MovieChat Forums > Open Range (2003) Discussion > Good, old fashioned western

Good, old fashioned western

posted 7 years ago by PrimeMinisterX (8292)
10 replies | jump to latest

This is one of those movies that I had heard a lot about over the years, but I never took the time to watch it until last night. And now that I've seen it, I have to say, this is a damn good western!

Costner and Duvall in particular are excellent and the film has a couple of the best, most real-feeling shootout scenes I've ever seen.

It's clear that Kevin Costner enjoys the genre. Two of the three films he has directed have been Westerns and he also is in a country band, so there's just something about that whole vibe that he likes. It would be nice to get one more western out of him before he calls it a career.

Any here seen Open Range? Thoughts on it?

[–] PrimeMinisterX (8292) 7 years ago

Oh, one other thing:

Where the hell is the Blu-Ray? Apparently it's been released overseas but not in the US?

[–] AtomicReturns (1252) 6 years ago

Very underrated film. Costner made up for The Postman big time with Open Range, but sadly it never got enough attention (good critic reviews though).

The acting is superb, the sound design is actually incredible if you have surround speakers (the rain, mud, footsteps, the creaking of the stuck wagon....makes you feel like you're out there with them). It has some old-fashioned sweetness but it's never maudlin, and Costner put in some modern insights into the myth of the West as well.

I haven't watched it in years but I'm surprised it never received a Blu-Ray treatment.

[–] TexasJack (12515) 6 years ago

I’m surprised too, especially with all the magnificent landscapes in this movie.

I liked The Postman as well as this one.

[–] ShogunofYonkers (71750) 6 years ago

I liked Postman well enough too
But Open Range was a beaut from start to finish!
I miss Costner...i dont know why hes been mia for so long

[–] TexasJack (12515) 6 years ago

I liked it a lot. I’m a fan of Costner and Duvall and they both played great parts. Annette Benning was also very good. And the scenery was just amazing.

[–] [email protected] (690) 6 years ago

I like this movie a lot. Both Duvall and Costner are very believable, and I like Bening a lot, and the whole presentation really works. It has modern sensibilities that make it different from an older Western, but it's a a very riveting story in the Western vein. I give it 7.5-8.5/10. Really good.

[–] liscarkat (16530) 3 years ago

SPOILERS...

This was a great, traditional western in a time when they have become rare. I liked almost everything about it (the end title song was irrelevant and anachronistic, but so what). I particularly enjoyed the vicarious satisfaction of intense comeuppance that was handed out to all the bad guys in the end, particularly that a-hole in the bowler hat. I also appreciated the fact that the leads, even the lead female character, were all full-on grownups.

[–] PrimeMinisterX (8292) 3 years ago

It had seemed to me that westerns saw something of a resurgence in the late 00s with the release of films like Appaloosa, 3:10 to Yuma and True Grit, but that has now died down. I'm sitting here trying to remember the last Western that was released theatrically and there's not much coming to mind.

Costner really knows how to do the western genre and he knows how to do it right. I hope he directs one more before he retires.

And that's funny about the leads being "full-on grownups" but I understand what you're saying.

[–] spacecomedy (1961) 2 years ago

Your review is spot on. Just saw it for the first time. Excellent Western that I'm sure Gary Cooper would've enjoyed since it had shades of High Noon.

Hostiles (2017) is another fine modern Western. Great story and great performances.

I still haven't seen Old Henry (2021) but I've read good things and I've always been a fan of Tim Blake Nelson.

[–] PrimeMinisterX (8292) 2 years ago

I have actually seen both Hostiles and Old Henry.

Hostiles is certainly an interesting movie and I recommend it, but it's not really what one would call a "fun" western.

Old Henry is enjoyable and shows that you can make an engaging western on a small budget. It's a small-scale movie but the story keeps you interested.