Monte Walsh (2003) (TV)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Simon Wincer

Writers (WGA):

Jack Schaefer (novel)
Michael Brandman (teleplay) ...

Release Date:

17 January 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Western

Plot:

Monte Walsh and Chet Rollins are long-time cowhands, working whatever ranch work comes their way, but...

Plot Keywords:

Cowboy | Wild West Show | Horse Ranch | Horsemanship | Progress

Awards:

Nominated for Primetime Emmy. Another 1 win

Cast

Tom Selleck	...	Monte Walsh
Isabella Rossellini	...	'Countess' Martine
Keith Carradine	...	Chester 'Chet' Rollins
George Eads	...	Frank 'Shorty' Austin
Robert Carradine	...	Sunfish Perkins
Barry Corbin	...	Bob the Storekeeper
James Gammon	...	Fighting Joe Hooker / Albert Miller
Rex Linn	...	Hat Henderson
John Michael Higgins	...	Robert Slocum
William Sanderson	...	Skimpy Eagens
Wallace Shawn	...	Colonel Wilson
Marshall R. Teague	...	Wallace 'Dally' Johnson (as Marshall Teague)
Rick Ravanello	...	Henry Louis 'Sugar' Wyman
Joanna Miles	...	Sairy Brennan
Lori Hallier	...	Mrs. Mary Wilder

Runtime:

117 min (DVD version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Australia:M

Filming Locations:

CL Ranch - 45001 Township Road, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Company:

Brandman Productions

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Fighting Joe rides his horse off the cliff, the horse jumps into mid-air. No horse would consent to this. They have brains and they make judgments. The horse would make every effort to stop and not go over the cliff.

Quotes:

Monte Walsh: When we get through... you're gonna want to take a nap, sit on the porch and wait for the mares to come callin'.

Movie Connections:

Version of Monte Walsh (1970)

Wonderful character study

The TNT remake of "Monte Walsh" is a wonderfully detailed character study of aging cowboys and their struggle with the decline of the old west.

Tom Selleck, Keith Carradine, William Devane, James Gammon and Barry Corbin are the last of a dying breed and they don't accept the inevitable change that progress brings. "I won't do anything I can't do from a horse" is the condition Monte Walsh demands for accepting a job at a corporate ranch.

There is more than a little humor in this film as the cowboys deal with their own mortality as well as the end of their way of life. William Saunders small but engaging turn as the trail cook Skimpy provides some welcome comic relief to an otherwise wistful and touching story.

This film has great acting, beautiful photography, gorgeous music and a wonderfully understated style of direction by Simon Wincer.

Worth the time and commercial breaks.