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Rio Bravo poster

Movies that feel likeRio Bravo (1959)

A small-town sheriff in the American West enlists the help of a disabled man, a drunk, and a young gunfighter in his efforts to hold in jail the brother of the local bad guy.

If you loved Rio Bravo, the closest films we have are High Noon (1952), Diary of a Country Priest (1951) and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962). Most of the picks below share Rio Bravo's gritty and contemplative feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is The Wind Will Carry Us (1999).

πŸ… 96% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 7.9 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. Howard Hawksgrittycontemplativecozy
6 of 12 streaming nowDisney Plus Β· Kino Film Collection Β· MGM Plus

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If Rio Bravo hit the spot, these will too

High Noon poster
High Noon
1952 Β· dir. Fred Zinnemann
πŸ… 94%β˜… 7.9western

The same preoccupation in both: small town life

The difference: Takes it somewhere less contemplative than Rio Bravo does

Will Kane, the sheriff of a small town in New Mexico, learns a notorious outlaw he put in jail has been freed, and will be arriving on the noon train. Knowing the outlaw and his gang are coming to kill him, Kane is determined to stand his ground, so he attempts to gather a posse from among the local townspeople.

Diary of a Country Priest poster
Diary of a Country Priest
1951 Β· dir. Robert Bresson
πŸ… 95%β˜… 7.7drama

One thread runs through both: small town life

An inexperienced, sickly priest shows up in the rural French community of Ambricourt, where he joins the community's clergy. But the locals don't take kindly to the priest, and his ascetic ways and unsociable demeanor make him an outcast. During Bible studies at the nearby girls school, he is continually mocked by his students. Then his attempt to intervene in a family feud backfires into a scandal. His failures, compounded with his declining health, begin to erode his faith.

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance poster
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
1962 Β· dir. John Ford
πŸ… 95%β˜… 8.1western

Both are built on the same subject: stagecoach

Questions arise when Senator Stoddard attends the funeral of a local man named Tom Doniphon in a small Western town. Flashing back, we learn Doniphon saved Stoddard, then a lawyer, when he was roughed up by a crew of outlaws terrorizing the town, led by Liberty Valance. As the territory's safety hung in the balance, Doniphon and Stoddard, two of the only people standing up to him, proved to be very important, but different, foes to Valance.

Old Yeller poster
Old Yeller
1957 Β· dir. Robert Stevenson
πŸ… 100%β˜… 7.2adventure Β· drama Β· familyDisney+

Both keep coming back to the same thing: texas

The difference: Leans harder into adventure than Rio Bravo does

Young Travis Coates is left to take care of the family ranch with his mother and younger brother while his father goes off on a cattle drive in the 1860s. When a yellow mongrel comes for an uninvited stay with the family, Travis reluctantly adopts the dog.

The Wind Will Carry Us poster
The Wind Will Carry Us
1999 Β· dir. Abbas Kiarostami
πŸ… 97%β˜… 7.4drama

Both land stillness and comfort at once

The difference: 40 years apart, and the 1990s show

Irreverent city engineer Behzad comes to a rural Kurdish village in Iran to keep vigil for a dying relative. In the meanwhile the film follows his efforts to fit in with the local community and how he changes his own attitudes as a result.

Corpus Christi poster
Corpus Christi
2019 Β· dir. Jan Komasa
πŸ… 98%β˜… 7.7drama

Drama with a pulse of stillness, in both cases

A pious 20-year-old juvenile delinquent is sent to work at a sawmill in a small town; on arrival, he dresses up as a priest and accidentally takes over the local parish. The arrival of this young, charismatic preacher is an opportunity for the local community to begin the healing process after a tragedy that happened a year prior.

The Searchers poster
The Searchers
1956 Β· dir. John Ford
πŸ… 87%β˜… 7.8western

Common ground: texas

As a Civil War veteran spends years searching for a young niece captured by Indians, his motivation becomes increasingly questionable.

Once Upon a Time in the West poster
Once Upon a Time in the West
1968 Β· dir. Sergio Leone
πŸ… 96%β˜… 8.5drama Β· western

Gritty western in both cases

As the railroad builders advance unstoppably through the Arizona desert on their way to the sea, Jill arrives in the small town of Flagstone with the intention of starting a new life.

Columbus poster
Columbus
2017 Β· dir. Kogonada
πŸ… 96%β˜… 7.2drama

Drama built on comfort, twice over

When a renowned architecture scholar falls suddenly ill during a speaking tour, his son Jin finds himself stranded in Columbus, Indiana - a small Midwestern city celebrated for its many significant modernist buildings. Jin strikes up a friendship with Casey, a young architecture enthusiast who works at the local library.

Giant poster
Giant
1956 Β· dir. George Stevens
πŸ… 86%β˜… 7.6drama Β· western

Gritty western, and it commits to that

Wealthy rancher Bick Benedict and dirt-poor cowboy Jett Rink both woo Leslie Lynnton, a beautiful young woman from Maryland who is new to Texas. She marries Benedict, but she is shocked by the racial bigotry of the White Texans against the local people of Mexican descent. Rink discovers oil on a small plot of land, and while he uses his vast, new wealth to buy all the land surrounding the Benedict ranch, the Benedict's disagreement over prejudice fuels conflict that runs across generations.

Red River poster
Red River
1948 Β· dir. Howard Hawks
πŸ… 100%β˜… 7.7western Β· drama Β· adventure

Howard Hawks working the same nerve twice

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 protΓ©gΓ©.

Sweet Bean poster
Sweet Bean
2015 Β· dir. Naomi Kawase
πŸ… 84%β˜… 7.4drama

Both lean on stillness more than on drama

The master of a dorayaki pastry store hires a 76-year-old woman whose talents attract customers from all over. But she's hiding a troubling secret. Life's joys are found in the little details, and no matter what may be weighing you down, everyone loves a good pastry.

In the mood for more gritty?

all gritty movies β†’

The best-reviewed films that share Rio Bravo’s defining feeling.