My dad who is an aficionado of the Wild West gave me a loan of the first series of DEADWOOD on DVD which I enjoyed immensely . He then gave me a loan of LONESOME DOVE a series that I had heard great things about but I had never seen mainly because I'm not much of a fan of the Western genre . Great things ? Just look at this page to see the reviews or the fact that this series has an average rating of 9.1 , I think only BAND OF BROTHERS has a better rating on this site . So over two consecutive nights I watched the series and have to confess I was slightly disappointed mainly down to the story and production values
The story rambles around with a lack of focus . The central plot itself revolves around two Texas Rangers Gus McCrae and Woodrow Call who decide to move cattle all the way from Texas up to Montana which has all the making of an epic journey , but we're then introduced to countless characters who flit in and out of the story many of who are killed off which left me wondering why they were included in the first place . If JRR Tolkien had been a fan of the Wild West this is how LORD OF THE RINGS may have ended up looking like ! I was also confused as to what sort of audience the producers had in mind since McCrae and Call leave Lonesome Dove with a couple of friendly pigs in tow , ala a Walt Disney family adventure then later on we're treated to some very cold blooded killings . At least DEADWOOD knows it's for adults only but LONESOME DOVE mixes violence with sugary sentimentality which gives it a jarring quality
As for the production values it suffers from one of those made for television feelings with scenes having the camera locked onto a medium shot far too many times . Director Simon Wincer should be excused much of the blame since he's almost working on a tight budget and he does try but unfortunately when he tries to film a beautiful breath taking scene like McCrae's riding over the crest of the hill pursued by Indians you notice the scene doesn't really come across as cinematic . About the only scene where everything does come together in a visual sense is the final scene right at the end
If it wasn't for the cast I would have certainly struggled with this because the cast are by far the best thing . Never mind Pacino and DeNiro , Robert Duvall is the greatest living American character actor alive today and once again he gives a greatly understated and consistent performance as Gus McCrae while Tommy Lee Jones ( An actor who can be very uneven ) gives one of his career best performances . Mention must go to many of the other cast members like eternal good guy Robert Urich being cast very much against type , DB Sweeney whose character is in love with a prostitute and most especially the then unknown Chris Cooper who gives a truly haunting performance as former lawman July Johnson . I wasn't too impressed with Frederic Forrest though since I don't think he made a convincing Indian and having a character who conjures up images of Donald Duck doesn't help at all
So as it stands the cast save LONESOME DOVE for the casual viewer , but it's almost certainly a mini series that will appeal to Western fans than to casual viewers and I'm looking forward to seeing the second series of DEADWOOD more than I am to RETURN TO LONESOME DOVE
The story rambles around with a lack of focus . The central plot itself revolves around two Texas Rangers Gus McCrae and Woodrow Call who decide to move cattle all the way from Texas up to Montana which has all the making of an epic journey , but we're then introduced to countless characters who flit in and out of the story many of who are killed off which left me wondering why they were included in the first place . If JRR Tolkien had been a fan of the Wild West this is how LORD OF THE RINGS may have ended up looking like ! I was also confused as to what sort of audience the producers had in mind since McCrae and Call leave Lonesome Dove with a couple of friendly pigs in tow , ala a Walt Disney family adventure then later on we're treated to some very cold blooded killings . At least DEADWOOD knows it's for adults only but LONESOME DOVE mixes violence with sugary sentimentality which gives it a jarring quality
As for the production values it suffers from one of those made for television feelings with scenes having the camera locked onto a medium shot far too many times . Director Simon Wincer should be excused much of the blame since he's almost working on a tight budget and he does try but unfortunately when he tries to film a beautiful breath taking scene like McCrae's riding over the crest of the hill pursued by Indians you notice the scene doesn't really come across as cinematic . About the only scene where everything does come together in a visual sense is the final scene right at the end
If it wasn't for the cast I would have certainly struggled with this because the cast are by far the best thing . Never mind Pacino and DeNiro , Robert Duvall is the greatest living American character actor alive today and once again he gives a greatly understated and consistent performance as Gus McCrae while Tommy Lee Jones ( An actor who can be very uneven ) gives one of his career best performances . Mention must go to many of the other cast members like eternal good guy Robert Urich being cast very much against type , DB Sweeney whose character is in love with a prostitute and most especially the then unknown Chris Cooper who gives a truly haunting performance as former lawman July Johnson . I wasn't too impressed with Frederic Forrest though since I don't think he made a convincing Indian and having a character who conjures up images of Donald Duck doesn't help at all
So as it stands the cast save LONESOME DOVE for the casual viewer , but it's almost certainly a mini series that will appeal to Western fans than to casual viewers and I'm looking forward to seeing the second series of DEADWOOD more than I am to RETURN TO LONESOME DOVE