A brilliant film that helped define a genre

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

EL DORADO is a romantic western comedy about a friendship, love, responsibility and politics. It is the second of three films directed by Hawks about a sheriff defending his office against belligerent outlaw elements in the town, after "Rio Bravo" and before "Rio Lobo". I think there was a perfect chemistry between the actors in the movie "Rio Bravo". Taking into account almost similar plot lines, this is a very reliable remake. Cole Thornton, a gunslinger-for-hire, has found himself in the middle of a conflict between a wealthy rancher, the hardworking McDonald family and law in a fight for water. The local sheriff J. P. Harrah is his friend. Cole, unwilling to fight his friend and to the relief of saloon owner Maudie, has turned down a job with the wealthy and evil rancher. However, Cole accidentally shoot the youngest member of the McDonald family. He, in turn, gets a bullet next to his spine. Several months later, Cole runs into another gunslinger-for-hire named Nelson McLeod and a young greenhorn with a peculiar hat called Mississippi. It seems that his friends and the McDonald family are in great danger. Cole decides to return to El Dorado...Nothing is spectacular in this film, except a very fun relationship between the two big movie stars. The dialogues, that glorifying friendship and responsibility, are comical, gunfight are very exciting and, unfortunately, two romances remain suspended in the air.The scenery is quite cramped. The atmosphere is good. Robert Mitchum as Sheriff J.P. Harrah is very good in the role of a competent sheriff, who became an alcoholic because some women. However, he is ready to pull the trigger on the right time. John Wayne as Cole Thornton is a charming and charismatic drifter who finds himself in the right place at the right time, and even when to get shots.It is a very pleasant, but already seen.

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.

This was my very first John Wayne movie. I have been a massive movie geek, and realized I had not seen any of his movies until recent. I haven't been trying to avoid anything of his, it's all coincidence. What better way to start off than with cowboy classic, El Dorado? El Dorado is a remake of the Duke's 1959 film, Rio Bravo, co-starring Dean Martin and Ricky Nelson. Remake is the wrong description for this, due to its very different plot and characters. I would consider this to be a "rehash" movie. There are similarities in the characters and locations, but that's about it. Rio Bravo is about a sheriff (Wayne) that takes three unlikely men under his wing to stop a band of thugs from helping a criminal escape from prison. El Dorado is about Wayne taking a young man (Caan) under his wing to help his friend (Mitchum) battle a gang of crooks that he would have been a part of. Wayne is the same guy in both movies, but the Mitchum and Caan characters are similar to Martin and Nelson's characters, but more different than anything. I wouldn't say better, just different.What makes El Dorado a great movie right off the bat is that it's not about cowboys on a quest to find a treasure or anything like that. 95% of westerns follow that rule. Because it is about something else, El Dorado is already superior to many. I did mention the story earlier, in a nutshell, but me saying the whole story as simple as possible would be giving away too much. I love movies with stories that cover that much ground. But what makes El Dorado the fun movie that it is that we get to see all these cool and deep characters interacting in very fun ways. There's a few parts in the jail where they are just chilling out. Then action sequences erupt and there's great music behind it all. By only problem? It builds up to a weak ending where the bad guys are supposed to be slayed in a very noteworthy and exciting way. That is the only reason why I gave this 9/10 instead of 10/10. Other than that, this movie was awesome in every way.

As one of the great Westerns of all time, "El Dorado" exudes quality throughout. The screenplay by Leigh Brackett is splendid in the development of likable characters. The protagonist is tough, competent, and cantankerous cowboy Cole Thornton (John Wayne), assisted more or less by a flawed town sheriff named J.P. Harrah (Robert Mitchum), a youthful Southern guy out for justified revenge named Mississippi (James Caan), and Bull (Arthur Hunnicutt), an elderly town coot loyal to the sheriff. Characters are easily differentiated with their own quirks and personalities. It's easy to root for them.The script's plot flows well and with a relaxed pace. There's a nice blend of characterization and action. Dialogue is succinct and at times humorous. At one point Bull displays his annoyance with Mississippi's clothes. Bull says: "(I'm)…trying to figure out what that fella's got on his head." Mississippi replies: "It's called a hat". To which Bull responds: "Well, I'll have to take your word for it".Parts of Edgar Allan Poe's poem "Eldorado" gets recited throughout, mostly by Mississippi, the last verse ending with: "Ride, boldly ride, the shade replied ... if you seek for Eldorado". The poem adds philosophy to a story that is otherwise rough and mildly violent.Production design and costumes are detailed, and credible for the era. Those wooden interior floors look exactly like what one would expect in saloons and houses. Casting and acting range from acceptable to very good. I especially like the inclusion of Arthur Hunnicutt, whose demeanor and voice add credibility to the Western setting.My only complaints relate to the lack of originality of the story; and, as with nearly all Westerns, there's a tendency toward character stereotypes, especially among the bad guys."El Dorado" is a terrific film in the Western genre. It's got great characterization, entertaining dialogue, effectively choreographed gunfights, poetry, evocative music, and John Wayne. What more could you want?