It stars Robert Duvall, Tommy Lee Jones, Danny Glover, Chris Cooper, Diane Lane, Angelica Huston, and Rick Schroder. It won 7 Emmys (nominated for 18!), and 2 Golden Globes (Best made-for-TV movie, and Best Actor (Duvall) in a made-for-TV movie) in 1989. The “critics” on Rotten Tomatoes gave it a 100% rating. And in 1985, the novel that it is based on, won the Pulitzer Prize. All sounds good, right?
But wait… it’s a made-for-TV western about a couple of old-timers on a cattle drive!
Let me explain. I’m admittedly a sucker for westerns, so you will have to take my endorsement with a little caution. This said, I am surprised how many people have not seen this and I’m betting you are one of them. I am also betting that you will love it. Here’s why.
We are seemingly all about “story” here in the dark, right? And when it comes to “story”, LonesomeDoveis my second favorite storytelling piece of all time (right behind The Last of the Mohicans. And no, not the 1992 movie version, but the 1826 novel version).
Three things you should know about this “story” before you watch. One, the author (Larry McMurtry) has said that he loosely modeled the characters played by Duvall and Jones off of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza (if you’ve read that book, it will illuminate a little). He has also said that the title refers (mainly) to Rick Schroder’s character (Newt). Two, although the dialogue is quite funny at times, the story is really an epic tragedy (in the literary sense). And three, there is a Latin phrase (uva uvam vivendo varia fit) that is seen near the beginning and end of the film, but its meaning is never explained. Although it is not correct grammatically (on purpose, by the author), it can be roughly translated “a grape changes (ripens) when it sees other grapes.” Meaning that a person’s life changes through their interactions with other people. Simple, of course. Profound, I think so. Watch the movie and make sure to think about this after the last scene.
Ok, fair warning: this thing is a little over 6 hours long. The good news is that since it was originally a TV miniseries it has four parts (or acts), so it is easy to split into four 1:30 chunks. Other good news is that it is currently available to “Watch Instantly” on Netflix. But really the BEST news is that it is over 6 hours long! It is of my opinion that you truly can’t fit a great story into the standard one-hour and forty-minute time frame. And in the case of Lonesome Dove, the 6-hour length allows the whole story to be told that had already been told in a 900+ page novel.
Still not convinced? Here are a few final reasons to consider:
● There is a small role played by Steve Buscemi! (pre-Coen Bros/Reservoir Dogs fame)
● The interplay/dialogue throughout the film between Duvall and Jones is simply priceless, not to mention hilarious. (In my opinion, these were their best roles ever. And I’m a BIG fan of both…)
● Oh, and Tommy Lee Jones did all his own stunts… baller. Apparently he breaks horses in his spare time anyways so this was no big deal.
● It’sendorsedbyourfriendsofSleepingatLast!
● If you’re watching anywhere close to 60 ITD movies a year, I think this definitely deserves to be one of them.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiFpjPNNH1I
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