Comanche Moon: The Second Chapter in the Lonesome Dove Saga
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Movie Reviews of Comanche Moon: The Second Chapter in the Lonesome Dove Saga
Movie Review: EXCELLENT!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is an excellent movie in the Lonesome Dove Series -- we bought it to complete our series!Movie Review: Comanche Moon
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this as a gift and it arrived in plenty of time. My friend was thrilled with it.Movie Review: saga complete
Summary: 4 Stars
Finally we have the last chapter in the lonesome dove saga
after years of supposed adaptations of Larry mcmurtry's final lonesome dove tale to close out and link up the middle years of McCrae,Call and cronies. Simon Wincer
the original miniseries director has returned to bookend
the series and does an estimable job, while not on the scale of the original , Wincer talkles amuch broader canvas especially in regard to the comanche who at the time were still quite able to vigourasously defend their culture and territory. Val Kilmer as Inish Skull has been critized as portraying the eccentric ranger leader as over the top when in fact scull is exactly that as created by McMurtry. Kilmer seems to enjoy the character as is a off the radar contrast to most of the main characters. In Dead Man's Walk Woodrow Call recieved a bit more story time at least in character building while in Comanche MOON Augustus McCrae is given substantive screen time via Steve Zahn to project the beloved ranger
we have come to know throughout the series. In Comanche
Moon zahn's gus is his ownand does succeed in bringing
a familiar character with his own nuances recognizable
but new. Karl Urban also succeed's but in a lesser degree
but he has less to work with as Call's make up has been
established in previous stories what Urban has left is aman who is in pain for being who heis and pain in being unable to truly embrace a future with a woman he clearly loves and who desperately loves him . His dedication to
keeping the Texas republic safe and his friendship with gus are his only respite. Ryan Merriman is miscast as
Jake Spoon and in fact is given even less to do than in the novel. Wes Studi is probably the most talented of native actors today and brings a dignity of character and
time to his portrayal of Buffalo Hump. Technically i do not think ,however he was the proper choice for Buffalo Hump. Though aging the comanche apearance should be closer though older to Eric Schweig's in Dead Man's Walk
an actor like Steve Reevis who actually has a the role of worm or Gil Birmingham from Into the West i would have prefered tom keep in line with previous versions though
if any of these actors could match studi's acting chops
is debatable. Jonathan Joss is wasted as he is hardly seen inthe miniseries as kicking wolf a major adversary of the rangers. Linda Cardenilli does afine job as Clara
andin fact brings in such more to the characterv that could be expected, the character of Maggie Tilton ,always
heard of and seen for a few scenes in Dead Man's Walk now comes to the fore and MS. Banks work is admirable and tragic to watch. The locations are used wonderfully filmed in New Mexico and used to the greatest effect.
My Rewiew is apostive review with resevations regarding some casting and the much of the story edited out from
novel ,some of which has been restored in the dvd .
Part 1 moves along slowly with thoughts of a dis appointing adaptation,however that changes soon and the next chapters depicted reaffirm this western as a fine
sweeping ,exciting, tale . while again not 1989's lonesome dove or even Dead Man's Walk it is finally
a welcome version of a saga long awaited for to close out
a hell of a tale
Movie Review: Is Comanche Moon worthy of Lonesome Dove?
Summary: 4 Stars
I've just purchase the entire movie series, Dead mans walk, Comanche Moon, Lonesome Dove, Return to Lonesome Dove and The Streets of Laredo. Originally I did not appreciate Dead mans walk. Johnny Lee Miller as Capt Woodrow F Call was very good. He captured the intense persona of the character.However David Arquette as Capt Augustus McCrae was very under whelming. He was poorly cast and I was expecting more. I could see none of the characteristics that would illustrate to me, that this guy would be the heroic "Gus" from Lonesome Dove.
With that being said. Comanche Moon is a different animal altogether. First lets start with the casting.The principle actors Steve Zahn as Augustus McCrae and Karl Urban as Woodrow F Call were spot on. Personally I believe that it is easy for a halfway decent actor to portray Captain Call because he is such an emotionally pent up guy. And I'm not trying to minimize Tommy Lee Jones because I'm not. He made that character. But I feel as though any actor who portray Augustus would have to address a broader range of emotions. But with Captain Call all that an actor has to do is show very little emotion. However Steve Zahn is a marvel! He perfectly captured the mannerisms that Robert Duvall introduce to this character. Just watch his voice inflection's and hand gesture's and mannerisms, that's Gus!! This film would not have worked if Zahn would not have done his home work with this character. Comanche Moon focused on both of the main characters quite often. However this film was really a character study on Augustus McCrae. In the very same way that "Dead Man's Walk" was a character study on Captain Call.
The rest of the cast was fine, but I don't want to fake it! It's really about Call and Gus! Having Simon Wincer to return as the director was fantastic. However each episode did not end with the exciting punch that concluded each one of his previous Lonesome Dove episodes from the original mini series.In those episodes, each show had a dramatic "punch" that caused you to want to see the next one. I remember watching the first episode from the mini series on a cold February Sunday in 1989. When the series began, I never thought that I would be sitting and watching the entire mini series. But after viewing episode 1# and the way that it ended,I was hooked!
And the musical score was minor to say the least. The Lonesome Dove was scored by Basil Poledouris. His melodies where haunting to say the least. Listen to "On the trail" During the long Wagon train trail march in the harsh terrain from the first Lonesome Dove.That melody has stayed with me for 21 years. However, as much as I love Comanche Moon, the film suffers from a poor musical score. The original series clearly illustrate that a compelling score is just as important as casting good actors.
To conclude, Comanche Moon is very good! It's better than Dead Man's Walk. But Dead Man's walk had a better sound track. I highly recommend that you purchase these films. And if you've never seen them before? Then I envy you, because you have the pleasure of watching them all, for the first time. Lucky you. Please don't deny yourselves.
Movie Review: Better than the Book for Me
Summary: 4 Stars
I put off watching this because I had been disappointed with the book's major sub-plot involving torture. It's still there in the video, but it's downplayed and makes more sense somehow. Val Kilmer does a great job playing the torture-ee and making the point that the character is challenged to try new experiences at any cost.
The movie has a really superb look and attention to detail. For example the rangers are always with the correct firearms, going from what I think is a Sharps rifle to the Winchester "Yellowboy" between the late '50s and late '60s. The history is pretty accurate too, from what I've read on the subject. Buffalo Hump really did lead a Comanche raid to the Gulf and Charles Goodnight was one of the Rangers who "rescued" Cynthia Ann Parker, saying exactly what he said in the video. However, Quanah and Peta Nakona hanging out together is not so accurate. I believe current thinking is that Peta Nakona was killed when Quanah was 12 years old by Sul Ross, future governor of Texas (which is a pretty interesting story in itself).
The leads do a pretty good job. The difference in heights between Woodrow and Gus is a little weird, but they capture the mannerisms and vocals pioneered by Duval and Jones and they look pretty macho. The action is pretty cool with nice riding and shooting and some creative camera angles. So, I'd say not as good as Lonesome Dove, but worth watching. If you haven't seen any of the four mini-series I'd recommend going chronological, which would be - Dead Man's Walk - Comanche Moon - Lonesome Dove - Streets of Laredo. I'd also highly recommend the books, and just about every other book written by McMurtry.