The Bridges version was truer to the book. But the John Wayne version had the Duke.
It also had Glen Campbell. I loved Glen as a musician but his acting was sooooooooo bad it definitely brought down the movie a notch. Had they cast a decent actor in that role it would probably be my favorite western of all time.
John wayne is one reason I look forward to artificial intelligence making new movies with deceased actors. Go back to the old film look and have Wayne, Bogart, and those guys doing new material.
Which, in my mind, was a problem.
I just couldn't get over the the stilted, formal dialog, although I'm sure the Coens reveled in it. I can understand that in a stylized work like "O Brother, Where Art Thou?", but this is a Western, and I couldn't get into the story. Every time a character spoke, the story came to a screeching halt because there the author was, sticking his nose in.
I love John Wayne, but the Bridges version was so much more of a movie in every single way....maybe the only weak part was Damon....