The friendship of Augustus McCrae and Woodrow F. Call is the underlying theme of LONESOME DOVE; it's the motor that drives the story. When these two weathered former lawmen steal a herd of cattle from Mexico and set off for Montana for one last grand adventure ("I wanna see that country," says Call to Gus, "before the lawyers and bankers get it."), the stage is set for a Western with plenty of humor, action, violence...tragedy.

This production makes McMurtry's unforgettable characters literally leap off the page. Robert Duvall IS Gus McCrae...Tommy Lee Jones IS Woodrow Call. Both performances are so vivid and on target the viewer is transported seamlessly to McMurtry's story, a story centering around the undying loyalty and friendship of these two men.

LONESOME DOVE is a film that will entertain you, take you over the full gambit of human emotions, then after six hours leave you begging for more. Jones and Duvall lead a stellar cast in a remarkable film that has but one weakness: it has to end. And McMurtry's story is told--told so well that no other Western even comes close.


My favorite Duvall role   February 20, 2000
 94 out of 95 found this review helpful

It is finally nice to get the entire Lonesome Dove epic on DVD. While I have to agree that the picture is not as pristine as I would have liked, it is definitely better than the VHS version that I own. The sound is Dolby Digital mono, but surprisingly good.

One thing to note - the movie breaks at the same break points that the mini-series did when broadcast. After approximately 1.5 hours, the credits roll, and then the next section starts. Not that bad, but a little clunky. The interview snippets with Larry McMurtry are kind of insightful and nice to have.

Robert Duvall is really incredible in the role of Augustus (Gus) McCrae. The man is the character. I found I was laughing to myself all over again at Gus's western philosopher dialogue, and wishing that we all thought a little more like him.

If you loved the VHS version and want a better copy, buy this DVD. Though not crystal clear, it is an improvement over my old VHS copy and with instant chapter access, much more convenient to view.


Try for the "Cabin Fever" version   December 12, 1999
 51 out of 64 found this review helpful

I have the original four-tape, 172 minute version of this five-star miniseries. It's 132 minutes longer than the version which is currently available from Hallmark. I love the work that Hallmark has done on it's other films, but they really did "Lonesome Dove" a disservice. If you locate the version on Cabin Fever Video, grab it.


A Hell of a Vision.   February 28, 2004
 37 out of 39 found this review helpful

I have just finished watching the six hour Lonesome Dove for the fourth time; yet, it is a rare movie I will even watch twice. I own the DVD, and I will certainly be watching it a fifth time. Comparisons of Lonesome Dove to other TV movies don't begin to do it justice; this movie deserves comparison to any Western ever made, and it stands up well to any one of the most highly considered (The Searchers, Unforgiven, Shane, High Noon, The Good, The Bad & the Ugly, etc.). This is a story of character and nuance much more than plot and action, with many small moments that will stay with you long after the story is finished...a saloon owner grieving over the loss of his prostitute (his love)...the hanging of a friend...an attempt at telling a boy he is your son....the burial of a friend...two old warriors saying goodbye in so many words (while there is much humor in the story, there is also overwhelming sadness, and do expect very major characters to have tragic endings to their lives). Lonesome Dove is bold enough to tell an epic story (and in doing so, demytholyzing the history of the West, and showing us how brutal and painful the settling of the West really was) by focusing on these small moments. There are something like 75 or 100 speaking parts in this movie, and it is uniformly excellently cast (with the exception, in my opinion, of Angelica Huston, who I always thought seemed out of place in this Western setting). If you are wondering whether this is worth owning, believe me, you will never regret it.
A postscript: since I wrote my review I have noticed that there are a number of idiots out there unfairly ripping this movie for being shorter than the original. The original series was indeed EIGHT hours long. However, it was made for TV and had something called commericials. These had the effect of reducing its running time to about SIX hours, as my review notes. I have seen several DVD versions of this and have never seen one that was edited or cut, which is why they neglect to warn you on the box. Just get the movie, watch it, and ignore the bozo comments.


get the other edition!   January 24, 2003
 35 out of 37 found this review helpful

Be warned: this edition of "Lonesome Dove" is cut down to 240 minutes, from the original 360. This is perhaps the greatest television miniseries ever made, and it would be a shame to see it in anything but its complete form. Spend the extra couple of bucks to get the other DVD edition! My rating of the movie itself would be five stars, but this cut version is a terrible injustice.