Lonesome Dove (film)
Encyclopedia
Lonesome Dove is a western
television
miniseries
based on Larry McMurtry's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name
. Starring Robert Duvall
and Tommy Lee Jones
, Lonesome Dove was originally broadcast by CBS
on February 5, 1989, drawing a huge viewing audience, earning numerous awards, and reviving both the television western and the miniseries.
An estimated 26,000,000 homes tuned in to watch Lonesome Dove, unusually high numbers for a western at that time. The western genre was considered dead by most people, as was the miniseries. By the show's end, it had earned huge ratings and virtually revamped the entire 1989–1990 television season. A favorite with audiences, as well as critics, Lonesome Dove garnered many honors and awards. At the 1989 Emmy Awards, the miniseries had eighteen nominations and seven wins, including one for director Simon Wincer
. Another miniseries of significantly less acclaim, War and Remembrance
, won the Emmy for Outstanding Miniseries. Yet, Lonesome Dove found success later, when it won two Golden Globes, for Best Miniseries and Best Actor in a Miniseries (Robert Duvall).
The film was deemed Program of the Year by the National Television Critics Association, as well as Outstanding Dramatic Achievement. It received the D.W. Griffith Award for Best Television Miniseries, and CBS was presented with a Peabody Award
for Outstanding Achievement in Drama. In a 2003 TRIO Network Special hosted by British actress Jane Seymour
, TRIO
ranked Lonesome Dove third in a list of ten outstanding miniseries, beginning from the time the format was created.
) and Captain Woodrow F. Call (Tommy Lee Jones
), two famous former Texas Rangers, run a livery in the small dusty Texas border town of Lonesome Dove. Gus loves women, but he's twice a widower, and Call is somewhat of a workaholic. Working with them are Joshua Deets (Danny Glover
), a black tracker and scout from their Ranger days, Pea Eye Parker, another former Ranger who works hard but isn't very bright, and Bolivar, a retired Mexican bandit who is their cook. Also living with them is Newt Dobbs (Ricky Schroder), a seventeen-year-old whose mother was a prostitute named Maggie and whose father may be Call.
), a former Texas Ranger and comrade of Gus and Call's, shows up after an absence of more than ten years. He reveals that he is a man on the run, a fugitive, after having accidentally shot the dentist and mayor of Fort Smith, Arkansas in a bar-room gunfight. The dentist/mayor's brother-in-law happens to be the sheriff, July Johnson (Chris Cooper
).
Reunited with Gus and Call, Jake's glowing description of Montana inspires Call to gather a herd of cattle and drive them there, attracted by the notion of settling pristine country. Gus is less enthusiastic, pointing out that they are getting old and that they are Rangers and traders, not cowboys. But he changes his mind when he realises Lonesome Dove has little left to offer him by way of excitement, now that much of the land has been 'civilised'.
At the continued insistence of the dentist's widow, Sheriff Johnson sets off in pursuit of Spoon, accompanied by his young step-son, who travels at Elmira's (the wife of Sheriff Johnson) insistence. Ogallala also happens to be the destination of the pregnant Elmira - and with her new husband gone, she runs away upriver to meet up with her true love, Dee Boot. En route upstream, she soon falls in with a rough gang of buffalo hunters.
Meanwhile, the men make preparations for their adventure north, including stealing 2,500 horses and cattle from across the Rio Grande
in Mexico, befriending two Irish immigrants, and being joined by nearly all of the male citizens of Lonesome Dove. Before leaving, Gus returns for his livery sign and to farewell his pigs, who end up following him anyway. Jake decides not to travel with the herd, mainly because he promises to take the town's only prostitute, Lorie (Diane Lane
), to San Francisco via Denver. Some time later the group survive a huge dust-storm, but one of the Irish is bitten by water moccasins while crossing the Nueces River
.
Meanwhile, the camp's cook refuses to continue, and Gus and Call head into San Antonio in search of a new cook. On the way back they catch up with Lorie, who Spoon has abandoned in order to go gambling in Austin. Before he returns, Gus and Lorie encounter Blue Duck, a notorious bandit with a deep grudge against Gus and Call. Blue Duck knocks Newt unconscious, kidnaps Lorie, and attempts to sell/barter her to a gang of Comanchero bandits camped near a place called Llano Estacado.
Knowing that Gus is in pursuit, Blue Duck asks the Comanchero bandit gang to kill Gus when he arrives - the reward of doing so being Lorie. Gus and the bandits engage in a brief gun battle that quickly turns into a stalemate. Gus, having killed his horse, is pinned down by the bandits' gunfire until nightfall, when Sheriff Johnson's party arrives and scares them off. Sheriff Johnson, despite Gus' protests, agrees to help Gus rescue Lorie, and they ride to a hilltop above the bandit camp to kill the Comancheros. While Gus and Johnson are away, Blue Duck slips in and knifes the remainder of Sheriff Johnson's party (stepson Joe, deputy Rosco, and Jamie), steals their horses, and escapes.
After a brief one-sided gunfight, Gus and Lorie, now reunited, ride north to rejoin Call and the herd, leaving Sheriff Johnson alone to bury his dead companions. Lorie, clearly traumatized by her capture, assault and ordeal, now regards Gus as her primary protector. Meanwhile, in a saloon in Forth Worth, and oblivious of Lorie's ordeal, Jake Spoon falls in with a gang of rough-riders.
By chance, Elmira and the buffalo hunters arrive at the home of Gus' old sweetheart, Clara, near the Platte River in Nebraska. Elmira gives birth to a son, but abandons the child with Clara and goes to Ogallala in search of Dee Boot. She finds Dee Boot in jail, where he is shortly hanged for a murder. Two weeks later, Sheriff Johnson also meets Clara, his son, and Elmira. That night, Elmira secretly departs east for St. Louis with the buffalo hunters, but they are soon killed by the Sioux. Sheriff Johnson returns to Clara's house and is offered a job. Clara, having lost three sons of her own is quite fond of Johnson's newborn son, and names him Martin.
Gus and Call's cattle drive also arrives at Ogallala, where they relax and enjoy the town. Some US soldiers attempt to commandeer the group's horses, and beat Newt when he resists, making Call enter a murderous rage. In the aftermath, Newt learns that Call is his father. Clara, although happy to see Gus, and with her husband gravely ill, makes it clear that she will not marry Gus. Instead, she invites Gus to settle and ranch on a piece of nearby property. Further, she invites Lorie to remain with Clara and her daughters, and Gus promises he will return one day to them.
Continuing their journey, Gus and Call lead their cattle drive north through the badlands of Wyoming and into Montana Territory. Impoverished Indians soon steal a dozen of their horses for food. Gus, Call, and Deets ride after the horse thieves to retrieve the horses. Call frightens the Indians with a gunshot, and Deets takes pity on a blind Indian child and goes to assist him. Another Indian mistakes his intentions and impales him with a spear. Deets is mortally wounded and dies in Gus's and Call's arms a few moments later.
There a doctor amputates Gus' right leg. Gus knows that his left leg is septic and he is likely to die, but refuses to let the doctor remove it. Gus tells Call (who has come in search of him) to give his money to Lorie, to bury him in Texas, and to admit that Call is Newt's father. Call stores Gus' body in the town over the winter. He then leads the cattle drive to a wilderness lake where the party raises a cabin and a corral.
Call honors Gus' wish to be returned to Texas. Just before departing, he gives Newt a pocket-watch that belonged to his own father and states that Newt will run the ranch in his absence. The moment is filled with anticipation, but he is incapable of actually calling Newt his son out loud. Call soon returns to Ogallala.
Sheriff Johnson, Clara, Lorie, and the ranch hand Dish live happily together. Dish is enamored with Lorie, but she does not return his affections. When Call brings Gus' body, she stays and mourns by the coffin all night long. Clara asks Call to bury Gus at her home, but Call declines. Clara then berates Call for the bad effect he and Gus had on each other, blaming their adventures as the reason neither of them could find happiness.
After a long journey, Call arrives at Santa Rosa, New Mexico Territory, the town where Blue Duck has finally been captured. Call visits Blue Duck in jail, where Blue Duck mocks Call's failure to capture him. While being led to the gallows, Blue Duck grabs a deputy and throws himself out a window, choosing a murder-suicide rather than allow himself to be hanged.
Despite blizzards, a broken wagon, and the loss of the coffin, Call finally succeeds in burying Gus after a journey of some three thousand miles. Call weeps for his friend after burying him, the first display of emotion he has allowed himself. After the burial, Call tours Lonesome Dove and discovers that the saloon owner who once employed Lorie was so heartbroken by her departure that he burned down the saloon and killed himself. As Call walks out of town, a reporter recognizes him and tries to interview him about his remarkable feats. Call ignores the reporter, mostly, then he keeps walking away.
2. On the Trail (aired Monday 6 February, 1989)
3. The Plains (aired Tuesday 7 February, 1989)
4. Return (aired Wednesday 8 February, 1989)
and Texas. Tommy Lee Jones and Robert Duvall did their own stunts in the film, except for one brief scene that required Duvall to ride in the center of a herd of bison
.
They New York Times comments that:
) and the United States. Both seasons of the TV series have also been released in the U.S.
Lonesome Dove was filmed in a soft matte 1.78:1 (16:9) aspect ratio, allowing it to be cropped from the 4:3 negative. It was then released on Blu-ray Disc
on August 5, 2008 just months before the film's 20th anniversary.
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
miniseries
Miniseries
A miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...
based on Larry McMurtry's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name
Lonesome Dove
Lonesome Dove is a 1985 Pulitzer Prize–winning western novel written by Larry McMurtry. It is the first published book of the Lonesome Dove series, but the third installment in the series chronologically...
. Starring Robert Duvall
Robert Duvall
Robert Selden Duvall is an American actor and director. He has won an Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards and a BAFTA over the course of his career....
and Tommy Lee Jones
Tommy Lee Jones
Tommy Lee Jones is an American actor and film director. He has received three Academy Award nominations, winning one as Best Supporting Actor for the 1993 thriller film The Fugitive....
, Lonesome Dove was originally broadcast by CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
on February 5, 1989, drawing a huge viewing audience, earning numerous awards, and reviving both the television western and the miniseries.
An estimated 26,000,000 homes tuned in to watch Lonesome Dove, unusually high numbers for a western at that time. The western genre was considered dead by most people, as was the miniseries. By the show's end, it had earned huge ratings and virtually revamped the entire 1989–1990 television season. A favorite with audiences, as well as critics, Lonesome Dove garnered many honors and awards. At the 1989 Emmy Awards, the miniseries had eighteen nominations and seven wins, including one for director Simon Wincer
Simon Wincer
Simon Wincer is an Australian film director and film producer. He attended Cranbrook School, Bellevue Hill, Sydney from 1950 to 1961. On leaving school he worked as a stage hand at TV Station Channel 7. By the 1980s he directed over 200 hours of television. In 1986 he directed the made for TV...
. Another miniseries of significantly less acclaim, War and Remembrance
War and Remembrance (mini-series)
War and Remembrance is an American miniseries based on the novel of the same name by Herman Wouk. It is the sequel to highly successful The Winds of War...
, won the Emmy for Outstanding Miniseries. Yet, Lonesome Dove found success later, when it won two Golden Globes, for Best Miniseries and Best Actor in a Miniseries (Robert Duvall).
The film was deemed Program of the Year by the National Television Critics Association, as well as Outstanding Dramatic Achievement. It received the D.W. Griffith Award for Best Television Miniseries, and CBS was presented with a Peabody Award
Peabody Award
The George Foster Peabody Awards recognize distinguished and meritorious public service by radio and television stations, networks, producing organizations and individuals. In 1939, the National Association of Broadcasters formed a committee to recognize outstanding achievement in radio broadcasting...
for Outstanding Achievement in Drama. In a 2003 TRIO Network Special hosted by British actress Jane Seymour
Jane Seymour (actress)
Jane Seymour, OBE is an English actress best known for her performances in the James Bond film Live and Let Die , East of Eden , Onassis: The Richest Man in the World , and the American television series Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman...
, TRIO
Trio (TV network)
Trio was an American cable and satellite television network.Trio went on the air in 1997, then originally owned and operated jointly by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and Power Broadcasting Inc. as a venue for airing the CBC's arts, culture and entertainment programming in the U.S...
ranked Lonesome Dove third in a list of ten outstanding miniseries, beginning from the time the format was created.
Plot
Captain Augustus "Gus" McCrae (Robert DuvallRobert Duvall
Robert Selden Duvall is an American actor and director. He has won an Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards and a BAFTA over the course of his career....
) and Captain Woodrow F. Call (Tommy Lee Jones
Tommy Lee Jones
Tommy Lee Jones is an American actor and film director. He has received three Academy Award nominations, winning one as Best Supporting Actor for the 1993 thriller film The Fugitive....
), two famous former Texas Rangers, run a livery in the small dusty Texas border town of Lonesome Dove. Gus loves women, but he's twice a widower, and Call is somewhat of a workaholic. Working with them are Joshua Deets (Danny Glover
Danny Glover
Danny Lebern Glover is an American actor, film director, and political activist. Glover is perhaps best known for his role as Detective Roger Murtaugh in the Lethal Weapon film franchise.-Early life:...
), a black tracker and scout from their Ranger days, Pea Eye Parker, another former Ranger who works hard but isn't very bright, and Bolivar, a retired Mexican bandit who is their cook. Also living with them is Newt Dobbs (Ricky Schroder), a seventeen-year-old whose mother was a prostitute named Maggie and whose father may be Call.
Part I - Leaving
The story begins in the small Texas town of Lonesome Dove, as Jake Spoon (Robert UrichRobert Urich
Robert Urich was an American actor. He played the starring roles in the television series Vega$ and Spenser: For Hire...
), a former Texas Ranger and comrade of Gus and Call's, shows up after an absence of more than ten years. He reveals that he is a man on the run, a fugitive, after having accidentally shot the dentist and mayor of Fort Smith, Arkansas in a bar-room gunfight. The dentist/mayor's brother-in-law happens to be the sheriff, July Johnson (Chris Cooper
Chris Cooper (actor)
Christopher W. "Chris" Cooper is an American film actor. He became well known in the late 1990s. He has appeared in supporting performances in several major Hollywood films, including The Bourne Identity, American Beauty, Capote, The Town, The Kingdom, Syriana, October Sky, Seabiscuit, and...
).
Reunited with Gus and Call, Jake's glowing description of Montana inspires Call to gather a herd of cattle and drive them there, attracted by the notion of settling pristine country. Gus is less enthusiastic, pointing out that they are getting old and that they are Rangers and traders, not cowboys. But he changes his mind when he realises Lonesome Dove has little left to offer him by way of excitement, now that much of the land has been 'civilised'.
At the continued insistence of the dentist's widow, Sheriff Johnson sets off in pursuit of Spoon, accompanied by his young step-son, who travels at Elmira's (the wife of Sheriff Johnson) insistence. Ogallala also happens to be the destination of the pregnant Elmira - and with her new husband gone, she runs away upriver to meet up with her true love, Dee Boot. En route upstream, she soon falls in with a rough gang of buffalo hunters.
Meanwhile, the men make preparations for their adventure north, including stealing 2,500 horses and cattle from across the Rio Grande
Rio Grande
The Rio Grande is a river that flows from southwestern Colorado in the United States to the Gulf of Mexico. Along the way it forms part of the Mexico – United States border. Its length varies as its course changes...
in Mexico, befriending two Irish immigrants, and being joined by nearly all of the male citizens of Lonesome Dove. Before leaving, Gus returns for his livery sign and to farewell his pigs, who end up following him anyway. Jake decides not to travel with the herd, mainly because he promises to take the town's only prostitute, Lorie (Diane Lane
Diane Lane
Diane Lane is an American film actress.Born and raised in New York City, Lane made her screen debut at the age of 13 in George Roy Hill's 1979 film A Little Romance, starring opposite Sir Laurence Olivier. Soon after, she was featured on the cover of Time magazine...
), to San Francisco via Denver. Some time later the group survive a huge dust-storm, but one of the Irish is bitten by water moccasins while crossing the Nueces River
Nueces River
The Nueces River is a river in the U.S. state of Texas, approximately long. It drains a region in central and southern Texas southeastward into the Gulf of Mexico. It is the southernmost major river in Texas northeast of the Rio Grande...
.
Part II - On the Trail
The young Irishman soon succumbs to his numerous snakebites, dies, and is buried. While travelling through a forest in east Texas, Rosco, Sheriff Johnson's deputy, is joined by a young girl fleeing from an old abusive "owner". As they travel together they are in the process of being robbed, when luckily Sheriff Johnson happens to catch up with them. Meanwhile, Johnson's wife Elmira arrives by boat at Bent's Fort, Colorado, and sets off overland across the Kansas Plains with two hunters she has befriended.Meanwhile, the camp's cook refuses to continue, and Gus and Call head into San Antonio in search of a new cook. On the way back they catch up with Lorie, who Spoon has abandoned in order to go gambling in Austin. Before he returns, Gus and Lorie encounter Blue Duck, a notorious bandit with a deep grudge against Gus and Call. Blue Duck knocks Newt unconscious, kidnaps Lorie, and attempts to sell/barter her to a gang of Comanchero bandits camped near a place called Llano Estacado.
Knowing that Gus is in pursuit, Blue Duck asks the Comanchero bandit gang to kill Gus when he arrives - the reward of doing so being Lorie. Gus and the bandits engage in a brief gun battle that quickly turns into a stalemate. Gus, having killed his horse, is pinned down by the bandits' gunfire until nightfall, when Sheriff Johnson's party arrives and scares them off. Sheriff Johnson, despite Gus' protests, agrees to help Gus rescue Lorie, and they ride to a hilltop above the bandit camp to kill the Comancheros. While Gus and Johnson are away, Blue Duck slips in and knifes the remainder of Sheriff Johnson's party (stepson Joe, deputy Rosco, and Jamie), steals their horses, and escapes.
After a brief one-sided gunfight, Gus and Lorie, now reunited, ride north to rejoin Call and the herd, leaving Sheriff Johnson alone to bury his dead companions. Lorie, clearly traumatized by her capture, assault and ordeal, now regards Gus as her primary protector. Meanwhile, in a saloon in Forth Worth, and oblivious of Lorie's ordeal, Jake Spoon falls in with a gang of rough-riders.
Part III - The Plains
As they ride through the bush, Spoon and the robbers come across a group of horse wranglers. They shoot most of the wranglers and steal the horses. They then travel to a sodbuster's farm, two of whom the leader kills, hangs, and burns for no apparent reason. Although Spoon disagrees, the gang leader bullies Spoon into submission. When one of the dying wranglers is rescued by the cowboys, Call leads a posse to search for the thieves. Gus and Call quickly capture the robbers and prepare to hang them. With his last words, Jake Spoon admits that it is better to be hanged by his friends than by strangers.By chance, Elmira and the buffalo hunters arrive at the home of Gus' old sweetheart, Clara, near the Platte River in Nebraska. Elmira gives birth to a son, but abandons the child with Clara and goes to Ogallala in search of Dee Boot. She finds Dee Boot in jail, where he is shortly hanged for a murder. Two weeks later, Sheriff Johnson also meets Clara, his son, and Elmira. That night, Elmira secretly departs east for St. Louis with the buffalo hunters, but they are soon killed by the Sioux. Sheriff Johnson returns to Clara's house and is offered a job. Clara, having lost three sons of her own is quite fond of Johnson's newborn son, and names him Martin.
Gus and Call's cattle drive also arrives at Ogallala, where they relax and enjoy the town. Some US soldiers attempt to commandeer the group's horses, and beat Newt when he resists, making Call enter a murderous rage. In the aftermath, Newt learns that Call is his father. Clara, although happy to see Gus, and with her husband gravely ill, makes it clear that she will not marry Gus. Instead, she invites Gus to settle and ranch on a piece of nearby property. Further, she invites Lorie to remain with Clara and her daughters, and Gus promises he will return one day to them.
Continuing their journey, Gus and Call lead their cattle drive north through the badlands of Wyoming and into Montana Territory. Impoverished Indians soon steal a dozen of their horses for food. Gus, Call, and Deets ride after the horse thieves to retrieve the horses. Call frightens the Indians with a gunshot, and Deets takes pity on a blind Indian child and goes to assist him. Another Indian mistakes his intentions and impales him with a spear. Deets is mortally wounded and dies in Gus's and Call's arms a few moments later.
Part IV - Return
Deets is buried, then the party continues on across the Powder River, Montana Territory. Meanwhile, Clara's husband finally dies and is buried as well. Leaving the main group to scout ahead with Pea Eye Parker, Gus decides to chase some buffalo, but is chased by mounted Indians and is badly wounded in his right leg. While trying to get help, an exhausted Pea Eye is guided by the ghost of Deets, whereas Gus is found by a stranger and taken 40 miles away to Miles City.There a doctor amputates Gus' right leg. Gus knows that his left leg is septic and he is likely to die, but refuses to let the doctor remove it. Gus tells Call (who has come in search of him) to give his money to Lorie, to bury him in Texas, and to admit that Call is Newt's father. Call stores Gus' body in the town over the winter. He then leads the cattle drive to a wilderness lake where the party raises a cabin and a corral.
Call honors Gus' wish to be returned to Texas. Just before departing, he gives Newt a pocket-watch that belonged to his own father and states that Newt will run the ranch in his absence. The moment is filled with anticipation, but he is incapable of actually calling Newt his son out loud. Call soon returns to Ogallala.
Sheriff Johnson, Clara, Lorie, and the ranch hand Dish live happily together. Dish is enamored with Lorie, but she does not return his affections. When Call brings Gus' body, she stays and mourns by the coffin all night long. Clara asks Call to bury Gus at her home, but Call declines. Clara then berates Call for the bad effect he and Gus had on each other, blaming their adventures as the reason neither of them could find happiness.
After a long journey, Call arrives at Santa Rosa, New Mexico Territory, the town where Blue Duck has finally been captured. Call visits Blue Duck in jail, where Blue Duck mocks Call's failure to capture him. While being led to the gallows, Blue Duck grabs a deputy and throws himself out a window, choosing a murder-suicide rather than allow himself to be hanged.
Despite blizzards, a broken wagon, and the loss of the coffin, Call finally succeeds in burying Gus after a journey of some three thousand miles. Call weeps for his friend after burying him, the first display of emotion he has allowed himself. After the burial, Call tours Lonesome Dove and discovers that the saloon owner who once employed Lorie was so heartbroken by her departure that he burned down the saloon and killed himself. As Call walks out of town, a reporter recognizes him and tries to interview him about his remarkable feats. Call ignores the reporter, mostly, then he keeps walking away.
Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Robert Duvall Robert Duvall Robert Selden Duvall is an American actor and director. He has won an Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards and a BAFTA over the course of his career.... |
Captain Augustus "Gus" McCrae |
| Tommy Lee Jones Tommy Lee Jones Tommy Lee Jones is an American actor and film director. He has received three Academy Award nominations, winning one as Best Supporting Actor for the 1993 thriller film The Fugitive.... |
Captain Woodrow F. Call |
| Danny Glover Danny Glover Danny Lebern Glover is an American actor, film director, and political activist. Glover is perhaps best known for his role as Detective Roger Murtaugh in the Lethal Weapon film franchise.-Early life:... |
Joshua Deets |
| Diane Lane Diane Lane Diane Lane is an American film actress.Born and raised in New York City, Lane made her screen debut at the age of 13 in George Roy Hill's 1979 film A Little Romance, starring opposite Sir Laurence Olivier. Soon after, she was featured on the cover of Time magazine... |
Lorena Wood |
| Robert Urich Robert Urich Robert Urich was an American actor. He played the starring roles in the television series Vega$ and Spenser: For Hire... |
Jake Spoon |
| Frederic Forrest Frederic Forrest -Life:Forrest was born in Waxahachie, Texas, the son of Virginia Allie and Frederic Fenimore Forrest, a furniture store owner. He is known for his roles as Chef in Apocalypse Now, When The Legends Die, It Lives Again, the neo-Nazi surplus store owner in Falling Down, Right to Kill? and for playing... |
Blue Duck |
| D. B. Sweeney D. B. Sweeney Daniel Bernard "D. B." Sweeney is an American actor.-Early life:Sweeney was born on Long Island, New York and raised in Shoreham by an educator father and a municipal government employee mother. He attended Shoreham-Wading River High School and both Tulane and New York University... |
Dishwater "Dish" Boggett |
| Ricky Schroder | Newt Dobbs |
| Anjelica Huston Anjelica Huston Anjelica Huston is an American actress. Huston became the third generation of her family to win an Academy Award, for her performance in 1985's Prizzi's Honor, joining her father, director John Huston, and grandfather, actor Walter Huston. She later was nominated in 1989 and 1990 for her acting in... |
Clara Allen |
| Chris Cooper Chris Cooper (actor) Christopher W. "Chris" Cooper is an American film actor. He became well known in the late 1990s. He has appeared in supporting performances in several major Hollywood films, including The Bourne Identity, American Beauty, Capote, The Town, The Kingdom, Syriana, October Sky, Seabiscuit, and... |
July Johnson |
| Tim Scott Tim Scott Timothy Dale Scott is a former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher.Drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2nd round of the 1984 MLB amateur draft, Scott made his Major League Baseball debut with the San Diego Padres on June 25, 1991. His final game in the major leagues came on July 2, 1997... |
Pea Eye Parker |
| Glenne Headly Glenne Headly Glenne Aimee Headly is an American actress of film, stage and television.-Early life:Glenne Headly was born in New London, Connecticut and her first years were spent living under the care of her mother in San Francisco and her maternal grandmother in Pennsylvania... |
Elmira Johnson |
| Barry Corbin Barry Corbin Leonard Barrie Corbin, known as Barry Corbin , is an American actor with more than one hundred film, television and video game credits.-Early life:... |
Roscoe Brown |
| William Sanderson William Sanderson William Sanderson is an American character actor.-Early life:Sanderson was born in Memphis, Tennessee, to an elementary school teacher mother and a landscape designer father... |
Lippy Jones |
| Barry Tubb Barry Tubb Barry York Tubb is an American actor and director. He has worked in both television and film since 1983.-Early life:... |
Jasper Fant |
| Gavin O'Herlihy | Dan Suggs |
| Steve Buscemi Steve Buscemi Steven Vincent "Steve" Buscemi is an American actor, writer and film director. An associate member of the renowned experimental theater company The Wooster Group, Buscemi has starred and supported in successful Hollywood and indie films including New York Stories, Mystery Train, Reservoir Dogs,... |
Luke |
| Frederick Coffin Frederick Coffin Frederick D. Coffin was an American film actor.-Early life:Coffin was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1943 to actress Winifred Deforest Coffin, and was one of five children. He was educated at Western Reserve Academy in Hudson, Ohio, where he was both a student and athlete. He began to study... |
Big Zwey |
| Travis Swords | Allan O'Brien |
| Kevin O'Morrison Kevin O'Morrison Kevin O'Morrison is an American playwright and actor. He started his career working as an actor in theatre, radio, television, and film in the 1940s. He began writing plays in the 1960s, most of which have been performed Off-Broadway and in theatres throughout the United States, and two of which... |
Doctor |
| Ron Weyand | Old Hugh |
Episodes
1. Leaving (first aired Sunday 5 February, 1989)2. On the Trail (aired Monday 6 February, 1989)
3. The Plains (aired Tuesday 7 February, 1989)
4. Return (aired Wednesday 8 February, 1989)
Production
The series was shot in New MexicoNew Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
and Texas. Tommy Lee Jones and Robert Duvall did their own stunts in the film, except for one brief scene that required Duvall to ride in the center of a herd of bison
Bison
Members of the genus Bison are large, even-toed ungulates within the subfamily Bovinae. Two extant and four extinct species are recognized...
.
Reception
Lonesome Dove received an overwhelmingly positive reception with critics and audience alike. It is currently one of the few films on Rotten Tomatoes to carry the rare, perfect 100% rating.They New York Times comments that:
- This six-hour miniseries, based on a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Larry McMurtry, revitalized both the miniseries and Western genres, both of which had been considered dead for several years. Robert Duvall and Tommy Lee Jones star as fun-loving Gus MacRae and taciturn Woodrow Call, respectively, a pair of longtime friends and former Texas Rangers who crave one last adventure before they bow to their advancing years. Convinced that animals will thrive on the lush grasslands of Montana, Woodrow persuades Gus to undertake the arduous, 3,000-mile cattle drive there. ... Storms, hostile natives, poisonous snakes, and rustlers take their toll on the company before Montana is reached in an adventure that is equal parts Greek tragedy and classic, John Ford-style oater. Originally developed in the 1970s as a script by McMurtry for director Peter Bogdanovich and stars Henry Fonda, John Wayne, and James Stewart, Lonesome Dove earned 18 Emmy nominations and inspired a pair of miniseries sequel as well as two attempts at an ongoing television series.
Awards
Lonesome Dove was nominated for 18 Emmy Awards, winning seven.| Category | Won | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| Outstanding Achievement in Casting for a Miniseries or a Special | Lynn Kressel | |
| Outstanding Achievement in Makeup for a Miniseries or a Special | Manlio Rocchetti (makeup supervisor), Carla Palmer (makeup artist), and Jean Ann Black (makeup artist) For Part 4 ("The Return") |
|
| Outstanding Achievement in Music Composition for a Miniseries or a Special (Dramatic Underscore) | Basil Poledouris (composer) For Part 4 ("The Return") |
|
| Outstanding Costume Design for a Miniseries or a Special | Van Broughton Ramsey For Part 2 ("On the Trail") |
|
| Outstanding Directing in a Miniseries or a Special | Simon Wincer (director) For Part 1 ("Leaving") and Part 4 ("The Return") |
|
| Outstanding Sound Editing for a Miniseries or a Special | Dave McMoyler (supervising sound editor); Joseph Melody (co-supervising editor); Mark Steele, Richard S. Steele, Michael J. Wright, Gary Macheel, Stephen Grubbs, Mark Friedgen, Charles R. Beith Jr., Scott A. Tinsley, Karla Caldwell, George B. Bell, and G. Michael Graham (sound editors); Kristi Johns (supervising adr editor); Tom Villano (supervising music editor); and Jamie Forester (supervising music editor) For Part 3 ("The Plains") |
|
| Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Miniseries or a Special | Donald F. Johnson (sound mixer), James L. Aicholtz (dialogue mixer), Michael Herbick (music mixer), and Kevin O'Connell Kevin O'Connell (sound re-recording mixer) Kevin O'Connell is a sound re-recording mixer. He holds the record for most Academy Award nominations without a win at 20, having originally set the record in 2006 with his 18th nomination and loss, making him the "unluckiest nominee in the history of the Academy Awards".-Awards and... (sound effects mixer) For Part 4 ("The Return") |
|
| Outstanding Achievement in Hairstyling for a Miniseries or a Special | Philip Leto (hairstylist) and Manlio Rocchetti (hair supervisor) For Part 2 ("On the Trail") |
|
| Outstanding Art Direction for a Miniseries or a Special | Cary White (production designer) and Michael J. Sullivan (set decorator) For Part 4 ("The Return") |
|
| Outstanding Cinematography for a Miniseries or a Special | Douglas Milsome Douglas Milsome Douglas Milsome BSC, ASC is an English cinematographer.Sometimes credited as Doug Milsome, perhaps his most-widely seen work to date is Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. He collaborated with Stanley Kubrick and John Alcott in the 1970s, as camera operator and second-unit photographer, and became... (director of photography) For Part 4 ("The Return") |
|
| Outstanding Editing for a Miniseries or a Special - Single Camera Production | Corky Ehlers (editor) For Part 3 ("The Plains") |
|
| Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Special | Robert Duvall For Part 2 ("On the Trail") |
|
| Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Special | Tommy Lee Jones For Part 4 ("The Return") |
|
| Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Special | Anjelica Huston For Part 3 ("The Plains") |
|
| Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Special | Diane Lane For Part 3 ("The Plains") and Part 4 ("The Return") |
|
| Outstanding Miniseries | Suzanne de Passe Suzanne de Passe Suzanne de Passe is an American television, music and film producer. As well as the Co-Chairman of de Passe Jones Entertainment Group-Career:Suzanne began her career at Motown as Creative Assistant to company founder, Berry Gordy... (executive producer), Bill Wyttliff (executive producer), Robert Halmi Jr. (co-executive producer), Dyson Lovell Dyson Lovell Dyson Lovell is a film producer and actor born on August 28, 1940. He produced amongst others, the Franco Zeffirelli Hamlet, starring Mel Gibson , and Francis Ford Coppola's 1984 box-office flop The Cotton Club, starring Richard Gere and Diane Lane.Lovell has played supporting roles in such films... (producer), and Michael Weisbarth (supervising producer) |
|
| Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Special | Danny Glover For Part 1 ("Leaving"), Part 2 ("On the Trail"), and Part 3 ("The Plains") |
|
| Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Special | Glenne Headly For Part 1 ("Leaving"), Part 2 ("On the Trail"), and Part 3 ("The Plains") |
|
| Outstanding Writing in a Miniseries or a Special | Bill Wyttliff (teleplay) For Part 1 ("Leaving") and Part 4 ("The Return") |
| Category | Won | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV | ||
| Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV | Robert Duvall | |
| Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV | Tommy Lee Jones | |
| Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV | Anjelica Huston |
| Awards | Category | Won | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| American Cinema Editors (1990) | Best Edited Episode from a Television Mini-Series | Corky Ehlers For Part 3 ("The Plains") | |
| BMI Film & TV Awards (1990) | Basil Poledouris Basil Poledouris Vassilis Konstantinos "Basil" Poledouris was a Greek-American music composer who concentrated on the scores for films and television shows... |
||
| Casting Society of America Casting Society of America Founded in Los Angeles, California in 1982, the Casting Society of America is a professional society of about 350 casting directors for film, television, and theatre in Australia, Canada, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States. The society is not to be confused with an industry union. The... (1989) |
Best Casting for TV Miniseries | Lynn Kressel | |
| Directors Guild of America Directors Guild of America Directors Guild of America is an entertainment labor union which represents the interests of film and television directors in the United States motion picture industry... (1990) |
Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic Specials | Simon Wincer Simon Wincer Simon Wincer is an Australian film director and film producer. He attended Cranbrook School, Bellevue Hill, Sydney from 1950 to 1961. On leaving school he worked as a stage hand at TV Station Channel 7. By the 1980s he directed over 200 hours of television. In 1986 he directed the made for TV... |
|
| TV Land Awards (2007) | Miniseries You Didn't Miss a Moment Of | ||
| Television Critics Association Awards Television Critics Association The Television Critics Association is a group of approximately 200 United States and Canadian journalists and columnists who cover television programming... (1989) |
Outstanding Achievement in Drama | ||
| Television Critics Association Awards Television Critics Association The Television Critics Association is a group of approximately 200 United States and Canadian journalists and columnists who cover television programming... (1989) |
Program of the Year | ||
| Western Heritage Awards (1990) | Television Feature Film | William D. Wittliff (writer/executive producer), Suzanne de Passe (executive producer), Robert Duvall (star), Tommy Lee Jones (star), and Anjelica Huston (star) | |
| Writers Guild of America Award Writers Guild of America Award The Writers Guild of America Award for outstanding achievements in film, television, and radio has been presented annually by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America, West since 1949... s (1990) |
Adapted Long Form | William D. Wittliff For Part 1 ("Leaving") |
DVD & Blu-ray
Lonesome Dove, Return to Lonesome Dove, Streets of Laredo and Dead Man's Walk are all available on DVD in the United Kingdom (distributed by Acorn Media UKAcorn Media UK
Acorn Media UK is a DVD publisher which distributes and sells home video products with a particular focus on British television.- Company history :The company was founded in 1997 when Lesley Fromant set up a branch of parent company Acorn Media in the UK....
) and the United States. Both seasons of the TV series have also been released in the U.S.
Lonesome Dove was filmed in a soft matte 1.78:1 (16:9) aspect ratio, allowing it to be cropped from the 4:3 negative. It was then released on Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
on August 5, 2008 just months before the film's 20th anniversary.
Further reading
- A Book of Photographs from Lonesome Dove, by Bill Wittliff. Foreword by Larry McMurtryLarry McMurtryLarry Jeff McMurtry is an American novelist, essayist, bookseller and screenwriter whose work is predominantly set in either the old West or in contemporary Texas...
. The University of Texas Press, 2007. 188 pp., 112 color photos. ISBN 978-0292713116 . Publishers info page for the book
External links
- Lonesome Dove online exhibit at TSU-San Marcos