Nineteen years ago this week, CBS brought forth its epic mini series Lonesome Dove, The Larry McMurtry story of two Texas Rangers, living a life of adventure, killings, hanging their best friend and going on a 25000 cattle drive.
Lonesome Dove, staring Robert Duval as Gus McCrae with Tommy Lee Jones as Captain Woodrow Call. Winner of 13 Emmy Awards in 1989, and best actor Award for Robert Duval, who calls the his best work ever, treasures his role as Gus as his most challenging and rewarding character he has ever played. Remember ”Uva uvam vivendo varia fit” - Basically it means that one grape causes another grape to ripen. Lonesome Dove is the story of two former Texas Rangers, Augustus McCrae and Woodrow F. Call , who run the Hat Creek Cattle Company which is situated next to the town of Lonesome Dove on the bank of the Rio Grande. Another former ranger, Jake Spoon, rides in on the run from an Arkansas sheriff for accidentally shooting the dentist/mayor (and the sherfiff's brother) of Ft. Smith. Jake tells about the wonderful unspoiled country in Montana territory, "A cattleman's paradise". The idea intrigues Call who wants to go on a journey of a lifetime and be the first to set up a cattle ranch that far north. Call convinces Gus, who is comfortable being retired, that they should just pick up stakes and go to Montana, 2,500 miles away. They 'steal' a herd of cattle and horses from Mexican bandidos and head them north. This is where their adventures begins. They battle storms, snake infested rivers, horse theives, outlaws, and Indians. It has an astonishing array of characters, cowboys, outlaws, sportin' women, whiskey peddlers and rivermen, buffalo hunters and ordinary town folk. They definitely went back to the history books and researched so many aspects of the movie down to the clothing. Find Lonesome Dove Art at this web site.
The story won 2 Golden Globes, another 11 Emies wins & 17 nominations throughout the industry. Robert Duval (Gus) says, "It was the best role I have ever played". The public ate up the mini series like no other in the history of TV mini series. To date there has been nothing to compare to its success, Mini series like “Root” was at the time the staple for mini series but, Lonesome Dove has far exceeded everyone’s dream, it’s the “The Andy Griffith Show” on mini series, It’s being replayed several times a year on many different TV channels, The book and DVD continued to be a top selling year round. I went on ebay there were over 500 Lonesome dove items for sale. They say if this hit the big screen it would have been the biggest grossing movies of all time, topping Titanics billion-dollar mark.
Lonesome Dove set the standard for authenticity in cowboy movie making, right down to metal and wooden buttons. Prior to Lonesome Dove there were only a handful of films that were true and authentic in every aspect of movie making. Even though we love John Wayne, most of his cowboy movies were far from authentic, metal hat bands that shined, hat perfectly shape with dust or dirt, clean shavin’, perfect hair, pointed toe cowboy shoes, every shirt with a collar, etc. When in fact there is little evidence of such in the real old west. Lonesome Dove turn all that all around. They made you realize cowboys didn’t shower for perhaps months and that they smelled. Yuk!
This week CBS delivered it final Lonesome Dove saga, “Comanche Moon”. Staring Steven Zahn (Gus) and Karl Urban (Call) , which was the prequel to Lonesome Dove. Same producers and director, brought forth another perfect mini series, which I am sure is destine to be a great hit. I cannot wait till it comes out on DVD.
Lonesome Dove has change the way we look at the old west, I for one am grateful for it and there authenticity of the old west. Keep up the good work CBS. Those who love the old west will surely keep Lonesome Dove Alive. For a complete pictorial of Lonesome Dove, go to: theoldwestgallery.com/dove
Some Original Lonesome Dove Trivia: * Took 16 weeks to film. * Used between 300 & 600 head of cattle. * 9 different towns were built. The town of Lonesome Dove was actually built on the banks of the Rio Grande and the 'stolen' cattle were actually driven from Old Mexico into Texas. The town was left standing and has been used in at least one other movie. * Robert Duvall was originally cast as Woodrow F. Call, but he wanted to play the part of Augustus McCrea (thank goodness!). * Next James Garner was choosen to play Woodrow F. Call but couldn't for health reasons. * Tommy Lee Jones was then tapped to play Woodrow F. Call and the rest is history. * Filming Locations: Texas and New Mexico. more info at http://www.theoldwestgallery.com/dove.html
Friday, May 1, 2009
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