CommentsXp Best movie ever!

Nessieldwi Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

Roy Hart If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

Keeley Coleman The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

antoniocasaca123 This "RIO GRANDE" is a long forgotten western of the legendary director John Ford that surprises pleasantly. Irish songs and a very good level of romance make this movie a beautiful western, which has a great humor also present (the character Quincannon, played by actor Victor McLaglen, gives the film extremely funny scenes). This is a very effective western, although of a substantially different style to others of the Ford / Wayne duo (for example, the first time the character Yorke, starring John Wayne, picks up a gun happens only 6 minutes from the end of the movie !). The good virtues of the film make to forget its (enough) small faults, that end up not having great importance in the development of the plot. Perhaps the only one that is more noteworthy is the (sadly) little participation and importance given to the character Kathleen, played by the extremely beautiful Maureen O'Hara (here in the first of five "romantic" partnerships she would do with John Wayne). On the other hand, one of the very positive aspects of the film is the importance and excellent performances of the secondary actors, such as Ben Johnson, Claude Jarman Jr, Harry Carey Jr and the aforementioned Victor McLaglen. In short, this "RIO GRANDE" is a beautiful surprise.

cricket crockett . . . which Jessie Film, Inc. and Lamberti Productions Corp. originally churned out in 1993 for TV or a VHS tape, and which Artisan Entertainment threw onto its 1999 RIO GRANDE disc release. This MAKING OF is written and hosted by Leonard Maltin. Michael Tetrick and Bill Coggon direct this 21 minute, 15 second piece. John Wayne's son Michael is one of three guys offering interview snippets here, sandwiched between clips from the feature film. The other two Reminiscers are RIO GRANDE cast members Ben Johnson ("Sandy") and Harry Carey, Jr. ("Travis"), who each spent two weeks mastering "Roman Riding" for this Western, which involves a horseman standing up on two of these equine critters at the same time (with one foot balanced upon the back of each steed) and galloping in this position as fast as feasible. (Johnson and Carey say it only took Tinhorn actor Claude Jarman, Jr., who plays "Jeff," the son of Wayne's character, 10 minutes to become a proficient Roman Rider, since Jarman's feet were as large as Ben and Harry's combined.) We learn here from film critic Leonard Maltin . . .. . . that the Mexicans call our Southern Border River "Rio Bravo," while its Real Name is the Rio Grande (which still sounds pretty Spanish to me). Evidently, President Obama and All of his predecessors have politely asked Umpteen Million citizens of Mexico NOT to cross the Rio Grande without going through the proper channels. However, about 11 million current Mexican Citizens have simply shrugged their shoulders and muttered (presumably in Spanish), "Well, they didn't say anything about wading over via the 'RIO BRAVO.'" This kind of willful misinterpretation will be short-circuited once and for all by President Trump's Great Wall. Hopefully, they will model this upon the classic lines of the historic Chinese Tourist Attraction. Even though Americans probably won't be allowed to trek into Mexico to traipse atop it, CGI improvements by Hollywood's technical wizards should allow 20th Century Fox to make a sequel to THE CONQUEROR, in which John Wayne posthumously reprises his role as Genghis Khan, and maybe throws in a little bit of Col. Kirby Yorke from RIO GRANDE to boot, as he patrols along the Great Wall of Trumpville.

Robert D. Ruplenas It is so sad that the younger crowd avoids back and white movies just because ..... well, because they're black and white. They're depriving themselves of a lot.I put Rio Grande on my Netflix queue because I stumbled on the title somewhere and realized that it was one of the Ford/Wayne westerns I had not seen. I had seen Fort Apache and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon. I had liked the former only moderately, and didn't care much for the latter. My favorite Ford western was My Darling Clementine. Rio Grande blew me away from the beginning. A previous commenter mentioned the photography. In the Netflix version I saw it is absolutely gorgeous - the best B&W cinematography I think I've ever seen (after Clementine). The acting is wonderful, with all the usual John Ford crew on hand. Great to see Wayne and Maureen O'Hara working together again. For me it's a tough call between Rio Grande and Clementine as to which better captures the majestic sweep of the western landscape. The story line is a venerable one - mother/father conflict over a struggling son, with mother overprotective and father being tough.This is must-see for fans of westerns and especially for devotees of Ford, Wayne, and O'Hara.

mhmac-1 I saw "Rio Grande" in the theater as a child and loved it. Unlike some movies I saw in my youth, it has stood the test of time and just gets better as I get older and learn more. I do not need to write a synopsis here as others have done this admirably. I am only writing this review to answer some of the criticisms of this lovely film.First, the "too much music" complaint. I can see how some people would feel this, especially in this day and age, as we are not used to people breaking into song except in a musical and even those are rare these days. But in the days that this movie is set, that is exactly what was going on. There was little else to do in the long, boring tedium of life in the Western outposts for the lowly trooper. They did a lot of singing. Some had guitars, fiddles, banjos...whatever. Libbie Custer tells that a soldier in the 7th had a zither, a unique treat. Of course "San Antone" was not one of the ditties sung by the cavalry as that was written by Dale Evans herself. And I doubt that the average group of soldier singers out on the plains sounded quite as good as Ken Curtis and the Sons of the Pioneers, although who knows. Mrs. Custer also said "There was always in the ranks much amateur and sometimes some professional 'talent'." They even built a little rough tent-building at Fort Hays, referred to as the Opera House, where the soldiers could put on performances and concerts.Secondly the complaint against using black and white and that the photography is just not that great. This movie has for me some of the most iconic images in a western, particularly of John Wayne. The kind of close-ups that make a legend. The photography in "Fort Apache" looks flat on the version I saw. Maybe it's the CD. And "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon" looks somewhat garish by comparison. The black and white of "Rio Grande" however looks almost Bergmanesque in it's depth.There have been varying opinions of the Duke's acting in this. Although I feel John Wayne was a personality, rather than an actor, in this one I thought he was great. There are several scenes with no lines where he more than proves his ability.Many seem to think it's just not as good as the first two in the trilogy, but as stated by someone else, the first two have scenes that are hokey or corny or just don't work...or the unfortunate Hollywood touches that will yank you right out of the scene. "Rio Grande" is pretty much spared those. Maybe it's a good thing this was a 'quickie' for John Ford. He didn't have time to rethink his first instinct or give the suits a chance to meddle.Speaking of Hollywood's version of things, I used to assume these movies were exactly that regarding life on the frontier. But as I read more about the times, most importantly first hand accounts, I realized how amazingly accurate these films are, which makes them all the more enjoyable the second or third time around. And, last but not least, the 'indians' are all played by actual Native Americans. Talk about a unique treat! I know...the other two used Native Americans as well, but there was in each a 'non-Indian' playing a lead Indian role as well.If you haven't guessed it by now, of the three cavalry films of John Ford, "Rio Grande" is my favorite. I highly recommend it!!