Open Range [HD]

Gus is back!
For those viewers who fondly remember, and miss, Robert Duvall's role as Augustus McCrae in the 1989 TV miniseries LONESOME DOVE, take heart. Duvall is back in the saddle again as "Boss" Spearman in OPEN RANGE. It's been way too long.

The lead role in this western actually belongs to Kevin Costner, who plays Spearman's trail partner and employee, Charlie Waite. Boss is a cattleman that practices free-range grazing, i.e. driving his herd from place to place, only staying long enough for the animals to deplete the available food supply. But it's 1882, ranchers are beginning to fence in the West, and freegrazers are an endangered species. So, its no surprise when Charlie and Boss are ordered to take their beeves and get out of Dodge, so to speak, by big time rancher Baxter (Michael Gambon), who also owns the local town and its sheriff. Waite and Spearman are soon backed into a corner when the latter's two other hired hands, Mose (Abraham Benrubi) and Button (Diego Luna), run...

OPEN RANGE--A Hopeful Revival For The Western
For all the hits and misses he has had in front of and behind the camera, Kevin Costner never fails to put his money where his mouth is. Such is the case with OPEN RANGE, which I hope will revive that most American of film genres, the Western.

Set in 1882, OPEN RANGE stars Costner and veteran Robert Duvall as cattlemen only trying to drive their cattle across the open prairie of Montana. But they soon run afoul of a ruthless land baron (Michael Gambon) out to rid the land of free-grazers like Duvall and Costner; and to prove his point, Gambon has one of Duvall's men (Abraham Benrubi) killed and another (Diego Luna) seriously wounded. The stage is set for a traditional but classic shoot-out to the finish.

If not on the epic level of Costner's 1990 Oscar-winner DANCES WITH WOLVES, or the standards set by people like Clint Eastwood, John Ford, Howard Hawks, or Sam Peckinpah, OPEN RANGE nevertheless demonstrates Costner's comfortability with the Western. His is a determined...

"Open Range" is Good Entertainment
As a long time fan of western movies, I eagerly look forward to new western releases. When I viewed the trailer for "Open Range", and saw that it had Robert Duval and Kevin Costner, I had very high hopes, as both actors have 5-star classic western movies under their belts (Lonesome Dove, and Dances With Wolves respectively). I am pleased that "Open Range" continues the tradition of quality modern western fare. Although certainly, not a "classic" western (thus my 4-star ranking instead of 5-star), "Open Range" still pleases with good character development, an interesting plot with a huge shoot-out, excellent acting, and a love story (for the wives and girlfriends of the men who primarily make up the western movie-going crowd!)

The movie boasts beautiful scenery shots that literally take your breath away, although these are best appreciated on the big screen of a movie theatre than one's tv set. Even so, the cinematography is gorgeous and the western town of Harmonville is...

Click to Editorial Reviews