Average Rating: 
Rating:  - No Other Western Comes Close To This One
I've seen LONESOME DOVE so many times I've practically got the six hours of dialogue memorized. Yet I'll keep watching this excellent adaptation of Larry McMurtry's epic novel, over and over again. Why? Two words: compelling story.The friendship of Augustus McCrae and Woodrow F. Call is the underlying theme of LONESOME DOVE; it's the motor that drives the story. When these two weathered former lawmen steal a herd of cattle from Mexico and set off for Montana for one last grand adventure ("I wanna see that country," says Call to Gus, "before the lawyers and bankers get it."), the stage is set for a Western with plenty of humor, action, violence...tragedy. This production makes McMurtry's unforgettable characters literally leap off the page. Robert Duvall IS Gus McCrae...Tommy Lee Jones IS Woodrow Call. Both performances are so vivid and on target the viewer is transported seamlessly to McMurtry's story, a story centering around the undying loyalty and friendship of these two men. LONESOME DOVE is a film that will entertain you, take you over the full gambit of human emotions, then after six hours leave you begging for more. Jones and Duvall lead a stellar cast in a remarkable film that has but one weakness: it has to end. And McMurtry's story is told--told so well that no other Western even comes close.
Rating: - One of the best things ever done for television.
Although the phrase "made for television" conjures up the images of the tabloid story of the week and women-in-peril films; Larry McMurtry's epic novel "Lonesome Dove" would not have been given justice in any other format. Television allowed that magnificent work to be brought to life in some form resembling the novel. The six hour running time enabled character and storyline development that would not have been possible if the novel had been adapted for theaters.Although it does have the jarring breaks that marked where a commericial interuption had once been and it's share of television stars (Urich, Shroeder, Corbin); "Lonesome Dove" is movie big. Big stars. Wonderful cinematography. Great locations. An authentic look. A terrific score. The producers, cast, crew, and director went the full measure to ensure that this movie did not look or feel like a "movie of the week" production. Personally, I believe it, along with "Roots," to be the finest work ever done in the medium of television. It really does make you feel for its characters. The viewer will cheer and hope for them, and when tragedy occurs, as it does throughout the film, it will shake the viewer. Nobody is safe: comic relief characters, children, and, even, experienced Rangers. McMurtry drives home the message that death in the Old West could occur to anyone at anytime with shocking suddenness. In the end, Captain Call looks back and remembers his friends and comrades who did not return with him. As he does, tears come to the eyes of this taciturn character; and rest assured he is joined by many in the viewing audience.
Rating: - The Best "Feel Good Movie" of all Time
Lonesome Dove is a cinematic masterpiece based on Larry Mcmurtry's timeless classic of Western Literature by the same title. More than just a movie, Lonesome Dove presents insights into many aspects of life. It contains an underlying meaning going far beyond plot. It is one of the best examples of interpretive cinema to be found. Lonesome Dove presents to the viewer, moral lessons while it entertains. More than this though, Lonesome Dove just makes you feel good. It is an escape from everyday life through simple dialogue and lovable believable charachters that carry the reader away from his world and place him in Lonesome Dove, Texas, a place where life is slower and the hustle and bustle of modern life cannot be found. It's all-star cast led by Danny Glover, Tommy Lee Jones, and Robert Duvall present the charachters as Mcmurtry would have portrayed them. In my opinion, it is impossible to watch the entire six hour classic without tearing up or at least being thoroughly moved, not by its sadness but by its superb portrayal of the stirring emotion that brings with it a real, and lasting sense of joy and contentment. The best one word description of this classic of cinema is "beautiful".Just thinking about this wonderful movie brings a sigh of joy and a lasting feeling of contentment. If you have not seen this excellent work of cinema, then you have not yet arrived.
|
