Similarities, Differences and Connections between two Western Movies: Rio Bravo and El Dorado

Few Hollywood film makers have captured America’s Wild West history as depicted in the movies, Rio Bravo and El Dorado. Most Western movies had fairly simple but very similar plots, including personal conflicts, land rights, crimes and of course, failed romances that typically led to drinking more alcoholic beverages than could respectfully be consumed by any one person, as they attempted to drown their sorrows away. The 1958 Rio Bravo and 1967 El Dorado Western movies directed by Howard Hawks, and starring John Wayne have a similar theme and plot. They tell the story of a sheriff and three of his deputies, as they stand alone against adversity in the name of the law. Western movies like these two have forever left a memorable and lasting impressions in the memory of every viewer, with its gunfighters, action filled saloons and sardonic showdowns all in the name of masculinity, revenge and unlawful aggressive behavior. Featuring some of the most famous backdrops in the world ranging from the rustic Red Rock Mountains of Monument Valley in Utah, to the jagged snow capped Mountain tops of the Teton Range in Wyoming, gun-slinging cowboys out in search of mischief and most often at their own misfortune traveled far and wide, seeking one dangerous encounter after another, and unfortunately, ending in their own demise.

Western movies such as Rio Bravo and El Dorado illustrate America’s rugged and picturesque scenery explaining life as it was in the wide open country, at a time when few laws were in place to safeguard the public. These two films tell the story of four men who arrest and

hold an influential man in jail under the assumption that he committed murder, however as they wait for the marshal, who is not exp...

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...len Poe poem recited on numerous occasions by Mississippi. Finally Rio Bravo is a crafty blend of Western adventure with a touch of comedy and was one of Hollywood’s finest at the time. The advertisements for the movie claimed, “There will never be another like Rio Bravo,” Yet seven years later, something very similar to Rio Bravo was released, El Dorado. Then in 1970, Hawks made another film that told the same story with Rio Lobo, again starring John Wayne, making it a trilogy. In 1976, the anecdote was retold again by John Carpenter with his movie, Assault on Precinct 13. Then again in 2005 by Director Jean Francois Richet with his release of Assault on Precinct 13 Even though there are more similarities than differences in these movies, it only goes to show how the same story can be retold over and over again, with some minor differences and character changes.