Director: Howard Hawks Writers: Burton Wohl, Leigh Brackett Cinematography: William H. Clothier
Music: Jerry Goldsmith Cast: John Wayne, Jorge Rivera, Christopher Mitchum, Jennifer O’Neill, Jack Elam,
Victor French, Susana Dosamantes, Sherry Lansing, David Huddleston, Mike Henry, Bill Williams, Jim Davis
Disc company: Paramount, CBS Home Ent. Video: 1080p 1.78:1 Audio: DTS-HD MA 5.1 English,
DTS-HD MA 2.0 English, DTS-HD MA 1.0 Spanish, DTS-HD MA 1.0 German, DTS-HD MA 1.0 Castellano,
DTS-HD MA 1.0 French Subtitles: English SDH, Castellano, Danish, German, Spanish, French, Dutch, Norsk, Finnish, Swedish Disc: BD25 Release Date: 05/31/2011 Available for order now through Amazon.com
Rio Lobo isn’t the first John Wayne film to find its way to high definition, and it certainly won’t be the last, but it is the first that this Blu-ray enthusiast has had the opportunity to see. In the interest of full disclosure, I’d never so much as heard of Rio Lobo before happened upon it on the Target new releases rack, and a more familiar title like True Grit or Stagecoach may have proven a better starting point. But the quadruple-draw of Wayne, director Howard Hawks, Technicolor, and a $10 price tag rendered this one irresistible in the moment, and I can’t say that I was disappointed.
Just after the Civil War draws to a close Yankee Colonel Cord McNally catches up to a pair of Confederate train robbers (Jorge Rivero and Christopher Mitchum) whom he had earlier captured, and convinces them to help him track down the treasonous Union soldiers who helped them with the capers – one of which left McNally’s closest friend dead. Along the way they decide to help a young woman victimized by the corrupt officials of the eponymous desert town, only to discover that the men running Rio Lobo are the very same conspirators they’ve been searching for…
