... A while back, I had seen 'Open Range' for sale in a Virgin outlet store for £2, and thought 'Why not?' Deciding I was in the mood for a Western, I popped it in the DVD player and sat back, wondering how long I would last before getting bored. Yet I was surprised to find myself, half an hour ... Read review
Released almost exactly 11 years after Clint Eastwood'sUnforgiven, Kevin Costner'sOpen ... more
Rangeproved yet again that the Western is the classic American genre. Costner's first film since 1997's ill-fatedThe Postmanreturns the actor/director ofDances With ...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Released almost exactly 11 years after Clint Eastwood'sUnforgiven, Kevin Costner'sOpen ... more
Rangeproved yet again that the Western is the classic American genre. Costner's first film since 1997's ill-fatedThe Postmanreturns the actor/director ofDances With ...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Four cowboys, trying to escape their pasts, are driving cattle and living off the land on ... more
the open range - free grazing outside of the law. When ruthless, evil rancher Denton Baxtor (Michael Gambon) tries to run them out of town, the men's peaceful exi...
Academy-Award'‚ winning director Kevin Costner ("Dances with Wolves") helms this ... more
traditional Western tale of a way of life that is quickly disappearing. Boss Spearman (Duvall) Charley Waite (Costner) Mose Harrison (Benrubi) and "Button" (Luna) freegr...
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A group of men looking for peace and quiet, and an escape from their past lives as gunmen, ... more
drive a herd of cattle across the plains. When their paths cross a big-shot local rancher known as Denton Baxtor, the past catches up with the former cowboys and they find themselves taking part in a gunfight for justice.
Advantages: Greatactingsanddirecting Disadvantages: Very long, simple plot
...review, I would say that Open Range is a recommendable film, with great directing and acting. The plot is not overly complicated, rather simple, in fact, and follows many other films with a similar plotline. This does not stop the film being good, but limits its potential, as the combination of cinematography, directing and poignant acting is smooth, and you feel they could have given more with a more adventurous tale. Be prepared to settle in for ... more
The other night I put my feet up with a good bottle of wine and scoured my DVD collection for something I was in the mood for. A while back, I had seen 'Open Range' for sale in a Virgin outlet store for £2, and thought 'Why not?' Deciding I was in the mood for a Western, I popped it in the DVD player and sat back, wondering how long I would last before getting bored. Yet I was surprised to find myself, half an hour later, on the edge of my seat, following a good plotline and some brilliant acting.
Brief Overview
'Open Range' is the tale of a group of free grazing cattle owners. It has Kevin Costner and Robert Duvall as the billing leads, with a host of recognisables in the support cast, including Annette Benning and Michael Gambon.
The Plot
Four free grazers, including Charley Waite (Costner) and Boss Spearman (Duvall), come across rather hostile aggression from rancher Denton Baxter (Gambon) when they arrive at the town of Harmonville. Baxter has the town sheriff in his pocket, and this partnership threatens their very existence. The free grazers encounter some sympathetic townsfolk including Sue (Benning) who are naturally too fearful to confront this corruption, and thus ensues an exchange of threats. The intensity heightens through the film, leading to the final gunfight which struck me as incredibly cold.
The Performance
Costner also directs the film, and does so very well. The film has a wide variety of elements, including traditional Western attributes such as the obligatory gunfight, and wonderfully poignant acting from the two male leads throughout the film. It is a very believable tale, which is very important in my view when it comes to a good Western, and there is no ham acting. Michael Gambon is brilliantly repulsive as the villain, and Costner's ex-gun-for-hire performance is as good as most he has produced in his extensive film career. But it is the direction which won the film for me. The story flowed very well in a relaxed way, seeming to not rush itself, and the panoramic views of the countryside mixed with the drenched and dusty town provide a wonderful constrast in cinematography. Costner seems to be sending a message of personal rights and people being treated equally.
Criticism
If I were to have one criticism, it is that the film is very long. At 2 hours 13 minutes, it is longer than I care to watch a film for, and you get the impression halfway through that things are drawing to a close. Then the film gets its second wind, and does speed through to the end. I did have to have a break in watching. Unfortunately, it was too long for one sitting for me. I also felt that the story kind of limited the performances. I felt the cast had more to give.
Summary
To conclude my review, I would say that Open Range is a recommendable film, with great directing and acting. The plot is not overly complicated, rather simple, in fact, and follows many other films with a similar plotline. This does not stop the film being good, but limits its potential, as the combination of cinematography, directing and poignant acting is smooth, and you feel they could have given more with a more adventurous tale. Be prepared to settle in for a while with the length of the film, but it does not bore unless you can't sit still for over two hours like me! At the price of £2, this was a bargain buy for me! Give it a go. I'm glad I did.
Advantages: Modern film techniques help bring added realism. Disadvantages: No big cowboys and Indian battles.
...their two helpers) who use open land to graze there herd. After pleasantly doing this for some time, they come to a town (with a particularly bad landowner, Michael Gambon) which doesn't want them using 'their' land for grazing. Costner and Duvall disagree about this and a showdown ensues with the town’s bad-folk; Gambon and the corrupted Sheriff. Bad things are done by both sides in the coming dispute and fights, but Costner/Duvall seize the moral ... ...democratic rights, forget about American Indian rights here. On top of this there is a deeper moral question which the town’s doc and nurse(who is akin to Dr. Quinn) pose in that violence doesn't solve anything. In the end however it does, the baddies are killed (not without a few innocent folk being injured and frightened and 'dumb' henchmen being shot without any persuasion to turn to the 'good' side) ,Costner falls in love with the nurse (Dr Quinn) ...
Puma1000 11.12.2004
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Open Range (DVD)
Advantages: Costner, great story, very well acted Disadvantages: May be too long for some
Open Range is another of my bargain buys and this time I was very impressed, not only with the fact that Kevin Costner is in the film but it was also a good film to watch. The film stars Boss, played by Robert Duval, Charlie, played by Kevin Costner, Buttons and Mose who are free grazers and spend their time travelling around letting their cattle graze off other peoples land. When they arrive in a particular town the trouble starts. Boss sends Mose ... ...includes:-
Audio Commentary
America's Open Range - A Historical journey back in time to the real open range of the 1800's narrated by Kevin Costner
Deleted Scenes - With Introductions by Kevin Costner
Storyboard: Open Range
Music Video Montage
The running time of the features is approximately 58 minutes. My husband did sit and watch all of these as he is interested in history but I found them to be a bit boring after watching such a good action ...
sewbizzie 28.10.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Open Range (DVD)
Advantages: Duvall is great and the scenery is breathtaking Disadvantages: Gambon & Benning's Characters
...didn't need explaining
America's open range - a historical journey back in time to the real open range of the 1880's, narrated again by Costner. This was interesting and informative if a little short.
Deleted scenes again with Costner (he really does like the sound of his own voice)
Storyboarding: open range
Music Video Montage
Technical Information - Running time: 133 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 2.35 anamorphic wide screen
Subtitles: English only
...
Jamesconnolly75 11.05.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Open Range (DVD)
Advantages: Seemed very authentic Disadvantages: A bit slow
...who drive their cattle over open country and let them feed where ever they wish).
Things get very hairy when one of the free rangers is killed and another wounded badly. Costner and Robert Duvall are out for vengence on the Marshall and the Ranch owner.
The acting in this film is magnificent and Kevin Costner and Robert Duvall play off each other very nicely.
This is not an action film at all, it's a drama with some action and romance thrown in, ... ...the sets in the film seem very authentic, everything looks gritty, muddy and dirty. The gunfights are rather realistic too, people shooting at each other with revolvers and missing most of the time (as they were very inacurate weapons at anything more than about twenty feet)
All in all I enjoyed the film though like a lot of Costner films I found it went on a bit too long as it neared the end, still very good though.
The special features on the ...
rocksthatkill 20.11.2004
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Open Range (DVD)
Advantages: Easy to follow and great acting Disadvantages: gun fight could have been more realistic
This movie reminded me off the old fashioned westerns of yesteryear.
It starts off with 4 cowboys driving their herd to market and the troubles that they encounter on route. Robert Duvall plays Boss with Kevin Costner playing Charlie his sidekick. The trouble starts when Mose (one of the group) calls into a town for supplies and doesn't return. The town is run by a currupt Sherrif who is controlled by an evil rancher played by Michael Gambon, who ... ...throw him in jail. Boss and Charlie go in search of him and have him released but are warned by Gambon to move their cattle off the land. They take Mose to the local Doctor and Charlie falls for the Doc's Sister, Sue, played by Annette Benning. The doctor and his sister have no love for the Sherrif or the Rancher and tend to Mose's wounds. When they return to their camp, they find that they are being watched by Gambon's men and Boss decides to teach ...
lona 11.04.2004
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Open Range (DVD)
A group of men looking for peace and quiet, and an escape from their past lives as gunmen, drive a herd of cattle across the plains. When their paths cross a big-shot local rancher known as Denton Baxtor, the past catches up with the former cowboys and they find themselves taking part in a gunfight for justice.
Release details
DVD Region
DVD
Studio(s)
UNIVERSAL PICTURES UK; UNIVERSAL MUSIC OPERATIONS
Release date
31/05/2004
No of Discs
1
Catalogue No
822 618 8
Barcode
5050582261882
Composer
Michael Kamen
Costume Designer
John Bloomfield
Languages
Main Language
English
Hearing Impaired Language
English
Technical information
Special Features
Audio Commentary, Deleted Scenes With Introductions By Kevin Costner, Americas Open Range Narrated By Kevin Costner, Storyboard, Music Video Montage
Aspect Ratio
2.35 Anamorphic Wide Screen
Sound
Dolby Digital 5.1
Dubbing Sound
Dolby Digital 5.1 English
Professional reviews
Review
"...Unmissable!" (Empire, )
"...A masterpiece!" (News of the World, )
"...Magnificent!" (Total Film, )
DVD Description
Set in the early 1880s, this Western directed by Kevin Costner (DANCES WITH WOLVES, THE POSTMAN) is a classic tale of the good guys verses the bad guys with a romance thrown in for good measure. Boss Spearman (Robert Duvall) and Charley Waite (Kevin Costner) are free grazers, riding herds of cattle across the country and grazing as they go. But a local rancher, Denton Baxter (Michael Gambon), considers Boss and his boys thieves, and is determined to run them out of his town by any means possible--even murder. Duvall is endearing as the tough but tender Boss, who has the courage of his convictions and refuses to be intimidated by Baxter. Costner's Charley has worked for Boss for ten years while trying to forget his past, only to find himself drawn back into conflict. Lovable Mose (Abraham Benrubi) and teenager Button (Diego Luna) round out the free grazers' team. Annette Bening stars as the town doctor's sister, Sue, who is drawn to Charley's gentle demeanor and is unfazed by his ability to kill. Beautiful scenery, a script peppered with humour, and solid performances--especially from Duvall and the supporting cast--make Costner's fourth foray into directing enjoyable.
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