Rating: 
Summary: Great cast, bad movie:
Review: I am a huge Dwight, Billy Bob & Vince fan, along with most of the cast, but this movie was bad- as if I had written & directed this movie. The story, editing, sound, music (Xylophones???), etc. This flick was even hard to watch as a joke, and believe me, I tried real hard to find something to like here. I'd have to say "Painted Cowboy," staring lead man Dwight, was a 5 star compared to this mess. I have got to cleans my mind and watch Sling Blade again, I'm giving South of Heaven, West of Hell 2 stars for the cast. Hey Dwight, I'm still going to watch your future movies, I know you are loaded with talent, so just hang in there.
Rating: 
Summary: No thanks
Review: I am reasonably intelligent and open minded (which some reviews claim are pre-requisites for enjoying this film) and I still have to give this a 1 star. Admittedly I rented this video because I am a big fan of DY's music and I do see what he was trying to go with this project. However, the constant barrage of swearing, pointless violence and slow dialog turned me off. Not sure why those elements seem to be required to make a film "artsy", but to each his own I guess.
Rating:
Summary: Nonsense.
Review: I enjoy many different types of film, given that they have some kind of plot and good character development. This film had neither. I had little or no interest in who was being injured or killed in the scenes of excessive violence. The good thing about the violence, however, is that it gave us a break from the inane dialogue. I am upset that I wasted 2 hours watching this pointless drivel.
Rating: 
Summary: With all things considered...
Review: I have to say this was Dwight's Dream come true. I have read all the customer reviews, and majority were all negative. True, Dwight is in no way to be compared with George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Ron Howard, etc.. I went to the sneak preview when it first came out. I sat in the very first row. I had to practically lay down in my seat to look up at the monstrous screen above me. With an Eye-Max feature I would be comfortable, it was very uncomfortable seating, though it was very spectacular from that point of view. Dwight had said that this is his first film, and he had always wanted to make a Western. Sure, I can say just like the others that this film had a slow beginning, scenes that you left you hanging, because it wasn't smooth enough to go from one scene to another, and to top it all off, why was Dwight wearing his favorite white boots, in a time era that didn't have those type of Western Boots? Sure, I can all those things, but then I guess everyone would of had to of been there to see an actual dream come true, and I was sitting in the front row to witness it. I still have the ticket stub to prove it. I give Dwight's film, a thumbs up.
Rating:
Summary: Beautifully photographed, that's about it...
Review: I love Dwight Yoakam's music and songwriting, he's surely one of the best singer/ songwriters out there but I think he should leave the screenwriting to professional screenwriters. This film looks beautiful, but the plot leaves a lot to be desired and the dialogue is often very dull. Dwight has some positives in this, as bad as it is. For instance, he looks great on a horse, but he looks uncomfortable in front of the camera here, which is unusual for him, given his other movies. The characters are interesting enough, but not given enough development that we can see. I don't think Dwight should give up directing entirely, but I would not recommend seeing this.
Rating:
Summary: Not From Hollywood
Review: I note that the only person who apparently liked this movie was a "reviewer" from "Hollywood". Not surprising. Probably was entered by Billy Bob. Truly this movie is a terrible waste of time and is without any redeeming qualities. I would rather watch Costner's Wyatt Earp 10 times in a row (and that movie truly [stinks] too) than watch Dwight's movie once. Perhaps it had something to do with hearing the word F*@K 200 times or seeing gore that's usually reserved for horror movies. Perhaps this movie is aimed at the 18-25 year old crowd who will actually pay money to watch mindless sex and violence for its own sake. If so, they should have had some young actors like in American Outlaws. I recently saw that movie also and laughed and had a good time. Dwight should stick to bit parts and making music. And... this is important... keeping his hat on.
Rating: 
Summary: South of Heaven, West of Hell
Review: I really enjoyed this intricate, thoughtful movie. The characters were well done, and the interplay between them was great. If you are looking for a commercial, shoot up western with lots of stars doing nothing interesting, keep looking. This movie has several great actors who give you the impression that you're stealing a glimpse into the real old west, not a movie set. Think Sling Blade - if you liked that, you'll like this.
Rating:
Summary: Wrong Lead
Review: I think this film would have worked better with more pointed editing and someone like Jeff Bridges or Ed Harris as the marshal. Superb moments are plentiful, but the overall finished product falls short of what it could have been. The various torments delivered upon Bud Cort's character become incredibly sadistic. If they and Michael Jeeter's character's mutilation are supposed to be the comic relief, it either fails miserably or else I have no sense of humor. The overall look and attitude of the film does convey a pulp western feel even in costuming. Dwight's sidekick is excellently costumed; right out of an illustration from an old Zane Grey novel. I mainly watched the movie because of Billy Bob Thornton who I consider the most interesting and best of our contemporary screen actors. Unfortunately he wasn't in it very long. If you like westerns, this film is worth seeing, but you may feel that it didn't realize its potential.
Rating: 
Summary: Hang on a minute, here. You gotta look a little closer.
Review: I waited a long time for this movie. Just knowing that Dwight would be doing the writing and directing gave me a good idea of what to expect. With a cast like Billy Bob Thornton, Vince Vaughn, Paul Reubens, and Joe Unger, I knew one thing for sure. This was not going to be the traditional western. Now there have been many bad reviews posted here saying that this film is a plotless mess and nothing more than an excess extravaganza. Well, I beg to differ. Let me back myself up here. It seems to me that Dwight has a good handle on writing and I already knew the guy could act. (anyone ever see a little ole movie called "Sling Blade"?) His directing skills were what I was most interested in seeing. The guy is a master and the sort of mad genius that people are quick to judge and not fully explore. "South of Heaven, West of Hell" is not what you see at first glance. The movie is full of hidden things and subtle innuendo. It moves along like there is no plot (there is one, but it doesn't really matter. That's not what this movie is about). It moves at an awkward, seemingly unrehearsed pace, because that's how life moves. There are no rehearsels and the hero of the film is not really a hero but he does show heroism. Yes, even he has flaws, and if anyone wants to argue, just show me one hero in real life who didn't have his own faults and personal demons. The dialogue is carefully written so that it doesn't fall into the trap of where it sounds like "written dialogue". It sounds more like you and I having an actual conversation.
South of Heaven is jammed full of oddball characters and the huge cast helps tremendously. Billy Bob Thornton plays a traveller by the name of Brigidier Smalls who has returned from the dead to help Adelyne (Bridget Fonda) get back to her hometown. His mannerisms an calm, quiet nature really creeped me out. He was very, very good in this movie. He says very little but what he says to Dwight Yoakam gives the movie a whole new supernatural dimension. I've watched "South of Heaven" four times now and I'm still not sure of what everything means. All I can say, is that if you watch this movie expecting a standard western, you are going to be very dissapointed my friend. Go watch Tombstone (not to slam that classic in any way). But if you want something intriguing,(pardon my bad spelling) and something that will challenge your intellect and make you look beneath the surface, you've found it. There is so much going on here, I wouldn't be suprised if they made a sequal. So rent it for a few days (although, you'll probably need to buy it) and dig in. The DVD is pretty cool. There is a very crisp look, the sound is dead on, and the features are nifty.
Rating:
Summary: South of Heaven, West of Hell
Review: I will be brief. If, in 50 odd years of movie watching, I have seen a worse movie, I suppressed the memory.
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