravo, (The drunken Sherriff played by Robert Mitchum instead of Dean Martin and the young sidekick played by James Caan instead of Ricky Nelson)but unlike most copies of a movie this one is really good. Although Walter Brennan is missed as 'Stumpy'. Well worth watching even just for James Caan's chinese impression.
- Was this review helpful to you?
- (6) Yes |
- No (0)
Report this review

All reviews

(18)

Sort by:

El Dorado - A Western that delivers on its promise

By a customer , 10 Jun 2012

Often branded as a remake of 'Rio Bravo', 'El Dorado' is an entertaining western in its own right. Directed again by the legendary Howard Hawks, 'El Dorado' boasts dependable performances from John Wayne and Robert Mitchum. Arthur Hunnicutt may be no Walter Brennan, but James Caan provides a much better performance as the young sidekick Mississippi than the rather wooden Ricky Nelson who played the young sidekick Colorado in the earlier film, 'El Dorado' is an enjoyable film which delivers exactly what it says on the tin.
- Was this review helpful to you?
- (1) Yes |
- No (0)
Report this review
An enjoyable two hours

By a customer , 13 Aug 2011

Great fun, an enjoyable two hours, but not very convincing acting at times- the play over drunkeness does not come off. An uneven tone too, with action and humour mixed up. An excellent climax.
- Was this review helpful to you?
- (0) Yes |
- No (0)
Report this review
El Dorado

By ian3 (538 reviews) from Salisbury , 27 Jun 2011

El Dorado

Great classic western with an all-star cast, this has everything that the western should have above all starring the Duke.. GREAT film …
- Was this review helpful to you?
- (0) Yes |
- No (0)
Report this review
It's just a great, great film.

By Jaredr (4 reviews) from SouthWales , 07 Jun 2011

Definitely one of my favourite westerns that i've watched. Great storyline, great action, great western actors, great filming. Definately worth watching!
- Was this review helpful to you?
- (0) Yes |
- No (0)
Report this review
Rio Bravo Mk II

By a customer , 13 Apr 2011

As already pointed out in a number of reviews, 'El Dorado' was basically a remake by Howard Hawks of his 50s classic, the vastly superior 'Rio Bravo'. It's a watchable couple of hours entertainment in its own right, but for me, lacks the heart, integrity, and simple quality of 'Rio Bravo', and casts a pale shadow in comparison to that wonderful earlier western.
- Was this review helpful to you?
- (0) Yes |
- No (0)
Report this review