El Dorado

El Dorado is an obstinately old-fashioned story of male bonding set in an idealised world that is still dominated by real men, though the question of “I don't know why you're still alive” that Joey utters may have been about the very concept of masculinity in the second half of the 1960s. It is a world of unconcealed sexism and racist humour (Mississippi and the film’s offensive caricature of an Asian) – the positive view of Indian tricks (hangover cure, lying down under a horse), which are of course practiced here by a young white man, can be seen as the only shift in this direction. A world where one shoots first and asks questions later (firearms are practically the only means of solving problems). ___ Everyone knows Thornton as a living legend and shares a story with him. Wayne (again) personifies the essence of American values. He is a headstrong man, but he clearly distinguishes between good and evil. He is eternally on the road to a new adventure, always at the boundary between wilderness and civilisation, taking the best of both. At the centre of events are men who can take care of each other and can also quarrel like a married couple after many years in a relationship. ___ “Women” are what “happens” to a man. They either cause harm or help out. Unless it’s an expression of admiration for a man, a woman’s word has no weight. ___ Professionalism and moral integrity are respected. As in all of Hawks’s films, amateurism is a reason for contempt (“this isn’t a job for an amateur”). But to criticise a western for the faults stated above would be like admonishing a horse for having big eyes and being indolent. ___ In Hawks’s case, the acceptance of such an ossified view of the world is aided by the film’s compelling narrative. What at first appears to be an episodic narrative is in fact an inventive interweaving of motifs (the imagined loss of a son and his rediscovery in another young man). The storylines developed in the first half of the film converge into a single flow in a long night-time sequence that seemingly takes place in real time (thus not allowing viewers to catch their breath). ___ Despite the familiarity of the plot (not only if you have seen Rio Bravo), I enjoyed these two hours of coarse male bickering more than would be appropriate for a young intellectual who otherwise abhors more guileless displays of male dominance. 80% (25/03/2017)

"She had big sad eyes and a long sad story..." I kept wondering where I got that phrase, which I like to use sometimes, and where I heard it. Now I finally know where it came from! I used to have this movie on VHS with Czech dubbing, and I liked it a lot even back then. It is a great western with a perfect cast and brilliant jokes, pitting one lame man, one greenhorn, one drunken sheriff, and one old "Indian fighter" against a bunch of professional gunslingers. I watched it today in English with Czech subtitles, and the experience was maybe even a little better. 9/10. (09/02/2016)

A great example of why I don’t like classic American westerns. A weak screenplay, a slow and uninteresting execution, a story that doesn’t escalate and characters that are so similar as if they were all from one family. The good things are the well-inserted and enjoyable humour and the likeable cast, led by Wayne, the drunken Mitchum and a young James Caan, who complement each other very well. Otherwise, it clearly showed me what an untouchable western gem Once Upon a Time in the West is. 60% (24/12/2012)

Great cast - John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, and James Caan. This just had to work, and it does. Good story, good villain, and excellent heroes that you enjoy watching. There are also funny moments, so it's nicely lighthearted, and it's a classic western of its time. (26/11/2014)