This will be my first western review and I've decided to do it on the movie "Eldorado", starring John Wayne and Robert Mitchum. I love this western for starters, I've watched it over and over and that is why I decided to do this one first.
The story line of this particular western, in a lot of ways resembles the story for another popular western called "Rio Bravo". This is because John Wayne knows a girl in both of them that like him but he shows no interest even though at heart he truly does, but you don't find that out till the end. And in both movies he holds up in a jail while helping out his drunk friend get sober and take in a criminal. But they do have their differences, and I can't remember them both at present because it's been awhile since I've watched "Rio Bravo".
This film, like many of John Wayne's westerns is alot more light hearted than your typical western movie of today. Well almost anyways aside from a few parts like John Wayne killing an innocent boy by mistake ("You sent a boy out to do a man's job"), but all in all the movie isn't dark. It isn't a movie that will make you think about the insecurities of one charecter based on the ego or tough charecteristics of another but more of a bang bang shoot um up western that I personally have grown to love just as much as the very realistic and cynical types such as; "The Assassination of Jesse James" or "There Will Be Blood".
John Wayne plays the charecter "Cole Thorton" a quick drawing gunslinger for higher. He is offered a job by "Bart Jason" (played by Edward Asner). Not knowing that what Mr. Jason want's him to do is make the Mcdonald's give Bart their land by force. He finds out just exactly that by the Sheriff of Eldorado "Jp Harra", one of Cole's long lost friends who apparently is just as quick on the draw as him. So after talking to Jp, he goes to Bart Jason and tells him he's decided not to take the job after all.
Later on into the story, Cole finds himself at a salloon where Nelse McLeod (played by Christopher George) and his 3 companions are sitting down to dinner when Mississippi or Alan Bourdillion Trahern (played by James Caan) makes his entrance into the movie by killing a man that happens to be part of McLeod's gang. Cole steps in and after they come to a peaceful resolution talks to McLeod and finds out that he is taking the job that he earlier had turned down, and that J.P. has become a drunk and wont cause him any real trouble. Realizing his friend is in danger as well as the Mcdonald's Cole heads back to Eldorado. Along the way Mississippi comes back into play and persuades Cole to let him join up with him as well. And so our story ensues but back to the review.
The cast did a great job portraying the feel of just how it felt for each personality when dealing with one another, with each of them having their own set of headstrong ideals and each having their own personal egos it made the tension realistic and it made the movie feel like it could have really happened, or atleast made you wish it really had happened.
Also on a side note but not to demeen how much I love this movie but to possibly add upon how much I love John Wayne is the fact that you can see how the actor really was and see how he reacted to the other actors through his acting with them. Such as one part near the end of the movie where Cole is leaning on a cruch that he had previously been using with his opposite arm, and J.P. makes the statment that he is using the wrong arm and Cole replies by saying "well how would you know!? you've had it under one arm and then another". I beleive this was actually the actors speaking to another but was left in because of the humor it posed. But don't take my word for it I honestly don't know if that's a fact or not, you'll just have to see it for yourself.
Well in conclusion, I thought this western was a great one and I give it a 5 out of 5 on my western scale, hope you enjoyed this review and I hope you enjoy the movie even more.
-Craig Cooper, Bone Orchard.
The story line of this particular western, in a lot of ways resembles the story for another popular western called "Rio Bravo". This is because John Wayne knows a girl in both of them that like him but he shows no interest even though at heart he truly does, but you don't find that out till the end. And in both movies he holds up in a jail while helping out his drunk friend get sober and take in a criminal. But they do have their differences, and I can't remember them both at present because it's been awhile since I've watched "Rio Bravo".
This film, like many of John Wayne's westerns is alot more light hearted than your typical western movie of today. Well almost anyways aside from a few parts like John Wayne killing an innocent boy by mistake ("You sent a boy out to do a man's job"), but all in all the movie isn't dark. It isn't a movie that will make you think about the insecurities of one charecter based on the ego or tough charecteristics of another but more of a bang bang shoot um up western that I personally have grown to love just as much as the very realistic and cynical types such as; "The Assassination of Jesse James" or "There Will Be Blood".
John Wayne plays the charecter "Cole Thorton" a quick drawing gunslinger for higher. He is offered a job by "Bart Jason" (played by Edward Asner). Not knowing that what Mr. Jason want's him to do is make the Mcdonald's give Bart their land by force. He finds out just exactly that by the Sheriff of Eldorado "Jp Harra", one of Cole's long lost friends who apparently is just as quick on the draw as him. So after talking to Jp, he goes to Bart Jason and tells him he's decided not to take the job after all.
Later on into the story, Cole finds himself at a salloon where Nelse McLeod (played by Christopher George) and his 3 companions are sitting down to dinner when Mississippi or Alan Bourdillion Trahern (played by James Caan) makes his entrance into the movie by killing a man that happens to be part of McLeod's gang. Cole steps in and after they come to a peaceful resolution talks to McLeod and finds out that he is taking the job that he earlier had turned down, and that J.P. has become a drunk and wont cause him any real trouble. Realizing his friend is in danger as well as the Mcdonald's Cole heads back to Eldorado. Along the way Mississippi comes back into play and persuades Cole to let him join up with him as well. And so our story ensues but back to the review.
The cast did a great job portraying the feel of just how it felt for each personality when dealing with one another, with each of them having their own set of headstrong ideals and each having their own personal egos it made the tension realistic and it made the movie feel like it could have really happened, or atleast made you wish it really had happened.
Also on a side note but not to demeen how much I love this movie but to possibly add upon how much I love John Wayne is the fact that you can see how the actor really was and see how he reacted to the other actors through his acting with them. Such as one part near the end of the movie where Cole is leaning on a cruch that he had previously been using with his opposite arm, and J.P. makes the statment that he is using the wrong arm and Cole replies by saying "well how would you know!? you've had it under one arm and then another". I beleive this was actually the actors speaking to another but was left in because of the humor it posed. But don't take my word for it I honestly don't know if that's a fact or not, you'll just have to see it for yourself.
Well in conclusion, I thought this western was a great one and I give it a 5 out of 5 on my western scale, hope you enjoyed this review and I hope you enjoy the movie even more.
-Craig Cooper, Bone Orchard.
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