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Red River
1948 133 min United States of America 0+
★8.3
Western
Director: Howard Hawks, Arthur Rosson
Trailers
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Description
Following the Civil War, headstrong rancher Thomas Dunson decides to lead a perilous cattle drive from Texas to Missouri. During the exhausting journey, his persistence becomes tyrannical in the eyes of Matthew Garth, his adopted son and protégé.
Budget:
$3M
Worldwide:
$9.01M
Starring
John Wayne
Actor
Montgomery Clift
Actor
Joanne Dru
Actor
Awards
Academy Awards 1949
— Best Feature Film Screenplay
Academy Awards 1949
— Best Film Editing
Key opinion
Red River is widely celebrated as a quintessential, masterfully directed Western that redefined the genre through its focus on a complex, father-son style power struggle. While most critics laud the performances and technical execution, some viewers note the presence of dated genre tropes or find the final resolution slightly too convenient.
| Acting | John Wayne delivers one of his most layered and definitive performances as the tyrannical, determined Tom Dunson. | |
| Acting | Montgomery Clift provides a perfect, nuanced contrast to Wayne’s machismo, anchoring the emotional heart of the film. | |
| Direction | Howard Hawks' direction expertly balances the brutal scale of the cattle drive with the tense, intimate character conflicts. | |
| Cinematography | The cinematography is visually evocative, successfully emphasizing the hardship of the journey and the vastness of the landscape. | |
| Ending | Opinions on the ending are divided; some praise the denouement as a superbly staged success of teamwork, while others criticize it as an overly happy or neat resolution. | |
| Screenplay | The narrative is appreciated as an authentic, epic spectacle, though some viewers feel it remains tethered to conventional genre tropes and hackneyed dialogue. |