--- title: "Red River: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/red-river/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/red-river" critics_score: 83 critics_reviews: 10 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Red River (1948): what the critics said Critics' score 83 from 10 reviews: 9 positive, 1 mixed, 0 negative. Most critics respond warmly to Red River, with praise clustering around Hawks’s direction and the tension between John Wayne and Montgomery Clift. The reviews repeatedly find psychological depth in the Western, singling out Wayne’s challenging performance, Clift’s charisma and the affection beneath the central conflict. Hawks’s staging also draws praise, alongside his patient development of the cattle-drive ensemble and his attention to the journey rather than simply its destination. The differences are chiefly in the degree of enthusiasm, with most assessments grouped towards the favourable end of the scale. The AV Club gives particular weight to the emotional force of the ending, while other reviews emphasise the film’s humane treatment of its characters. Specific reservations are harder to establish: the two lowest-scored entries have no verifiable review text, so neither supplies a reliable account of where the praise gives way to doubt. ## Radio Times — Tony Sloman Rating 5/5. Sloman calls the film one of American cinema’s finest achievements and praises Hawks’s filmmaking. He singles out John Wayne’s performance and Montgomery Clift’s star-making turn. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-cyoo19/red-river/) ## Empire — Kim Newman Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2000. Newman praises the film as a deeper, emotionally powerful Western, with a particularly strong climax. He singles out Hawks’s lyrical staging and the leads’ performances as highlights. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/red-river-review/) ## The AV Club — Mike D'Angelo Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 4 June 2014. D’Angelo regards Red River as one of the most revered Westerns and praises its emotionally potent, thoroughly Hawksian ending. He also singles out Montgomery Clift’s charismatic performance and the gradual emergence of the central conflict from deep affection. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/montgomery-clift-made-his-screen-debut-opposite-john-wa-1798180612) ## Time Out — GA Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). The review describes Hawks’ adaptation as a sheer delight. It particularly praises the film’s engaging portrayal of the establishing of the Chisholm Trail. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/red-river) ## IndieWire — Matt Brennan Fi1m's normalised score 82/100 (inferred from the text). 18 June 2014. Brennan regards Red River as a humane, inventive frontier classic. He praises Hawks’ focus on the journey and the unsettled spaces between destinations, rather than on a fixed endpoint. [Read the review](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/culture/how-hawks-1948-classic-red-river-drew-a-new-map-for-the-western-new-criterion-dvd-review-239843/) ## Variety — Variety Staff Fi1m's normalised score 82/100 (inferred from the text). 31 December 1947. The review is strongly positive, calling the film a masterful interpretation of its western story. It especially praises Hawks's direction and Montgomery Clift's sympathetic performance. [Read the review](https://variety.com/1947/film/reviews/red-river-2-1200415791/) ## Slant Magazine — Jordan Cronk Rating 4/5. 6 June 2014. Cronk praises Red River as an unusually humane and psychologically rich western. He singles out Hawks’s careful development of the cattle-drive ensemble and the film’s deflation of masculine posturing. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/red-river/) ## The Guardian — Philip French Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 26 October 2013. French presents the film as a landmark western that brought psychological complexity to the genre. He praises Wayne’s challenging performance and highlights the film’s characteristic Hawksian themes. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/oct/27/red-river-hawks-philip-french) ## RogerEbert.com Fi1m's normalised score 73/100 (inferred from the text). The URL identifies this as a Great Movies review of the 1948 film. The page itself is blocked, so its verdict and specific praise or criticism cannot be verified. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-red-river-1948) ## The New York Times — Bosley Crowther Fi1m's normalised score 66/100 (inferred from the text). 1 October 1948. The URL identifies this as a New York Times screen review of the 1948 film. The article text is unavailable, so its verdict and specific praise or criticism cannot be verified. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1948/10/01/archives/the-screen-in-review-red-river-horse-opera-with-montgomery-clift.html) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/red-river.md