Classic Movie Reviews by Chuck Kuenneth MPHS Jan 66
RED RIVER
"Red River" is in my top twenty films. Wait! Top twenty…does that mean the movie is good? It means it is in the top twenty films that I enjoy the most. The basic criteria for my top twenty are: (1) I must have seen this film at LEAST 3 times. (2) There must be at least 10 years between my first and last viewing of this film. (3) I must consider this to be one of the twenty most meaningful films I have ever seen. "Red River" is one of those films!
"Meaningful" I define as a movie that speaks in an enthusiastic voice to me. Additionally it must compel me to watch the whole film once I start viewing it.
"Red River" started on the TV screen for my dad and me. My father was a great western fan. He loved western movies and novels. In 1957 we acquired our first TV set. It was a 20" Raytheon. Besides baseball, dad would watch detective TV shows and westerns, like "Maverick", "Sugarfoot", "Wyatt Earp", "Bat Masterson", and "Gunsmoke". But whenever it was on, he loved viewing the movie "Red River". I used to watch it with him and can still hear him comment on its quality with awe in his voice. I suspect his praise was based on real cattle being used and the exquisitely staged cattle drive scenes.
I enjoyed the movie then and it has only grown on me in the half century or more I have been re-experiencing it. In the second or third Roger Ebert film class I took (1973), we viewed this film shot by shot. Even then I was still evolving in my appreciation of this film. After seeing more films by "Red River" director Howard Hawks, I understood more about his use of character and dialog in the movie. Plus somewhere along the line I started to fall in love with the music score. It was written by my favorite film composer Dimitri Tiomkin, who did memorable scores for other of my favorite westerns; "Duel in the Sun"(1946), "High Noon"(1952), and "The Unforgiven"(1960). The music passages played in the opening wagon train scene, the beginning of the cattle drive, and the cattle crossing the river send me to paradise!
Then there is the presence of so many wonderful character actors. Having seen hundreds of their films, I view them more like good friends. Here are some of my buddies; Walter Brennan, Harry Carey, Noah Beery Jr., Harry Carey Jr., Paul Fix, Hank Worden, Glenn Strange, and John Ireland. How are these for friends! This relationship allows me to, in a sense, actually become a member of the cattle drive.
How about viewing quality? I started watching "Red River" on an old black and white TV. Then via 16mm film. Next I had a VHS tape of this movie. In 1998 I bought a DVD. Then last year for my birthday Eileen got me a wonderful Criterion Blu-Ray set. The quality is incredible. Viewing it on a big screen TV gives me goose bumps.
As can be seen by the above, my feelings extend deeper than a mere appreciation of a movie. It, for me, becomes a personal experience, actually reliving this drama each time I view "Red River".
(attached photo is from original movie still from "Red River" showing Montgomery Clift and Noah Beery Jr.)
Search Results
Red River (1948) - IMDb
www.imdb.com/title/tt0040724/Internet Movie DatabaseDunson is driving his cattle to Red River when his adopted son, Matthew, turns ... been a huge fan of Westerns nor of John Wayne, this movie was truly excellent.Rating: 7.8/10 - 19,501 votes Red River (1948) - Full Cast & Crew - IMDb
www.imdb.com/title/tt0040724/fullcredits/Red River (1948) cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. ... Christian Nyby ... film editor. Francis Lyon ... (uncredited).Internet Movie DatabaseRed River (1948 film) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_River_(1948_film)Red River is a 1948 Western film directed and produced by Howard Hawks and starring John Wayne and Montgomery Clift, giving a fictional account of the first ...WikipediaRed River (1948) - Rotten Tomatoes
www.rottentomatoes.com/m/red_river/Rotten TomatoesMovie Info. An intrepid reporter unearths the terrifying truth about a reclusive Kentucky family who has a gruesome way of dealing with unannounced guests.Rating: 100% - 24 votes Red River Movie Review & Film Summary (1948) | Roger ...
www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-red-river-1948Roger EbertMar 1, 1998 - When Peter Bogdanovich needed a movie to play as the final. ... And “Red River” is one of the greatest of all Westerns when it stays with its ...Rating: 4/4 - Review by Roger Ebert Red River (1948) - Greatest Films
www.filmsite.org/redr.htmlDetailed review, synopsis and discussion of thematic elements in the film.Movie Review - Red River - THE SCREEN IN REVIEW ...
www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res...Up to a point in "Red River," which came to the Capitol yesterday, this opus is on the way towards being one of the best cow-boy pictures ever made. And even ...The New York TimesRed River (1948) -- (Movie Clip) Good Looking Gun
www.tcm.com/.../Red-River-Movie-Clip-Good-Lo...Red River (1948) -- (Movie Clip) Good Looking Gun. Rancher Dunson (John Wayne), partner Matt Garth (Montgomery Clift) and Groot (Walter Brennan), visiting ...Turner Classic MoviesAmazon.com: Red River: John Wayne, Montgomery Clift ...
www.amazon.com › Movies & TV › DVD › Westerns"Red River" deserves the adulation that critics, film scholars, and most importantly audiences have lavished on it since its premiere in 1948. One of the earliest ...Amazon.com, Inc.Red River - Movie Theme - YouTube
www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jRJnDx5HQoApr 28, 2012 - Uploaded by ubsswpRed River is a 1948 Western film directed by Howard Hawks, giving a fictional account of the first cattle ...
No comments:
Post a Comment