Region 1 Paramount (USA)
NTSC, 1.85:1 16x9 enhanced
126 minutes
Audio: DD 2.0 mono English, DD 2.0 mono French, DD 2.0 mono Spanish
Subtitles: Optional English SDH, French, Spanish
Extras: 2 audio commentaries; Ride, Boldly Ride: The Journey to El Dorado; The Artist and the American West; Behind the Gates: A.C. Lyles Remembers John Wayne; theatrical trailer; stills galleries
Released: 19 May 2009
Paramount Pictures is re-releasing some of its beloved catalog titles in new Centennial Collection editions to celebrate the studio’s 100th birthday. El Dorado carries the Number 9 on its spine.
After suffering through The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (Number 8 in Paramount’s Centennial Collection), I was not looking forward to watching El Dorado. In fact, I pushed the movie back in my viewing schedule by about three days because of Liberty Valance. To my surprise, El Dorado turned out to be a delightfully exciting and funny yarn that doesn’t suffer from the same sense of sameness that you get with most Westerns.
John Wayne and Robert Mitchum play two stand-up fellows who defend a town and the MacDonald clan from a rapacious rancher. The story features the usual elements and tropes found in other Westerns, but they’re backgrounded in favor of good-natured and good-humored character studies. The movie’s best delights are found in scenes with Wayne and Mitchum interacting with one another. The stars, slowed by age and quite obviously out-of-shape, weren’t afraid of poking fun at themselves as old codgers past their prime. Arthur Hunnicutt is hilarious as Mitchum’s eccentric deputy sheriff, and even James Caan, whom most people remember for his fiery performances in other movies, is a pleasant, happy-go-lucky screen presence.
It’s also worth noting that the movie doesn’t lumber laboriously towards a climactic showdown. Instead, there are a couple of brief set pieces here and there, the most notable being a night-time assault on a church. The action sequences are also graced with charming humor, and the filmmakers avoided groan-inducing slapstick that would’ve robbed the movie of all tension.
In general, Westerns are morality plays. The best ones avoid taking the self-serious and direct routes. El Dorado isn’t exactly a classic, but it’s at least an enjoyable diversion.
Video:
I’m not sure if the movie was given a full restoration, but the 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen image looks wonderful for a movie from the 1960s. Any damage to the source film print has been minimized, and although the grain structure has been left intact, you don’t see the annoying “mosquito buzz” that plagues some transfers. Sharpness and detail are excellent for a standard-definition presentation.
Audio:
There are no surprises with the DD 2.0 mono English track. Dialogue is always intelligible, though music and sound effects can sound harsh and hollow due to the technological limitations of the era.
Extras:
--Disc 1--
Disc 1 has two audio commentaries. The first one features Peter Bogdanovich flying solo. Although Bogdanovich is a part of Hollywood history and was personal friends with many key people, he’s not a compelling commentator. What’s funny about his inclusion is the fact that Paramount dropped his commentary for To Catch a Thief when creating the Centennial Collection edition (Bogdanovich recorded an audio commentary for the Special Collector’s Edition of To Catch a Thief).
The other audio commentary features critic Richard Schickel (Time) with snippets from actor Ed Asner and critic Todd McCarthy (Variety). This track is moderately better than the Bogdanovich one, though Schickel tends to romanticize and hagiographize old Hollywood excessively.
--Disc 2--
“Ride, Boldly Ride: The Journey to El Dorado” is a seven-part overview of the production, which was made as the director and the stars were entering the twilight of their careers and as the studio system gave way to free-lance operations.
“The Artist and the American West” is a featurette that was created around the time of the movie’s release. This featurette focuses on an artist whose works were used for the opening titles.
In “Behind the Gates: A.C. Lyles Remembers John Wayne”, producer A.C. Lyles reminisces about John Wayne’s time on the Paramount lot.
Finally, you get a theatrical trailer and four stills galleries.
--Miscellaneous--
You also get an insert booklet and a cardboard slipcover.
2 comments:
I think I might be one of the few who prefer El Dorado to the more renowned Rio Bravo. I always liked Robert Mitchum better as the drunk looking for redemption than Dean Martin. I also liked James Caan better than Ricky Nelson in the young hotshot sidekick role.
Anyways, I had no idea there was a 2-disc release. I'll be double dipping especially since it sells for 11 bucks.
Yeah, Bob Mitchum really is underrated as far as Hollywood old-timers go.
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