"Open Range", an oatburner for the ages.

Films/DVD Asylum

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I liked this film a lot. Starring Kevin Coster, Robert Duvall, and Annette Benning. It was just on a local cable channel, shown in full without ads.

Wow. I know it's fashionable to bash Costner, but I like his work (most of it), and the others were great -- especially Benning. Haven't seen her in much, but she brings it. Duvall is typically Duvall; he doesn't know how to do bad work, but he always plays the same. Which isn't bad, but you've seen the character before somewhere, like in most of his other movies.

This is classic, and I like it for all the sloppy reasons. The good guys win against big odds, the good guy gets the girl that he finds in this out of the way place, the cause is righteous, bad guys are bleeding everywhere, the town rallies behind the lonely and fatalistic heroes. They loved their dog, which tells you the good guys have hearts of gold.

Among all the bad weather and blood, the romance is terrific. Love found in a stack of bodies laying in mud. Hard to believe this is primarily a romantic tale, but the righteous cause and the girl make that emphatic.

It sounds as sloppy as it can get, but it works great. What's happened to westerns is that the authors got careless over time. They got tired of the romance, so in looking for 'different', they got real; giving us good guys who die, causes that don't win out, and anti-heroes who fail.

This is a beautiful movie, opening in 2003, set in the Rockies in the 1880's, in what looks to be Colorado, Wyoming, or Montana. The photography and setting are great. Do yourself a favor and rent this 'burner, but maybe not a good pick for popcorn night with the kids.

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Topic - "Open Range", an oatburner for the ages. - free.ranger 21:09:10 08/27/12 (4)

Ruined by Rob Duval's ridiculously trite character and his WAY corny portrayal. - tinear 17:49:31 08/30/12 (0)

Yep, it's going to become a classic of the genre, if it isn't already there... - musetap 10:28:10 08/28/12 (0)

I too love it and for many of the same reasons. - jeffreybehr 22:24:27 08/27/12 (0)

RE: "Open Range", an oatburner for the ages. - jamesgarvin 21:18:33 08/27/12 (0)

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