Overview: As part of the year-long centennial celebration for the 100th anniversary of Warner Bros. Studio, two iconic classics from the Warner Bros. library – East of Eden and Rio Bravo - will be available for purchase on 4K Ultra HD Disc and Digital August 1st, 2023.

East of Eden, directed by Academy Award winner Elia Kazan and starring James Dean, and Rio Bravo, directed by Honorary Academy Award winner Howard Hawks and starring John Wayne, will be available to purchase on Ultra HD Blu-ray™Disc from online and in-store at major retailers and available for purchase Digitally from Amazon Prime Video, AppleTV, Google Play, Vudu and more.

A small-town sheriff in the American West enlists the help of a disabled man, a drunk, and a young gunfighter in his efforts to hold in jail the brother of the local bad guy.

The 1959 American Western film is directed by Howard Hawks. The screenplay is by Jules Furthman and Leigh Brackett and is based on the short story “Rio Bravo” by B.H. McCampbell. The film stars John Wayne, Dean Martin, Ricky Nelson, Angie Dickinson, Walter Brennan, and Ward Bond.

In 2014, Rio Bravo was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.

4K UHD Blu-ray Verdict: Eleven years after Red River (1948), John Wayne and Howard Hawks would team up again to do Rio Bravo (1959). Rio Bravo is an action packed and entertaining film that never ceases to be boring. It tells the tale of a lawman and his deputies who are trapped in their town by outlaw friends of a murderer. Indeed, the opening scene gives a wonderful introduction to the characters of Dean Martin and John Wayne.

The film has a good story line with its share of good guys and bad guys, but it’s the industrious dialogue that carries this movie along. The best scene of the movie, in my humble opinion, is when Dean Martin walks into a bar saloon full of hired hands and outlaws to interrogate them on the whereabouts of the man who killed the sheriff’s friend. The gunfight during the climax is both exciting and humorous!

The romantic angle between Angie Dickinson’s Feathers and John T. Chance has a lovely humorous edge to it, with their relationship being a repeat of the one in To Have & Have Not (1944). Feathers says about the same things that Bacall said in that flick. John T. Chance and Feathers seems to enjoy getting on each other’s nerve.

Rio Bravo would provide the main source of inspiration for John Carpenter’s Assault on Precinct 13 (1976) for it was loved by the famous filmmaker, along with Quentin Tarantino. It is one of the most influential westerns of all time and furthermore, the Saloon sequence foreshadows the great bar room interrogations of The French Connection (1971) and 48 Hours (1982).

John Wayne does a terrific job in doing a parody of his film persona. Dean Martin provides some pathos in his best role ever. Walter Brennan gives some comic relief as the eccentric deputy, Stumpy. Ricky Nelson comes close to being the weak link of the cast and his performance is nowhere near as good as James Caan - who did a much better job in a similar role for El Dorado (1968) - but then again, it is great Caan after all!

The music of the picture is played serious with spurts of humorous tones spread throughout, and the song sung by Dean Martin sounds similar to the theme music of Red River (1948). In fact, it’s when the music of the Alamo starts playing that Dude becomes fully sober! Musically, Ricky Nelson also does a good job in the film when it comes to playing the guitar and singing.

Overall, the main theme of Rio Bravo is male comradery. No matter what obstacles lie in their path, the four lawmen manage to stick together. There is a strong bond between the main four that is as unbreakable as that of the outlaws in The Wild Bunch (1969). Male bonding is another famous trademark of director Howard Hawks.

The direction is done with professionalism and just may be Howard Hawks’ most accessible film in his career. Others being The Big Sleep (1946), Scarface (1931), His Girl Friday (1940), Red River (1948), and to my mind, the brilliant Sergeant York (1941). For, in truth, the action scenes here are some of the best sequences done by Hawks.

The art design of the film wonderfully captures the feel of the Old West and the story line is well written by Leigh Brackett. Funnily enough, Rio Bravo was made as a result of Howard Hawks and John Wayne’s dislike of High Noon (1952). This was because the Marshal played by Gary Cooper was asking for help from people who refused to give him any and this was considered by John Wayne as unmanly.

In closing, Rio Bravo is a simply terrific Western with a good sense of humor and although it would be redone twice by Howard Hawks - El Dorado (1968), and his final film Rio Lobo (1971) - this is the leader of the bunch by a long shot.

Rio Bravo Ultra HD Blu-ray contains the following previously released special features:
• Commentary by John Carpenter and Richard Schickel

Working in partnership with The Film Foundation, both films were restored and remastered by Warner Bros. Post Production Creative Services: Motion Picture Imaging and Post Production Sound. Since its launch by Martin Scorsese in 1990, The Film Foundation has restored more than 900 movies.

The Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc will include each feature film in 4K with HDR and a Digital version of the feature film.

Ultra HD Blu-ray showcases 4K resolution with High Dynamic Range (HDR) and a wider color spectrum, offering consumers brighter, deeper, more lifelike colors for a home entertainment viewing experience like never before.

For the complete 4K Ultra HD experience with HDR, a 4K Ultra HD TV with HDR, an Ultra HD Blu-ray player and a high-speed HDMI (category 2) cable are required.