Rating: 
Summary: A four and a half hour walk seems longer
Review: Back in 1989, U.S. television audiences were treated to LONESOME DOVE, perhaps the best miniseries ever made prior to the more recent BAND OF BROTHERS. I consider LONESOME DOVE the best western ever put on film. DEAD MAN'S WALK, aired several years later, is the prequel. STREETS OF LAREDO, which has also appeared on the small screen, is the final installment. All are screen adaptations of a trilogy of books written by Larry McMurtry.The purpose of DMW, besides being a story in its own right, is to establish the characters of the young Texas Rangers, Augustus "Gus" McCrae and Woodrow Call, here played by David Arquette and Jonny Lee Miller respectively. DMW is set in 1842, and Texas is still an independent Republic. In LD, set some thirty years later, Gus and Woodrow (Robert Duvall and Tommy Lee Jones respectively), drive a cattle herd from Texas to Montana. DMW does a credible job molding the personalities of young Gus and Woodrow, whether they're beset by Commanches, Apaches, the Mexican Army, starvation, or imprisonment. Even love, for that matter. The viewer can see in them the men they're to become decades later. Whereas in LD McCrae and Call are the pre-eminent characters, in DMW the two are overshadowed by a large cast of more colorful personae. There are Shadrach (Harry Dean Stanton) and Bigfoot Walker (Keith Carradine), the grizzled mountain men. Then there's Mattie Roberts (Patricia Childress), the stout-hearted harlot nicknamed "Great Western", who accompanies the Texans' various expeditions into the hostile wilderness and, after a bath and fashion makeover, has a poignant self-revelation. F. Murray Abraham plays Caleb Cobb, a pirate turned soldier-of-fortune, who, with green parrot on his shoulder, plots the capture of Santa Fe from the Mexicans. And Lady Lucinda Carey (Haviland Morris), who, with a pet boa constrictor and a Lady Godiva-type ride, teaches Gus and Woodrow something about the nature of "wildness". DMW also introduces us to Clara (Jennifer Garner) and Maggie (Gretchen Mol), the former a shopkeeper's daughter, and the latter a working girl with a heart of gold. In LD, Clara (played there by Angelica Huston) is a major force in the film and McCrae's life. Maggie, on the other hand, has been dead several years by then, but her son, Newt, is a character perhaps third behind Gus and Woodrow. Unfortunately, DMW suffers from the comparison inevitably to be made with LD, and I'm sorry to award only three stars. LD moves along sprightly and is never dull. Its prequel makes the four and a half hour run time seem much longer. The characters expend too much effort literally walking their way into and out of tough spots. Both epics are notable for authentic period costuming and are faithful to the original novels. Unlike LD, on the other hand, the soundtrack of DMW is so nondescript that I didn't even notice it. If you're a LONESOME DOVE fan, DEAD MAN'S WALK needs to be seen for the sake of completeness. But don't expect the sublime experience provided by the former.
Rating: 
Summary: very good prequel
Review: Dead Man's Walk is a very good prequel and a fine follow-up to the classic western miniseries Lonesome Dove. This one focuses on the early days of Gus and Woodrow from Lonesome Dove and it's a good story with a fine cast which includes JEN GARNER! Great cast through and through but Keith Carradine and Harry Dean Stanton steal the show.
Rating: 
Summary: A Worthy Prequel to 'Lonesome Dove'
Review: First off, the title should tell you that the pacing and tone of this story is not swift and uplifting. It is brutal and grinding, so those who may have been expecting another LD experience were apparently disappointed. However, this is a very worthy story in its own right and is a way for us to understand the early years of Augustus McCrae and his true love, Clara Forsythe; and also the taciturn Woodrow F. Call and his relationship and feelings for Maggie. The storyline itself has already been recounted here, so no need to repeat. As far as the previous comment that the soundtrack was essentially dull and uninteresting, I disagree. I think it was beautiful. The filming was also very well done. I also think the two main stars did a creditable job in handling roles that were, let's face it, definitively portrayed by Duvall & Jones in LD. Jennifer Garner as Clara was, as always, a pleasure to behold, and certainly she helped me understand McCrae's falling head-over-heels in love with her. In many ways, I think that on the whole the main supporting cast was better than in LD. Keith Carradine, Patricia Childress, Edward James Olmos, Harry Dean Stanton and F. Murray Abraham were all outstanding. I knocked this down to 4 stars because it ain't LD, so comparatively speaking it simply could not garner 5 stars. Also, there are a couple of glaring technical errors. At the end of Disc One, when the group is leaving the burying of some of their companions and about to embark on the Dead Man's Walk, the camera is on a wide shot and you can clearly see a very large vehicle(!) moving across a roadway on the horizon. This is unforgivable. Later, while wandering in a rainstorm, the huge stage fans used to whip the rain can easily be heard. Both of these flaws are so conspicuously and outrageously bad that I'm surprised they weren't caught by the editor. All in all, though, Dead Man's Walk is a fine DVD and should be in any LD fan's collection.
Rating:
Summary: One Hell of a Nasty Walk!
Review: Gus & Call: The Early Years. This prequel to Lonesome Dove detailing some of the adventures of the young Rangers, Gus McCrae and Woodrow Call, was written by Larry McMurtry and features all of his trademark specialities: complex heroes, pitiless & mean villains, politically incorrect fierce & merciless Apaches & Comanches, a wild trek lead by a half-mad pirate (F. Murray Abraham), a motley collection of wilderness folks, wise & unruffled Scouts (Keith Carradine & Harry Dean Stanton) and a young whore with more guts and heart than most men. In short, it is a hell of a tale, well told. The cast is excellent all the way around, and the choices made for the young Woodrow Call (Johnny Lee Miller) and Gus McCrae (David Arquette) fortuitous. In Miller we see the beginnings of the stubborn iron will and dtermination of Woodrow Call, as well as his natural acceptance of responsibility and leadership. David Arquette catches the free spirit, insipient laziness and romantic dreamer in Gus. The story of an ill-fated trek to wrest Santa Fe and thereby all of New Mexico from Mexico, becomes a hellish mess as one thing after another goes wrong, not the least of which is a determined Apache, Gomez, picking them off one by one. And, there is yet a worst trek after their failure in Santa Fe, and that is the Dead Man's Walk of the title, lead by a resolute and unswayable Mexican Officer (Edward J. Olmos), with other surprises to come. If you liked Lonesome Dove, you will like this as well. If you didn't like Lonesome Dove (more's the pity on you), better give this a pass. 4-1/2 stars. Worth it.
Rating:
Summary: One Hell of a Nasty Walk!
Review: Gus & Call: The Early Years. This prequel to Lonesome Dove detailing some of the adventures of the young Rangers, Gus McCrae and Woodrow Call, was written by Larry McMurtry and features all of his trademark specialities: complex heroes, pitiless & mean villains, politically incorrect fierce & merciless Apaches & Comanches, a wild trek lead by a half-mad pirate (F. Murray Abraham), a motley collection of wilderness folks, wise & unruffled Scouts (Keith Carradine & Harry Dean Stanton) and a young whore with more guts and heart than most men. In short, it is a hell of a tale, well told. The cast is excellent all the way around, and the choices made for the young Woodrow Call (Johnny Lee Miller) and Gus McCrae (David Arquette) fortuitous. In Miller we see the beginnings of the stubborn iron will and dtermination of Woodrow Call, as well as his natural acceptance of responsibility and leadership. David Arquette catches the free spirit, insipient laziness and romantic dreamer in Gus. The story of an ill-fated trek to wrest Santa Fe and thereby all of New Mexico from Mexico, becomes a hellish mess as one thing after another goes wrong, not the least of which is a determined Apache, Gomez, picking them off one by one. And, there is yet a worst trek after their failure in Santa Fe, and that is the Dead Man's Walk of the title, lead by a resolute and unswayable Mexican Officer (Edward J. Olmos), with other surprises to come. If you liked Lonesome Dove, you will like this as well. If you didn't like Lonesome Dove (more's the pity on you), better give this a pass. 4-1/2 stars. Worth it.
Rating:
Summary: One Hell of a Nasty Walk!
Review: Gus & Call: The Early Years. This prequel to Lonesome Dove detailing some of the adventures of the young Rangers, Gus McCrae and Woodrow Call, was written by Larry McMurtry and features all of his trademark specialities: complex heroes, pitiless & mean villains, politically incorrect fierce & merciless Apaches & Comanches, a wild trek lead by a half-mad pirate (F. Murray Abraham), a motley collection of wilderness folks, wise & unruffled Scouts (Keith Carradine & Harry Dean Stanton) and a young whore with more guts and heart than most men. In short, it is a hell of a tale, well told. The cast is excellent all the way around, and the choices made for the young Woodrow Call (Johnny Lee Miller) and Gus McCrae (David Arquette) fortuitous. In Miller we see the beginnings of the stubborn iron will and dtermination of Woodrow Call, as well as his natural acceptance of responsibility and leadership. David Arquette catches the free spirit, insipient laziness and romantic dreamer in Gus. The story of an ill-fated trek to wrest Santa Fe and thereby all of New Mexico from Mexico, becomes a hellish mess as one thing after another goes wrong, not the least of which is a determined Apache, Gomez, picking them off one by one. And, there is yet a worst trek after their failure in Santa Fe, and that is the Dead Man's Walk of the title, lead by a resolute and unswayable Mexican Officer (Edward J. Olmos), with other surprises to come. If you liked Lonesome Dove, you will like this as well. If you didn't like Lonesome Dove (more's the pity on you), better give this a pass. 4-1/2 stars. Worth it.
Rating:
Summary: western saga
Review: hailed as a masterpiece by critics,lonesome dove brings to life all the magnificent drama and romance of the west.robert duvall,tommy lee jones and anjelica huston,star in the tale of two former texas rangers ,who leave the south texas town of lonesome dove on an epic 2500-mile cattle drive to the lush country of montana .lonesome dove is an authentic piece of the american west.you will also want to see return to lonesome dove,dead mans walk,and streets of laredo,these are a must for your library
Rating:
Summary: Good DVD
Review: I have already written a review on the VHS version of this great film. I will limit my remarks to the DVD version. Having totally enjoyed the film on VHS, with the exception of the poor quality video on the extended play tape, I found this DVD a refreshing improvement over the VHS. Put out by Hallmark Home Entertainment and distributed by Artisan, both the video quality and the stereo effects are high above the extended play VHS version. Even for picky viewers, this DVD is a great improvement over the VHS. This is a 2 disk film with the #2 disk being much shorter than the first. It seems there would have been plenty of space to insert more special features, something this version is certainly lacking. We only get a couple of short comments from a couple of the actors and thats about it. Even so, if you wish to buy "Dead Man's Walk," I suggest you spend the extra money for the DVD and forget about the less expensive VHS version. The video quality alone is well worth the money.
Rating:
Summary: I AM A PATRIOTIC AMERICAN...AND I LOVED THIS!
Review: I'm a patriotic American and when I saw another review saying this is "leftist" I just had to say: NONSENSE! The character's of Gus and Woodrow are younger here than in the original Lonesome Dove and they have a lot of growing still to do. That's the point! That's what makes this one interesting! This isn't political propaganda. It's an entertaining Western.
Rating:
Summary: one helluva yarn!
Review: No it ain't quite Lonesome Dove, since the characters got better with age, but taken for the prequel it is I found it to be a damn good tale.
|
