Open Range (2003)
No place to run. No reason to hide.
Starring: Robert Duvall, Kevin Costner, Annette Bening, Michael Gambon, Michael Jeter, Diego Luna, James Russo, Abraham Benrubi, Dean McDermott, Kim Coates, Herb Kohler, Peter MacNeill, Cliff Saunders, Patricia Stutz, Julian Richings
Director: Kevin Costner
Running Time: 139 minutes
US MPAA rating: RUK BBFC rating: 12a
Drama, Western
On DVD Kevin Costner likes an overly-long western - we've all worked that out by now. In fact, he likes an overly-long western almost as much as he likes post-apocalyptic dross. So it's no major shockerooney that 'Open Range', his fourth and most recent attempt at mastering this director's chair malarkey (if you count his uncredited work on 'Waterworld'), is a bloated, two-hour-plus cowboy movie.
It's the wild wild west, and chewed-up free-grazing cow-pokes Boss Spearman (Robert Duvall) and Charley Waite (Costner) find themselves on the wrong side of crooked rancher Denton Baxter (Michael Gambon) when their herd of milkers winds up on his land. Before long Baxter and an equally-bent sheriff (James Russo) are up to all sorts of dirty tricks in an attempt to drive this couple of wrinklies out of the vicinity - and it looks like our weather-beaten heroes will need to start taking the law into their own hands if there's to be any justice in these here parts.
It's a decent enough story, and it's padded out by a believable if uninspiring romance between Costner and the customary local singleton (played with a look of slight boredom by Annette Bening). But why Cozzers forces the thing to drag on for quite so long is simply beyond this critic's comprehension. It moves at a snail's pace, and suffers from total overkill on the emotional speech front (I lost count of the number of times the camera gradually moved on Duvall as he recited yet ANOTHER piece of sagely advice about the true meaning of friendship or the love of a good woman) What should have been a reasonably entertaining western with some nice scenery and a decent shoot-out climax turns into nothing more than a complete and utter chore to watch.
DVD Extras: A documentary on 'America's Open Range', some deleted scenes, a featurette on the process of storyboarding, and a music vid called 'Broken Wagon'.
It's Got: Melted chocolate, and some subliminal confectionary in the form of a lead character who's name sounds a bit like "spearmint."
It Needs: Wagon Wheels (the jammy ones are best).
Alternatives: Dances With Wolves, The Missing
Summary: Proof, if ever it was required, that the Ol' West did indeed stretch on… and on… and on… and on…
Review by Gary Panton
External Links
Official Web Site
Open Range at the IMDB
Comments5 Comments |
| Hi...My name is Mia.My daughter Alexis is 7 and is very much fond of Abraham Benrubi(Jerry).She loves him on "ER".Her dream is too meet him in person or have a picture of him.She doesn't see him on tv as much because she has leukemia and is in and out of the Hospital @ St.Jude's in Tenn.She and I compute alot back and forth.In all reality I realize she will never meet him.But I did tell her that I would try and e-mail someone and get something for her.Her cancer came back a mth.ago and her B-day was this past Monday. I'm not sure if you can help me or somehow if there is a way too e-mail him. Thank you, Mia |
| Comment by:- Mia White | Ednamwhi | 26 August 2004 | ip: logged |
| Hi...My name is Mia.My daughter Alexis is 7 and is very much fond of Abraham Benrubi(Jerry).She loves him on "ER".Her dream is too meet him in person or have a picture of him.She doesn't see him on tv as much because she has leukemia and is in and out of the Hospital @ St.Jude's in Tenn.She and I compute alot back and forth.In all reality I realize she will never meet him.But I did tell her that I would try and e-mail someone and get something for her.Her cancer came back a mth.ago and her B-day was this past Monday. I'm not sure if you can help me or somehow if there is a way too e-mail him. Thank you, Mia |
| Comment by:- Mia White | Ednamwhi | 26 August 2004 | ip: logged |
| Hi...My name is Mia.My daughter Alexis is 7 and is very much fond of Abraham Benrubi(Jerry).She loves him on "ER".Her dream is too meet him in person or have a picture of him.She doesn't see him on tv as much because she has leukemia and is in and out of the Hospital @ St.Jude's in Tenn.She and I compute alot back and forth.In all reality I realize she will never meet him.But I did tell her that I would try and e-mail someone and get something for her.Her cancer came back a mth.ago and her B-day was this past Monday. I'm not sure if you can help me or somehow if there is a way too e-mail him. Thank you, Mia |
| Comment by:- Mia White | Ednamwhi | 26 August 2004 | ip: logged |
| One of the best modern Westerns, Open Range is Kevin Costner and Robert Duvall at their best. If you like John Wayne or films in general that deal with the Old West, then you'll love Open Range... |
| Comment by:- gilletbd1977 | www.thedvdreport.com/dvd_revie... | 04 February 2005 | ip: logged |
| I disagree whole-heartedly with the reviewer. This is easily the best western movie in decades (save Eastwood's Unforgiven). I agree it is slow-going, but one is never bored throughout the movie and the ending gun fight is amazing. My buddy and I went to see this in the theatres and took our girlfriends, needless to say, they had zero interest in watching this movie going in to the theatre. When we came out, they both went 180 degrees on it and admitted they enjoyed the movie very much (a better praise to a movie I can't imagine -- especially considering my girlfriend falls asleep through 75% of movies she wants to see, and she stayed awake for this whole film). The romance in this movie is also very well done (not cheesy it all). If you like westerns, this movie is a must, if you don't, then I urge you to watch this film as it may change your perspective. |
| Comment by:- j0sepac0 | | 07 February 2005 | ip: logged |
