Open Range
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Open Range
Plot
Paramount Pictures used the Zane Grey adaptation Open Range as a showcase for its newest western star (and potential Gary Cooper replacement) Lane Chandler. Teamed with winsome Betty Bronson, who three years earlier had starred in Paramount's Peter Pan, Chandler plays an itinerant cowboy who is falsely accused of rustling. For the sake of his sweetheart Bronson, our hero takes it upon himself to track down the real culprits, an outlaw gang headed by half-breed Fred Kohler Sr. Chandler's odyssey takes him to the Indian encampment where Kohler is hiding, leading to a spectacular battle between cowboys and Indians. The story is resolved when Chandler stampedes the cattle stolen by Kohler, dispersing the Indians and saving the settlers from destruction; as a coda, he rescues Bronson and her family from a blazing farmhouse. ~ Hal Erickson, RoviCast
Credit
Cliff Smith - Director, J. Walter Ruben - Screenwriter, John Stone - Screenwriter, Zane Grey - Short Story Author| Open Places (1917 Film), Open My Heart (2002 Film) | |
| Open Range (2003 Film), Open Season (1974 Film) |
Wikipedia on Answers.com:
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Open Range
| Open Range | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Directed by | Kevin Costner |
| Produced by | Kevin Costner Jake Eberts David Valdes |
| Written by | Craig Storper Lauran Paine |
| Starring | Robert Duvall Kevin Costner Annette Bening |
| Cinematography | J. Michael Muro |
| Studio | TIG Productions |
| Distributed by | Touchstone Pictures Beacon Communications |
| Release date(s) | August 15, 2003 |
| Running time | 139 min. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $22,000,000 |
| Box office | $68,296,293 (worldwide) |
Open Range is a 2003 American Western film co-starring, co-produced, and directed by Kevin Costner, based on the novel The Open Range Men by Lauran Paine. Starring alongside Costner are Robert Duvall, Annette Bening, and Michael Gambon.
The film received mostly positive reviews, and was a modest success at the box office, making about $58 million in the U.S. alone.
It was filmed on location in Alberta, Canada.
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Contents
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Plot
"Boss" Spearman (Duvall) is an open range cattleman, who, with hired hands Charley (Costner), Mose (Benrubi), Button (Luna), and dog Tig are driving a herd cross country. Charley is a former soldier who fought in the Civil War and feels guilty over his past as a killer.
Boss sends Mose to the nearby town of Harmonville for supplies. The town is controlled by a ruthless Irish immigrant land baron, Denton Baxter (Gambon), who hates open-rangers. Mose is badly beaten and jailed by the marshal, Poole (Russo). The only friendly inhabitant is Percy (Jeter), a livery stable owner.
Boss and Charley become concerned when Mose does not return. They retrieve him from the jail but not before getting a warning from Baxter about free-grazing on his land. Mose's injuries are so severe that Boss and Charley take him to Doc Barlow (McDermott). There they meet Sue Barlow (Bening). Charley is attracted immediately, but assumes that Sue is the doctor's wife.
After catching masked riders scouting their cattle, Boss and Charley sneak up on their campfire in the night, and disarm them. At the same time, another attack results in Mose's death. Button is badly injured and left for dead. Charley and Boss vow to avenge this injustice. They leave Button at the doctor's house and go into town, where they lock Poole in his own jail. Boss knocks him out with chloroform he has stolen from the doctor's office. The deputies are locked up as well.
Charley learns that Sue is the doctor's sister, not his wife. He declares his feelings for her, and she gives him a locket for luck. Charley leaves a note with Percy, in which he states that if he should die, money from the sale of his saddle and gear are to be used to buy Sue a new tea set.
Boss and Charley are pitted against Baxter and his men. Charley shoots Butler (Coates), the gunman who shot Button and killed Mose. The gunfight erupts and Boss is wounded. Some of Baxter's men flee as the gunfight worsens. The townspeople begin to openly fight against Baxter. After an intense firefight, Baxter ends up wounded and alone, trapped in the jailhouse. Boss rushes the jail, mortally wounding Baxter, but stops short of killing him.
With the battle over, Charley speaks to Sue in private, telling her he must leave. She counters that she has a "big idea" about their future together and that she would wait for him to return. He does return, and proposes to Sue. Charley and Boss decide to give up the cattle business and settle down in Harmonville, taking over the saloon.
Cast
- Robert Duvall as Bluebonnet "Boss" Spearman
- Kevin Costner as Charles Travis "Charley" Postlewaite
- Annette Bening as Susan "Sue" Barlow
- Michael Gambon as Denton Baxter
- Michael Jeter as Percy
- Diego Luna as Button
- James Russo as Marshal Poole
- Abraham Benrubi as Mose Harris
- Dean McDermott as Doc Barlow
- Kim Coates as Butler
- Herb Kohler as Cafe Man
- Peter MacNeill as Mack
- Cliff Saunders as Ralph
- Patricia Stutz as Ralph's Wife
- Julian Richings as Wylie
- Ian Tracey as Tom
- Rod Wilson as Gus
Reception
The film received mostly positive reviews, receiving a "fresh" 79% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Roger Ebert gave it 3.5 stars out of 4, calling it "... an imperfect but deeply involving and beautifully made Western ..."[1] Peter Bradshaw of the The Guardian gave the film 4 stars out of 5, writing, "Duvall gives his best performance in ages" in a "... tough, muscular, satisfying movie."[2] The film won the 2004 Western Heritage Award, and was nominated for a Golden Satellite Award, an MTV Movie Award (Diego Luna), a Motion Picture Sound Editors Award as well as a Taurus Award for stunt artist Chad Camilleri. Open Range was selected the 48th greatest western of all time by TimeOut London.[3]
See also
References
- ^ "Open Range". rogerebert.suntimes.com. http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20030815/REVIEWS/308150304/1023. Retrieved November 27, 2010.
- ^ "Open Range". film.guardian.co.uk. http://film.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/Critic_Review/Guardian_review/0,4267,1172596,00.html. Retrieved November 27, 2010.
- ^ "Open Range". timeout.com. http://www.timeout.com/london/feature/1005/the-50-greatest-westerns#bestOf-48. Retrieved July 1, 2011.
External links
- Official website
- Open Range at the Internet Movie Database
- Rotten Tomatoes on Open Range
- Filming Locations
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