Starring: Sam Elliott, Katharine Ross, Barry Corbin, Billy Green Bush, Ken Curtis Directed By: Reynaldo Villalobos Average Rating: Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested) Binding: DVD Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Subtitled, NTSC Label: Turner Home Ent Number of Items: 1 Region Code: 1 Release Date: May 17, 2005 Running Time: 117 minutes Theatrical Release Date: July 01, 1991
Product Description: Conagher is both a hard-riding actioner and a character-driven look at Western life. Katharine Ross plays Evie Teale widowed after coming West and forced to prove her mettle in many ways. Sam Elliott plays Conagher a cowhand who when not tracking rustlers drifts in and out of Evie's life. Something about that frontier woman keeps drawing him back. But can Evie ever keep him from drifting out again?Running Time: 117 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: WESTERN/MISC. UPC: 053939676525
Sam Elliot's Tribute To Louis L'Amour: The Best TV Film Adaptation Of A L'Amour Book To Date This review is for "Conagher" DVD (DVD Release Date: 2005)
Adapting an extremely popular book into a screenplay for a movie is almost alway a nearly impossible task--especially if one considers the fact that one script page, which is probably one fourth to one half of a book page at best, is equal to about one minute of film time. Louis L'Amour's novel, "Conagher," considered by many to be one of the best novels written, is around 192 pages (one reviewer states it is 152 pages). The film, again made for television on a small budget, is 117 minutes. Thus the writers--Sam Elliott (also a star and producer), Jeffrey M. Meyer, and Katharine Ross (also a star of the film)--had to condense the novel from 192 pages to approximately 48 pages; or a screenplay of about 117 pages. That means that over 100 pages of novel had to be deleted or heavily summarized. What the screenwriters provided was a phenomenal capsulization of Louis L'Amour's brilliant novel. (Please note that I am not a big fan of Louis L'Amour books, although I have read about a fourth of them. "Hondo" and "Sitka" are the other two books that I truly enjoyed.) Could "Conagher" have been a better movie? Absolutely--if they had made it into a mini-series, and had the budget to go with it! Could "Conagher" be any better, given the limitations under which it was produced? Not in my mind.
Other reviews have done an excellent job of discussing the performances of most of the actors--although some fail to "understand" or appreciate the beauty of Katherine Ross' performance--but less has been said about the sets. These buildings are the real things; the type of buildings I find in "ghost towns" and out on the plains of Montana and other western states. In deed, I cannot believe that other productions have not utilized--to my knowledge--the sets from this film. The photography is also excellent, capturing the vastness of the plains, and an intrinsic harmony that people of the land, like Conn Conagher and Evie Teale, feel in their souls. (That said, I do want to point out that many "westerners" never garnered that harmony--one that is close to what Native American Indians had as well--but rather they have "adapted" an appreciation and ideal of what the land represents).
I am sure that "Conagher" is a film that will be hard for some to fully appreciate because it--in spite of the necessity to limit itself, as discussed above--moves at its own pace. The film is about two people and the intersections of their lives in a "tough" and "lonely" west, that happens to incorporate some standard themes of the western genre. The only real weakness in the film--partially because the movie sought to stay "faithful" to the book--is its portrayal of the "Indians" in the film. In fact, I think that this is one part of the story that the writers should have left out; albeit, it helps to "demonstrate" Evie's "toughness" and "sand" as a character.
While this has nothing to do with the film itself, I found the DVD transfer to be rather poor. It takes a lot for me to comment about the quality of a transfer, as I understand the inherent problems of television films; conversely, Turner network usually takes much more "pride" in their work. Moreover, given the rather unique "status" of "Conagher," I feel that a Director's cut, clean of commercial breaks, with added scenes of the cowboy's daily routine (those "things" that made Conagher "happy"), Evie's turmoil and "happiness," and greater focus on the connections between the two characters would greatly enhance this film.
If this review was not helpful to you, I would appreciate learning the reason(s) so I can improve my reviews. My goal is to provide help to potential buyers, not get into any arguments. So, if you only disagree with my opinion, could you please say so in the comments and not indicate that the review was not helpful. Thanks.
this is America I forgot how many times i saw this movie must be more than 5 OR 6 times and every time i find it is so powerful and full of life which was so hard in those pioneering days.Thanks to Louis L'Amour for bringing this on to screen with his story and Sam Elliot he is great as Conagher and Katharine Ross as (Evie)movie is so good that you will enjoy it every time you see.A small rancher Taylor says:"Conagher I got nothing but respect for an honest cowhand" and Conagher replies to him "I takes man's money mr taylor I Ride for the Brand." another place Conagher tells Cris"Take a man's money and do a job he paid me for-I know no other way" This is what America is made of.Honesty and hard work of those people to be injoyed today.
Sam Elliot and a western, great. This is a gritty and entertaining western. I like Sam, he almost always does a good job and a believable character. This is typical for him, very entertaining. Large cast opens the story up, I liked it.
Over, and Over, and Over! This is one movie you will enjoy no matter how many times you view it. It reflects the values Americans use to have, and hopefully someday will have again :).
Conagher - as good as they get. Westerns are my favorite film genre - natural I guess for someone raised in Montana. Despite loving the genre, I have only a handful in my DVD collection. There really aren't many great westerns, regardless of how prolific the Duke and Clint and Tom were. But Conagher is one of the great ones and, I feel, one of the two best western's ever made (the other is `Shane', if you were curious). I have watched Conagher many times and can find no fault with it. The story is authentic, the characters believable, and the props and accoutrements accurate for the time. Unlike many westerns where death is meted out like welfare checks in the projects (try to count how many men Clint does away with in Josey Wales --bet you can't keep up), in Conagher the body count is confined to something reasonable. Growing up, I knew some old time cowboys that hadn't yet bucked out their last bronc, including my grandfather who rode for Mumford Brothers Cattle Company as a young man. Conagher reminds me of those old men. Hard working, courteous, willing to help out where they could, and who could find humor in situations that at first glance didn't seem the least bit funny. Unlike characters in some modern westerns, they swore very little--if at all--and never in mixed company. Their idea of cursing was pretty tame compared with our modern society. 'Hell' and 'damn' were the usual, but a smattering of SOB might be used if discussing politicians or a rank heifer. Like Conagher, they enjoyed pulling a cork now and again. Elliot's portrayal of a cowhand is flawless - a totally believable performance. Katherine Ross is Evie Teale, a widow trying to keep her body and soul together (as well as those of her two children) in a barren and hostile land. Barry Corbin is splendid as Charlie McCloud, an affable stagecoach driver concerned with the well being of Mrs. Teale and her young'uns. A special treat is seeing Ken Curtis in his final film appearance. Curtis plays Seaborn Tay - an aging rancher trying to protect his ranch from rustlers. Character actors James Gammon, Paul Koslo, Buck Taylor and Gavin O'Herlihy appear as the bad guys. For western aficionados, Conagher is a `must have' movie; they don't come any better.
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