Rating: 
Summary: Best Movie!, Best Western!, Best Actors! Best Everything!
Review: About every five years or so, especially on a rainy day, we gather up family and friends to watch the entire Lonesome Dove movie. We build a fire, pop popcorn, (the women grab a box of kleenex), and we all transport ourselves to the magnificent world of Augustus MaCrae and Captain Call. Every scene is perfect, and even the smallest line delivered is classic. I love the way so much is said in this movie with very few words or with a simple look or gesture (Robert DuVall is a master at this). One of my favorite scenes is when Woodrow beats the heck out of a roughneck who is riding with the calvary. The ignorant bully decides to pick on Newt Dobbs (big mistake!). Augustus has to lassoe the captain to prevent him from killing the thug. Then Capt. Call (in his plain no nonsense way) says something like... " I can't stand rude behavior in a man, I won't tolerate it". The casting is perfect, including the pigs. I think every girl would love to marry Augustus. When the movie ends, we all slip into a blue funk because we miss the characters and the story. We would LOVE to see another movie like this, with Robert DuVall and Tommy Lee Jones teamed up with the same director, etc. This movie should have made #1 movie of the century!
Rating:
Summary: Lookout Shane!
Review: Arguably the best western ever made! An exceptional film with superb performances by all. Tommy Lee Jones, gives his best performance to date and matching him every step of the way Robert Duval, both actors equally brilliant. Watching them playing off each other is a treat! They are the main characters in this movie about two aging ex-Texas rangers on one last great adventure. Also, excellent acting by Robert Urich (as the 3rd ranger), Ricky Schroder, Danny Glover, Diane Lane and Anjelica Huston in supporting roles. This is a must see!
Rating:
Summary: Aweome
Review: Cool movie this totally influenced my life. I'm like wearing a cowboy suit. It's awesome what you can find when your 55.
Rating:
Summary: Good Bargain
Review: First let me say that there is flaw on my Lonesome Dove disc - the voice and mouths don't match up. I have other movies that are like this, and some that are not, so I don't know if it's shoddy quality of this disc or my DVD player, or both. So, I'm discounting this in the following review. I've read enough that the two-disc version that you get if you buy just Lonesome Dove by itself has better quality. That said, it is hard to beat the price of this set for what amounts to about 14 hours, I think, worth of movies.
First, Lonesome Dove is one of the best mini-series and westerns of all time. It is just an absolutely fabulous small screen rendition of Larry McMurtry's Pulitzer Prize winning Lonesome Dove. The acting by Tommy Lee Jones, Robert Duvall, Ricky Schroeder, Danny Glover, Robert Urlich, and the whole cast is just top notch. It's the story of two ex-Texas Rangers who go on a quixotic cattle drive to Montana and the travails that follow. It sounds like a simple plot but the quest is fraught with danger and intrigue. It's a fabulous mini-series.
Dead Man's Walk and The Street of Laredo are not nearly as good as Lonesome Dove. Dead Man's Walk is the story of a much younger Gus McRae and Woodrow Call who are captured by Mexican troops and then, of course, eventually escape with a little help from a clever woman whom they help escape and some frontier smarts (as opposed to street smarts). The movie is pretty slow going and is not that good, really.
Streets of Laredo find an aging Woodrow Call called upon to chase down a young Mexican serial killer. At first it was hard to picture James Garner as Call given the fine job Tommy Lee Jone's did in Lonesome Dove. While no Tommy Lee Jones, Garner does a very good job of it. The movie is slightly above average as it reveals the weaknesses and humanity of Call.
Rating:
Summary: Truly, the stuff of legends
Review: For whatever reasons, many of those who compile a list of their favorite westerns omit this one. Perhaps because it first appeared as a mini-series on television. In any event, the omission is regrettable because (in my opinion) this film offers superior acting under Simon Wincer's capable direction, within a compelling narrative of epic scale and theme, with seamless coordination of Douglas Milsome's cinematography with Basil Poledouris' musical score. The mini-series was based on Larry McMurtry's novel, initially with a running time of 384 minutes and later reappeared in a 240-minute version now available on DVD. Either in the full or abbreviated version, it is unsurpassed by any other western and only a few come within a day's ride of it. Opinions obviously vary but I would include Shane, My Darling Clementine, The Outlaw Josey Wales, and Fort Apache among the "few" on my own list. The primary narrative involves two former, retired, elderly but still vital Texas Rangers, Woodrow F. Call (Tommy Lee Jones) and Augustus McRae (Robert Duvall), who decide to embark on one last great adventure: Accompanying about 1,000 head of cattle on a 3,000 mile drive to Montana. Of course, they require time to assemble a crew and then the herd. (In the novel, McMurtry devotes the first 85-90 pages to introducing characters, relationships, background information, current situation, issues, etc.) Call and McRae are indeed an "odd couple" and yet they now share great mutual affection and respect as well as a lengthy and colorful history, some of which is revealed in the film. The two old comrades are certainly feisty, as indicated by McRae's reaction to a discourteous bartender in San Antonio and, later, by Call's reaction to equally discourteous horse traders. They may be senior citizens but have lost little of their lethal capabilities. Space and inclination preclude identifying all of the many sub-plots, each of which is relevant to the main narrative. Two worthy of note in this brief commentary. First, Call's gradual but reluctant acceptance of son Newt (Rick Schroder), born out of wedlock to a prostitute with whom Call was briefly involved. The second focuses on Clara Allen (Anjelica Huston) with whom McRae once had a romantic relationship and of whom he remains especially fond. When he pauses to see her en route to Montana, he learns that her husband had been incapacitated (probably permanently) by an injury and Clara now manages the family's ranch while caring for her husband and raising their two daughters. McRae leaves her again, continuing on with the herd. There are so many perils along the way, several involving fatal or debilitating accidents. Many of the men are killed. It is beyond my comprehension to grasp the enormity and complexity of driving so many cattle for such a great distance under these conditions, amidst all the natural as well as human dangers. Devoting 240 or even 384 minutes suggests but hardly covers all that was involved. Nonetheless, Wincer, his cast, and his crew are to be commended for their magnificent achievement. What they had to overcome bears at least some resemblance to the epic tale they present so vividly and compellingly. While seeing Lonesome Dove again recently, observing Call and McRae's once more, I was reminded of the final lines of Tennyson's Ulysses: "Tho' much is taken, much abides; and tho'
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved heaven and earth, that which we are, we are.
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield."
Rating: 
Summary: Great movies/productions, but who's in charge of QC?
Review: Great package set, I enjoy having this set in my western collection. Only problem, as I've heard in other reviews, is the tape quality. Very poor, it's a good thing I really like the movies and got through them.
Rating:
Summary: Possibly the best western of all time!
Review: I first watched this movie when I was a young kid and fell in love with it instantly. You will never find a better western made. Even if the western movies are not your type, you will enjoy this film. Even to this day I still sit down and watch this exceptional piece of art.
Rating:
Summary: It's All About Life!
Review: I have worn out the video and just received the "Lonesome Dove" set as a gift. In fact, I've probably read Lonesome Dove twice, Streets of Laredo almost twice, Dead Man's Walk and can't wait for someone to produce Commanche Moon. The film does an excellent job of showing a lot of the "actual" things that happened in the Old West. Of course, Call and Gus's adventures would usually fill a dozen normal lifetimes. But how else could the producers give us the "feel" of what it may have been like during those years. I strongly reccommend the books to anyone who enjoys Lonesome Dove, Steets of Laredo and Dead Man's Walk. I repeat my plea "Would one of the great producers out there film Commanche Moon? That would fill out the remaining years in the Lonesome Dove saga. Lonesome Dove is great!
Rating:
Summary: The best
Review: I read the book before it became famous, i have seen the movie two or three times and have listened to the tape two or three times. This has to be Larry's greatest work. weather you read, listen or watch it--it is enjoyable. When you see it for a second time you will always see something new and differant.
Rating:
Summary: Soothed my fears
Review: I was concerned when I heard there would be a movie made of the magnificent book "Lonesome Dove". Film makers have hurt many excellent works of literature and I didn't want to see this happen to "Lonesome Dove." I not only was placated but extremely gratified to see the excellent work of Robert Duvall, Tommy Lee Jones and all concerned in the making of the movie. They enhanced the enjoyment I received from the book..now in my mind's eye, they are inseparable...literature translated perfectly to film. Thanks to all concerned.
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