good back-story, and good acting

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Howard Hawks has done it again. The king of the western's 1967 production El Dorado has that certain atmosphere that only a Hawk's film can create, even if it does slightly resemble one of his earlier entries 'Rio Bravo'. As always, it's John Wayne who calls the shots. Known as the quickest draw in the land, Cole Thorton, played by Wayne, is hired by a local villain and land owner Bart Jason who seeks his rival neighbor's precious water supply. The other star of of El Dorado is the town Sheriff and Cole's old friend J.P. Harrah played by Robert Mitchum. Also known as a gunslinger, and most likely a former outlaw himself, Harrah advises Thorton to turn down the job proposed to him as the Sheriff reveals the true story behind the neighborly feud. Always playing it straight, Hawks deliver's his classic nuance of good guy bad guy as Wayne and a drunken disheveled Mitchum unite with a band of misfits to tackle the cunning bandits that have been employed by the ruthless Bart Jason, as all hell breaks loose in El Dorado. Although Wayne and Mitchum are the leading men, it's the supporting cast that make El Dorado the timeless movie it is, with ragtag heroes James Caan and Arthur Hunnicutt serving up and dishing out the larakin charm that Howard Hawks movies are known for. By far El Dorado is the most entertaining western from an era of unforgettable classics.

The comparisons to "Rio Bravo" are unmistakable and if you've seen that picture further words aren't necessary. What I had to constantly keep reminding myself throughout the story was that Robert Mitchum was the drunk sheriff and not Dean Martin. Or as John Wayne's character Cole Thornton would remark - "I'm lookin' at a tin star with a drunk pinned on it".After watching about sixty of John Wayne's films over the years and catching this one earlier today, it struck me that his performance here was about the most natural in any of the ones I've seen. In other words, he didn't even seem to be acting most of the time, just carrying on with buddies Mitchum, James Caan and old-timer Arthur Hunnicutt who probably had the best lines of banter throughout going back and forth with Cole and J.P. Harrah (Mitchum). I know, Wayne detractors will say he wasn't acting in any of his pictures, but I think that would be a disservice to the Duke.So as a big time TV and Western movie fan, I thought it was pretty cool that the film makers had two thirds of the 'Rifleman' regular cast show up here. Paul Fix had the role of old Doc Miller and Johnny Crawford showed up long enough to get shot by Cole Thornton in an early scene. Wouldn't it have been cool if Chuck Connors had a role in this one? Instead, we have almost one-armed John Wayne twirling his rifle like Lucas McCain did on his own show.As for James Caan, I don't know, he seemed to be out of place here a couple of times, especially when he took off the hat. Joey MacDonald (Michele Carey) liked him better with it off, but to me he looked a little goofy with his hair plastered down like that. His Chinese impression was a bit embarrassing too, and I don't mean that in a politically correct way. It was just plain old embarrassing.But overall, a decent Western and if you're a fan of the principles, you'll have to add this one to your watch list. For trivia fans, John Wayne rides an appaloosa in the picture, going by the name of Cochise. I thought that was pretty cool.

I was trying to compile a list of my All-time Favorite movies/Movies you have to see at least once. There's is no way I could select one favorite. I have so many real favorites. Then I came to El Dorado! Well, that, if I had to select only one, would be the one! It still holds up today. And consider the language and limitations of 1967. Just proves when you have such outstanding actors such as John Wayne and Robert Mitchum, they measure up even in today's world. But not only Mitchum and Wayne,every single cast member was significant and played their role so well. James Caan as "Mississippi", Charlene Holt as "Maddie" and Arthur Hunnicutt as "Bull". I have watched this movie so many times and also bought it for a friend in Brazil. Funny, I vaguely recall the music. That ring. But it didn't bother me, as it did others, that I read in another review. I must admit, Robert Mitchum is my All-time favorite actor, so maybe that has an effect. I love all his movies. I loved his independent nature and everything I could read about him. He would be so beautiful in today's world!

El Dorado is essentially a remake of the 1959 film Rio Bravo. It has the same plot line of the latter, which is enough reason to consider it in fact a remake, however, it still being considered the second film of a supposed trilogy (Rio Bravo, El Dorado, Rio Lobo). The plot can be a bit simple, but it has very drastic plot turns. In fact,a curiosity about this film would be the fact that every character actions & reaction seems to be a work of the fate in this film. It's just amazing to see how this fate can change the life of almost everyone in the town. In my opinion, i found this film way more interesting and smarter than one of the Wayne's acclaimed best, The Searchers. I think that some will agree that The Searchers is way too outdated. The acting is perhaps very good, highlight to both Robert Mitchum performance as J.P Harrah and to James Caan as Alan Bourdillion Traherne aka Mississipi. John Wayne was the same of ever. The cinematography is one of the highest points of the film. It has few utilization of 'fake scenarios', and it's mostly shot using real environment in Old Tucson and Kanab, Utah. My only and small problem with this film is that i think that the last 30 minutes are way too slow for this film. But still, that's nothing big enough to ruin the watching experience. 8.0/10