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If you thought the cattle drive was all fun and games, think again. Characters ,scenery , story nothing is off in this movie. Its one of the greatest westerns ever made The music matches the story, epic. It sets s a very high standard and I doubt it will ever be bettered. There are moments in Lonesome Dove that will make you laugh out loud in immense joyful pleasure. Then there are other moments that are downright chilling and so haunting that you cannot shake them as you are pulled further and further into the movie. And then there are those moments that are so profoundly heartfelt.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
I am a fan of Lonesome Dove, the book. I think that McMurtry is most insightful. I have read about 6 of his novels and each one was a treat. Having only seen the TV saga on a primative 19" Trinitron about 18 years ago, I was wanting to relive the fantasy on my 61" wide screen DLP. However, technology has changed. I have changed and Lonesome Dove is frozen in time as a small minded, small budget commercial made for TV mini-series. Fun to watch then. Silly now. It has delightful actors, but a good cast can't make up totally for bad writing. They did help make 6 hours go by a little faster. Read the book again instead of investing the time in this weak production. If you're too tempted like I was, at least make sure the fast foward button is in working order. I agree Jones and Duvall are excellent actors and some of that is on display here, but most of what I saw was hammed up for some cheap thrills instead of being true to the thoughtful McMurtry story. Instead of going inside the souls of the protagonists(like the Coen Brothers did with Jones in No Country) we are subjected to repetitive cartoonish caracatures and shallow caracters. How many times can Gus say "poke", "pigs" or "philosophy"? And so it goes. McCall says "whores" like a fundamentalist preacher. Jake says "you boys" whether he's greeting old friends or getting hung by them. The first few times are colorful. The last dozen or so are like a whipping. You have to use both hands to count the number of times "man burner and horse theef" Suggs and his brothers refer to the unlucky farmers as "damn sod busters" during a four minute stretch. Then I also couldn't overlook the amatuerish special effects glossed over on a little screen, but glaringly inept on a big wide one. There's that out of place and scale animation of hovering buzzards floating over the murdered horse traders like something out of a Disney film with singing animals. And, of course, the dust storm on the Texas horizon looks more like Saturday morning fare than prime time viewing. Then each new story line begins to revert back to the same old song, just the next verse. Gus bathes in various states of undress in nearly every body of water along the cattle drive while wooing the leading lady and fighting savage "halfbreeds". And Clara's ranch house, alone on the prairie, is so reminiscent of the "Giant" set that I was expecting James Dean to drive up at some point with the endless procession of wanderers, alive and dead, assembling periodically near the front yard like lost puppies. McCall comes flying out of nowhere on "hell bitch" to a violent stop before stopping a scuffle or starting one when he's not just sitting alone on the saddle staring off into space. But, the worst deja vu scenes by far are the numerous and pointless close up head shots of the non-speaking cowboy caracters as they press on across the "badlands", crossing any of the countless rivers or passing on the last drink of muddy water only to let the weaselly piano player slop it down. It's all fluff and little substance. I could easily edit out 3 hours of this wandering story without losing a thing. There are plenty of good supporting actors like everyman Chris Cooper, Anjelica Huston, Danny Glover, Steve Buchemi, Bob Urich, the lovely Diane Lane and Barry Corbin. There's a bounty of rich material supplied by McMurtry with a wonderfully human story to tell. So what caused this disappointment to be made?Read full review
One of the best books made into a movie you will ever see. Wonderful characters brought to life. The movie is almost word for word the same as the book. I have watched this movie at least once a year since it came out. I gave my copy to my 25 year old daughter because she loved it so much. I started of with VHS and I just bought my 2 copy of the DVD.I can't wait to watch it again.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
I watched Lonesome Dove on TV several times over the years. I always enjoyed it. Robert Duvall, Danny Glover, Robert Urek, Diane Lane, etc, etc are such fine actors. One review complained about the hokey special effects. He was right on some of them, but it was 1988. Special effects weren't as up-scale as they are today. That didn't bother me. I can watch this movie over and over again and never get tired of it. I have a very small dvd collection. I don't run out and buy every movie that comes out on dvd. I am glad to add this to my collection. Just buy it, the price is right,and it is worth every penny. Pop some popcorn, put your feet up on the coffee table, relax and enjoy the show.
I saw some episodes on TV with closed captions. this inspired me to get the DVD with CC. I could not find such a DVD on amazon. So I am glad I found it on eBay. I am sure I will enjoy it when I sit down to see it again.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
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