Customer Reviews

Open Range (2-Disc Collector's Edition)

5 star:		(66)
4 star:		(52)
3 star:		(21)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(18)

 

 

Open Range is truly a great western. Kevin Costner, Annette Benning, Robert Duval, Micheal Jeter & Abraham Benrubi are outstanding in this movie. There is especially great chemistry between Costner & Duval. Duval is a underated western actor in my opinion. Movie was filmed in beautiful southern Alberta & the cinematography is fantastic. There is a great shot of a group of horses in the stream that I love. The camera angle was perfect. Well worth adding to your movie collection for all you lovers of western movies.

I went into this movie hoping Kevin Costner had left the tone of his previous efforts ("The Postman", "Waterworld", "Dragonfly", etc) behind him. While this movie was directed and produced by Costner, I didn't get that same loathsome feeling(s) when the end credits were rolling. While this production was good, it still (in Costner fashion) dragged on too long. The storyline was simple - the local powers-that-be did not like the free-range grazers. The mean old sheriff and his shady crew wanted them off their land. Dirty tricks followed; men were killed; and revenge was sought after. The good guys wore light colors. The bad guys wore dark. The gun fights were above average, and the first angry shot fired (in the bar) rocked the camera - at least it felt like it did. Robert Duvall (as Boss) played his part perfectly. "Boss" was easily the most likeable and fitting character. I couldn't picture anyone else playing the part except for "Mr. Lonesome Dove" himself. Costner was good, but a bit too cold and his lines seemed to be read, as opposed to being heartfelt (tough to do with a bad seed like Charley I suppose). A very supportive Annette Bening was wonderful as Sue, the Dr's sister. She was warm and caring throughout the picture. The scenery was magnificent. The horses were beautiful and well-groomed. The set up (props) of the town was believeable. The flaws were in Costner's delivery of some of his lines, little or no soundtrack to speak of, and the lack of much of anything going on in the first 90 minutes of this film. Some will say this is character and plot development. I would agree to an extent, but you don't have to waste the viewers time doing it. A good western is hard to come by, and this one will get my two thumbs up... but, by no means does it fall into the "classic" category. Beware, "Open Range" is good, but it's no "Butch Cassidy", "Pale Rider", "Tombstone", "Man From Snowy River", "Big Jake", "Nevada Smith", "Lonesome Dove", etc. The DVD is a 2-disc set with director's commentary, director's journal, deleted scenes, and a historic featurette. Questionable as to whether or not this could have been a desireable single disc... but knowing Costner and his crew, they probably wanted the double-disc tag (and the price to go with it). I was fully expecting "Open Range" to exceed the 3 hour mark (as most Costner movies do), maybe that's the problem... another 30-60 minutes of action might have helped. This movie was good, but I was left wanting and expecting more.

This is a really entertaining film. The first time I caught it on a movie channel I couldn't pull myself away from the television. The classic struggle between good men and evil men forms a good foundation for the plot of this movie. There is no question about who is right, who is wrong and what needs to be done about it. Costner and Duvall do a great job playing the roles of honest, hard-working men who are just trying to make their way in the world and live by a simple code of honour that most of us can understand and appreciate. Apart from Eastwood's Unforgiven, this is the best western I've seen in recent years.

Love westerns and Robert Duvall in particular. Kevin Costner gives a more wooden performance than usual but the scenery is truly awesome and you really get a feel for how the west was in these days. Worth watching although I recommend Duvall in Lonesome Dove and Costner in Dances with Wolves.

Great movie. Can't complain about the thespians or the panoramic camera work. This belongs in the Western movie benchmarks.

What bothered me about this dvd was the disk itself. This was the second disk purchased from two different stores which had the exact same problem.

The movie 'freezes' for a second a couple of times. I'll keep it until the blu-ray version comes out.

If that doesn't bother you then buy it. You will not be disappointed if you a true cowboy.

First,I agree that Robert Duvall's coment about Canada was ignorant because the reason American actors are brought up for some Canadian productions is not because Canadian actors have no talent,it's because they want to appeal to American audiences as well and what better way to do it.Canadian actors can't be that bad since there are tons of them working in the U.S. on American films and they don't complain about having to work down there.There are good and bad films in both countries.If Duvall prefers to work in his own country then he should quit doing films up here and either quit auditioning for them or tell his agent not to send him any.Open range is a good movie.I saw it for the first time last night and even though I don't like westerns all that much I liked open range and it was very well acted.It was an easy story to follow and a different genre for me because I often watch suspense and horror films.I haven't seen unforgiven yet so I can't compare the 2 of them but I will check it out next.

No Canadian should watch this film after the derogatory comments Duval made about Canada and Canadian actors.

Kevin Costner has brought the simplicity of an old western movie into a new age and done a fantastic job, both as an actor and as director.

The storyline for this film is a bit bland and basic but the intensity of acting and the scenery make up for the lack of substance in the story. "Open Range" takes you into a real western setting where one could see for miles and miles only what God made and be humbled by it. The gunfight is fantastic and so much more than any found in the good old western movies.

Robert Duvall is perfect as Boss, an old grubby cowboy with heart. Opposite Duvall you would think Costner would pale in comparision but he fits in almost as perfectly as a man with a mystery past. Annette Bening is subtle in her role, as a doctor's sister, but no less important to the film as Costner and Duvall. But the most impressive character in this film is by far the western scenery and the reality of nature's wrath out in the open range of 1882.

Two veteran free-range cattlemen (Kevin Costner and the incomparable Robert Duvall) must enter hostile territory to get medical attention for the wounded boy who works for them (Diego Luna). The town is under the thumb of an unscrupulous cattle baron who despises free-rangers and has no compunctions about killing them (Michael Gambon). This is a classic Western in which the two protagonists are compelled by their moral code to face danger instead of retreating from it. Costner and Duvall have magnificent chemistry in this film--Duvall as the moral conscience of the pair, and Costner as the former killer who is haunted by his past and longs to be able to see himself as a good man. Although director Costner has had a somewhat checkered career, he demonstrates here that he is a man with true talent. The final gunfight is a real highlight and not to be missed.

Kevin Costner knows a thing or two about westerns and he proved it early in his career in "Silverado", then later as a director in "Dances with Wolves". In "Open Range" he makes a smart move pairing himself opposite Robert Duvall who wisely reincarnates his performance as Augustus McRae from "Lonesome Dove". There is no one of his generation who acts as well beneath a cowboy hat, and the movie would have been weaker with any other casting choice.

There is much made of the Western as an art form. The "Classic American Western" has reached as far as Italy and Japan with Sergio Leone and Kurosawa making films clearly imprinted with the stamp of John Ford. It's difficult to say why the Western is so enduring, or at least so revivable, but I have a theory. There's something about a couple of adversaries facing each other out in a dusty street where frontier justice can be dispensed with a Colt revolver. The genre if replete with examples (High Noon, Unforgiven, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and I'll stop there since I'm using up space, but you get the idea...) Anyway, Costner understands it too, and this movie tells a good tale while staying true to the form of the genre. It trots out a good half-dozen western cliche's such as the greedy cattle baron who doesn't wan't any stinkin' free-rangers out on his prairie. It's hard to not like a movie that pays such tribute to the giants that preceded it, and does it so well.