Open Range (2003)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Kevin Costner

Writers (WGA):

Lauran Paine (novel)
Craig Storper (screenplay)

Release Date:

15 August 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | Western

Tagline:

No place to run. No reason to hide.

Plot:

A former gunslinger is forced to take up arms again when he and his cattle crew are threatened by a corrupt lawman.

Plot Keywords:

Cattle | Rancher | Cowboy | Friendship | Jail

Awards:

1 win & 4 nominations

Cast

Robert Duvall	...	Boss Spearman
Kevin Costner	...	Charley Waite
Annette Bening	...	Sue Barlow
Michael Gambon	...	Denton Baxter
Michael Jeter	...	Percy
Diego Luna	...	Button
James Russo	...	Sheriff Poole
Abraham Benrubi	...	Mose
Dean McDermott	...	Doc Barlow
Kim Coates	...	Butler
Herb Kohler	...	Cafe Man
Peter MacNeill	...	Mack
Cliff Saunders	...	Ralph
Patricia Stutz	...	Ralph's Wife (as Pat Stutz)
Julian Richings	...	Wylie

MPAA:

Rated R for violence.

Runtime:

139 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Australia:M | UK:12 (video rating) (2004) | UK:12A (original rating) | Germany:12 | Iceland:12 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Sweden:11 | South Korea:15 | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-15 | Ireland:12PG (original rating) | Ireland:12 (video rating) | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 | Singapore:PG | USA:R | Canada:A

Filming Locations:

Alberta, Canada

Company:

Touchstone Pictures

Trivia:

Stoney Elder Dale House performed a special spiritual ceremony for Kevin Costner before filming began. The event is shown on the second Open Range DVD disc.

Goofs:

Continuity: After the initial gunfight when Boss and Percy are trying to stop Charley from shooting the injured bad guy, Percy is holding his rifle with one hand. When he steps beside Boss to stop Charley, and the camera angle changes, he is holding it in both hands.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Boss Spearman: [indicating a thunderstorm] Think she'll get over this-a-way?
Charley Waite: Might.
Boss Spearman: Best bed 'em down.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Broken Trail: The Making of a Legendary Western (2006) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Holding All My Love for You

One Of Costner's Best Films

It's probably well known that Kevin Costner once had Republican party sympathies , something that wasn't to fashionable in the Hollywood of the late 80s/early 90s . What might not be so well known is that he switched his allegiance to the environmentalists / greens at the turn of the millennium . This perhaps isn't so surprising because if you watch a film either directed by or starring Costner there always seems to be a running theme of the characters existing in a wilderness away from civilisation such as DANCES WITH WOLVES , PRINCE OF THIEVES and WATERWORLD alongside the philosophy that guns don't kill people , people kill people , or to be more accurate bad people kill people then good people kill bad people as seen in THE UNTOUCHABLES and THE POSTMAN with PRINCE OF THIEVES and WATERWORLD also coming into this category also

OPEN RANGE continues this Costner philosophy as we're shown men or horseback against a breath taking panorama of the untouched American wilderness . You can't help thinking that Costner would like nothing better to see the end of industrialisation and when landscapes are this remote and beautiful who can blame him . The story itself may be rather old fashioned almost in the vein of John Wayne but that doesn't stop it from being the best film with Kevin Costner for a very long time . The cinematography helps of course but the director's best idea was to employ Robert Duvall as co-lead Boss Spearman . Duvall of course is the type of very rare actor who can make a shopping list come alive and Michael Gambon is memorable as bad guy Denton Baxter

Some people might be put off by the fact that it stars and was directed by Costner and therefore expected a three and a half hour epic about nothing in particular . I also had these reservations but was glad I saw this . Duvall's performance and the bloody shoot out at the end had a lot to do with my positive opinion