Rating: 
Summary: One masterpiece, one average, one mediocre.
Review: LONESOME DOVE ~ This may be the greatest movie ever made. Both Robert Duvall and Tommy Lee Jones give the performances of their careers as retired U.S. Marshals Gus McRae and Woodrow Call, and the rest of the star-studded cast shine, as well. The unique scenery of the film is absolutely breathtaking to behold. And the music . . . . . . . Basil Poledouris composes what may very well be the greatest film score of all time!! (In my opinion, the works of Mozart and Beethoven don't compare to this!) Director Simon Wincer went on to helm such fantastic Westerns as QUIGLEY DOWN UNDER, CROSSFIRE TRAIL, and MONTE WALSH. I could go on forever praising this gem of a film, but there are two other movies to review. So I'll sum it up in four words: sheer and utter perfection.STREETS OF LAREDO ~ Though it can't possibly compare to it's predecessor, this makes for enjoyable Western fare. James Garner does a great job as Captain Call, though he can't quite fill in Tommy Lee Jones' shoes. The cast is above average here, too: Sam Shepard is awesome as Pee-Eye, and no matter how brief Randy Quaid's screen time, you can't take your eyes off him. However, I found Sissy Spacek to be whiney and quite annoying. I just recently found a similarity between this and the first film, plotwise: both update old, cliched Western plots (the cattle-drive in LONESOME DOVE and the bounty-hunter-gone-after-vicious-killer here) and update them with fine form. But this sequal doesn't do it nearly as well as the first. Oh, and that whole relationship between Call and that little girl was just weird and extremely out of place. DEAD MAN'S WALK ~ Here's an idea: make a prequal to the Emmy Award-winning LONESOME DOVE. While this may work on paper, it doesn't on film. Mainly because you'd have to find actors who could successfully portray younger versions of Robert Duvall and Tommy Lee Jones. David Arquette and Johnny Lee Millar just can't do that. While their performances are decent, you just can't manage to firmly believe that these two boys are Gus McRae and Woodrow Call. And who the hell made the casting decision for the younger Clara (excellently played by Angelica Huston in the first film)? She ... like few actors I have ever had to watch. Funny, though; all the lead actors are sub-par, but the supporting cast rules; F. Murray Abraham, Brian Dennehy (who is killed off far, far too quickly), and Edward James Olmos included. Though the music in this movie is good, it feels out of place. But by far the worst thing about this film is the ending; the last twenty minutes may be the most godawful I have ever seen. It totally ruins the whole dramatic impact of the actual Dead Man's Walk scene that takes place before it. This scene is without a doubt the best part of the movie, and is one of the best, most powerful I've ever seen. They should've just ended the movie after this scene, right before that final twenty minutes or so. It would've been a much better movie. In the end, it might be a good idea to just pick up a copy of LONESOME DOVE (be sure to buy the two-disc edition, which has far better picture quality than the single-disc flipper) rather than this entire boxed set. On the other hand, it looks great on your shelf, and comes with a free copy of the soundtrack to LONESOME DOVE. LONESOME DOVE: * * * * *
STREETS OF LAREDO: * * * 1/2
DEAD MAN'S WALK: * * 1/2
Rating:
Summary: One masterpiece, one average, one mediocre.
Review: LONESOME DOVE ~ This may be the greatest movie ever made. Both Robert Duvall and Tommy Lee Jones give the performances of their careers as retired U.S. Marshals Gus McRae and Woodrow Call, and the rest of the star-studded cast shine, as well. The unique scenery of the film is absolutely breathtaking to behold. And the music . . . . . . . Basil Poledouris composes what may very well be the greatest film score of all time!! (In my opinion, the works of Mozart and Beethoven don't compare to this!) Director Simon Wincer went on to helm such fantastic Westerns as QUIGLEY DOWN UNDER, CROSSFIRE TRAIL, and MONTE WALSH. I could go on forever praising this gem of a film, but there are two other movies to review. So I'll sum it up in four words: sheer and utter perfection. STREETS OF LAREDO ~ Though it can't possibly compare to it's predecessor, this makes for enjoyable Western fare. James Garner does a great job as Captain Call, though he can't quite fill in Tommy Lee Jones' shoes. The cast is above average here, too: Sam Shepard is awesome as Pee-Eye, and no matter how brief Randy Quaid's screen time, you can't take your eyes off him. However, I found Sissy Spacek to be whiney and quite annoying. I just recently found a similarity between this and the first film, plotwise: both update old, cliched Western plots (the cattle-drive in LONESOME DOVE and the bounty-hunter-gone-after-vicious-killer here) and update them with fine form. But this sequal doesn't do it nearly as well as the first. Oh, and that whole relationship between Call and that little girl was just weird and extremely out of place. DEAD MAN'S WALK ~ Here's an idea: make a prequal to the Emmy Award-winning LONESOME DOVE. While this may work on paper, it doesn't on film. Mainly because you'd have to find actors who could successfully portray younger versions of Robert Duvall and Tommy Lee Jones. David Arquette and Johnny Lee Millar just can't do that. While their performances are decent, you just can't manage to firmly believe that these two boys are Gus McRae and Woodrow Call. And who the hell made the casting decision for the younger Clara (excellently played by Angelica Huston in the first film)? She ... like few actors I have ever had to watch. Funny, though; all the lead actors are sub-par, but the supporting cast rules; F. Murray Abraham, Brian Dennehy (who is killed off far, far too quickly), and Edward James Olmos included. Though the music in this movie is good, it feels out of place. But by far the worst thing about this film is the ending; the last twenty minutes may be the most godawful I have ever seen. It totally ruins the whole dramatic impact of the actual Dead Man's Walk scene that takes place before it. This scene is without a doubt the best part of the movie, and is one of the best, most powerful I've ever seen. They should've just ended the movie after this scene, right before that final twenty minutes or so. It would've been a much better movie. In the end, it might be a good idea to just pick up a copy of LONESOME DOVE (be sure to buy the two-disc edition, which has far better picture quality than the single-disc flipper) rather than this entire boxed set. On the other hand, it looks great on your shelf, and comes with a free copy of the soundtrack to LONESOME DOVE. LONESOME DOVE: * * * * *
STREETS OF LAREDO: * * * 1/2
DEAD MAN'S WALK: * * 1/2
Rating: 
Summary: The best movie ever. Has no political or social message.
Review: Most enjoyable movie I have seen in my fifty-six years. The story & characters are so believable and interesting. It is without a social message, which is rare today, maybe thats why it come out so wonderful. The mojority of my collection is non-western, but this is my favorite.
Rating:
Summary: One of the greatest westerns I've ever seen!
Review: My husband and I both loved this movie so much we decided to add the box set to our small but select collection immediately! The characters are real and personal; The action is quick paced; The plots (as there are many intertwined) are believable and captivating. I have seen and enjoyed many westerns, old and new, and this may be my all time favorite. Definitely in the top three! A must see!
Rating:
Summary: GREAT WESTERN DVDS!
Review: My only complaint is that Return To Lonesome Dove should have been included. Yes I now it's not based on a McMurty book but Larry was a consultant on the movie and approved it and it's a good Western yarn. Luckily Return is available by itself through Amazon on DVD so I'm happy. I'm pleased too that Lonesome Dove: The Series and it's sequel series Lonesome Dove: The Outlaw Years are also both available in DVD sets too! I greatly enjoy all of these Lonesome Dove mini series and series and am delighted they are now all on DVD.
Rating:
Summary: 240 minutes??? This ia a joke.
Review: My wife and I sat down to watch Lonesome Dove the other night at 7:30 pm. With two short breaks, we finished up at almost 2:00 am. The time on the box states "240 minutes". Now, I am not a math whiz, but I think that comes out to 4 hours doesn't it? It was more like 6 hours. That in itself is a testament to how good this movie is. My wife usually nods off after about an hour of ANY movie. She stayed awake the entire time for this one! I love westerns when they are realistic. To me, this series does not try to sugar coat anything, It also does not have any of the "cutesy" stuff that the John Wayne westerns have. When these guys decide to go somewhere, it is not just a few hours ride, it is days or weeks before they get there. That was the real west folks. Thre weren't many towns close enough to ride to in a few hours. And if you DID make the trip, you stood the chance of getting robbed or killed. This is the absolute BEST western series/movie I have ever seen. I highly recommend it to ANYONE who likes westerns.
Rating:
Summary: The Greatest-Bar None!
Review: Never was there such perfect casting-the actors were custom-made for their roles. Robert Duvall has to be the sexiest old cowboy ever filmed. This is a story with everything-friendship, adventure, loyalty, and love. I'll never tire of watching it, and I'll always cry at the same wonderful scenes. A classic.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome
Review: No doubt the best, most authentic, most realistic, most convincing western film I have ever seen in my 62 years of life. Going back that far, thats a lot of westerns under my belt. I don't know where the Texas scenes were filmed, but being born and raised among the mesquite and cactus of South Texas, I can tell you that it seemed they filmed the scenes on my grandfather's land. Great performances by everybody involved, especially Robert Duval and Tommy Lee Jones. Ricky Schroder was awesome in his character, as usual. So, if you want to be entertained by a group of professionals doing their job well on a great script, you must get this film, I highly recommend it.
Rating: 
Summary: Dead Mans Walk
Review: One of the worst movies I have seen. Terrible acting, terrible dialogue, terrible story line. This movie is just a bad....bad...bad. It should not be included in box set, its a rip off
Rating: 
Summary: Fantastic movies, but poor bonus material
Review: Really, I love this saga. It's worth even more than just five stars - nothing left to say about the essential fun for a Western fan. BUT: Why, the hell, did the producers not include some really striking bonus material? The interviews with McMurtry and the producer are poor. Most of the cast still is alive, Simon Wincer is, Basil Poledouris is great in explaining how he composed the score (just watch Conan - The Destroyer). I simply cannot understand why this opportunity to enrich the DVD features was not taken serious. That's why I only grant 4 stars. Therefore, people at Hallmark Home Entertainment, have a look at DVDs such as the "Horatio Hornblower"-series, "Gladiator" or "Patriot". You should learn from them!
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