RIO BRAVO -- this western flick made in 1959, has easily become one of my favorite movies.
And look at me. Do I look like the kind of person that really likes to watch John Wayne films? NO. However, there's something about this particular movie -- something that's highly endearing and captivating.
Maybe I like the idea of the solitary macho man -- the guy who wants to defend the town from ruffians and thugs all by himself. Perhaps it's the idea that the film expresses -- the idea that no matter how much a person might want to fight his battles alone, he has to open his eyes to see that people are willing to help him.
Maybe I just enjoy underdog stories -- stories of recovering alcoholics and debilitated old guys (guys who shouldn't necessarily be heroes) stepping up to do something good.
Anyway, that stuff's neither here nor there.
I think the real reason I like this movie so much comes down to about two minutes of screen time. Two minutes of celluloid that are decidedly "un-western".
There's this scene, about two-thirds of the way through the film, where the action stops and Dean Martin sings a duet with Rick Nelson -- a song about stopping and enjoying the simple things in life, a song about being a lonely cowboy.
For some reason, whenever I stumble upon this scene, I get tears in my eyes. And I think it's for the same reason that I get tears in my eyes during "Edelweiss" in THE SOUND OF MUSIC or when Belle and the Beast are dancing and the camera pans up to the ceiling painting of angels in BEAUTY AND THE BEAST.
There's something in the way a perfectly placed song can make you stop and appreciate the gift of being alive... in life and in film. It's when everything quiets down and you can really get a good sense of the people that are around you.
I think I'm going to stop this entry here. I just felt like sharing this with you guys tonight while I'm sitting here alone in my apartment, my brain turned to mush from reading, writing and studying all day.
Ciao for now.
