It's not many Westerns that open with a scene of pigs eating a snake; that's probably the best tip off that this isn't going to be your ordinary Western. In many ways it is of course, but the writing and dialog is so crisp and unique that it's a pleasure to behold. Like one of Gus's (Robert Duvall) ranch hands mentions at one point, he's missed when he's not around for a while because they all like to listen to him talk.
Duvall became my favorite modern day actor with the strength of performances in a couple of other Westerns, 2003's "Open Range" and the 2006 AMC mini-series "Broken Trail". I actually saw this series some time after, watching it again over the course of a couple days this past week. This first installment takes it's time introducing the principal characters in what would become a fairly extensive cast with the story taking place across a withering expanse across the Great Plains.
The backdrop to this adventure has to do with former Texas Rangers Augustus McCrae (Duvall) and Woodrow Call (Tommy Lee Jones) deciding to run a herd of cattle and horses north to Montana Territory for one last roundup before heading into permanent retirement. To do so they have to rustle the horses from a Mexican outlaw, but darned if I heard them talk about taking twenty six hundred cattle along for the journey. It never looked close to that many to me but for the sake of the story I'll go along with it.
This episode introduces a colorful cast of characters led by Joshua Deets (Danny Glover), Jake Spoon (Robert Urich), Lorena Wood (Diane Lane), Dish Boggett (D.B. Sweeney) and Newt Dobbs (Ricky Shroder). There are others as well who meander in and out of the story as circumstances cause them to cross paths with the principals. The one thing you have to admire about old Gus is the way he manages to excuse himself from the lion's share of work that has to be done with no one else taking offense. But don't let that fool you, he's right there when you need him to be.
Two things occur near the end of this installment that caused me to question the validity of those scenes. The first was that weird instance of the cattle herd 'catching lightning'; it looked more like it belonged in a Stephen King flick. The other was that business of the water moccasins attacking the young Irishman Sean. Three things crossed my mind on that one - water moccasins in such numbers in moving water didn't sound right to me, so I had to check. Though they can be found occasionally along a river edge, their main habitat includes swamps and boggy marshes, virtually never in swift, deep and cool water. So with the attack on the young boy, where were all those snakes when the rest of the men rode their horses through the river? And since the Irish lad had only been in the country for a short period of time with his older brother, how would he have known to call them water moccasins?
But those are just minor nit-picks. I would challenge any movie fan to watch this first episode and not be intrigued enough to follow it all the way through. And those pigs, well, I guess you just can't keep a good barnyard animal down. They followed along on the trail keeping time with the best of them.
Duvall became my favorite modern day actor with the strength of performances in a couple of other Westerns, 2003's "Open Range" and the 2006 AMC mini-series "Broken Trail". I actually saw this series some time after, watching it again over the course of a couple days this past week. This first installment takes it's time introducing the principal characters in what would become a fairly extensive cast with the story taking place across a withering expanse across the Great Plains.
The backdrop to this adventure has to do with former Texas Rangers Augustus McCrae (Duvall) and Woodrow Call (Tommy Lee Jones) deciding to run a herd of cattle and horses north to Montana Territory for one last roundup before heading into permanent retirement. To do so they have to rustle the horses from a Mexican outlaw, but darned if I heard them talk about taking twenty six hundred cattle along for the journey. It never looked close to that many to me but for the sake of the story I'll go along with it.
This episode introduces a colorful cast of characters led by Joshua Deets (Danny Glover), Jake Spoon (Robert Urich), Lorena Wood (Diane Lane), Dish Boggett (D.B. Sweeney) and Newt Dobbs (Ricky Shroder). There are others as well who meander in and out of the story as circumstances cause them to cross paths with the principals. The one thing you have to admire about old Gus is the way he manages to excuse himself from the lion's share of work that has to be done with no one else taking offense. But don't let that fool you, he's right there when you need him to be.
Two things occur near the end of this installment that caused me to question the validity of those scenes. The first was that weird instance of the cattle herd 'catching lightning'; it looked more like it belonged in a Stephen King flick. The other was that business of the water moccasins attacking the young Irishman Sean. Three things crossed my mind on that one - water moccasins in such numbers in moving water didn't sound right to me, so I had to check. Though they can be found occasionally along a river edge, their main habitat includes swamps and boggy marshes, virtually never in swift, deep and cool water. So with the attack on the young boy, where were all those snakes when the rest of the men rode their horses through the river? And since the Irish lad had only been in the country for a short period of time with his older brother, how would he have known to call them water moccasins?
But those are just minor nit-picks. I would challenge any movie fan to watch this first episode and not be intrigued enough to follow it all the way through. And those pigs, well, I guess you just can't keep a good barnyard animal down. They followed along on the trail keeping time with the best of them.
