Red River - review

A road movie in the realities of the wild west. The main theme is wandering, not only by America, but also through life. The production is firmly glued, which is why the whole thing is teeming with life, and the plot with clarity. A thing worth paying attention to. Western isn't talking about bounty hunters this time, or bank robbery. It shows ordinary people working honestly at each other. Which doesn't mean, that they are cowards. On the contrary, aware of the dangers, they fight for something more. Interesting characters, unobtrusive love plots are the advantages of the film. The disadvantage is the climax, turning the Red River into something else. But is it wrong, whether it is good is already a moot point.

Direction: Howard Hawks
Scenario: Borden Chase, Charles Snow
Release date(world): 1948
Type: Western
Starring:
John Wayne: Thomas dunson
Montgomery Clift: Matthew “Matt” Garth

The lack of dynamics was my main fear of the screening. Classic movies have it to themselves, that they like to be slow, sometimes boring. The Red River started quite unsurely for me. A little love scene done in a fairly typical style. But later it gets better. Thomas dunson (John Wayne) along with his friend Nadine Groot (Walter Brennan) they set out on a journey, to create a huge herd of cattle. They will be accompanied by a young boy. After 14 years they manage to complete approx 7000 animals, however, everything is still ahead of them. Now you have to go a long way, full of difficulties - gangs, Indians to cash their toil.
I wrote, that it is a road movie for a reason, it is indeed a journey from start to finish. There is a touch of timelessness to it all. People who set goals and persistently pursue them. This is a major advantage and without it, Red River would be a lot weaker. I like the character of John Wayne, in later productions he somehow did not give as much as in this one. Walter Brennan deserves attention too, it brings a funny accent in a good way and relaxes the atmosphere. For an hour, the movie feels really well polished, while the climax I have mentioned throws the whole thing off some balance. I got the impression, that the writer did not necessarily have an idea how to get it all to an end. This is not necessarily a flaw, although it disturbs a certain harmony.

I'm glad to see Red River, I recommend to all fans of westerns. It is quite a unique production. I deserve to be called a classic. That's it, to be my favorite movie in the genre no. Although I really liked it.

I'm taking the Red River 5 1st in the Western category for the best American movies of all time.