Dead Man's Walk (1996)
Review by HTQ4
Film:
DVD:

Written by Diana Osanna & Larry McMurtry, based on the novel by McMurtry
Directed by Yves Simoneau
Starring F. Murray Abraham, Keith Carradine, Harry Dean Stanton, David Arquette, Jonny Lee Miller, Jennifer Garner, Brian Dennehy, Tim Blake Nelson, Patricia Childress and Eric Schweig

Features:

• "Making of" Featurette
  

Privates Woodrow F. Call (Miller) and Augustus McCrae (Arquette) are new to the Texas Rangers. Texas is still its own republic and everyone is having troubles on the plains with the Apache and Comanche Indians. McCrae and Call find themselves in the company of Col. Caleb Cobb (Abraham) on an expedition looking for safe passage from Austin, Texas to Santa Fe, New Mexico. Before they leave Austin, McCrae is smitten by a young Clara Allen Forsythe (Garner) and Call falls in love with a beautiful whore named Mattie (Childress). Each of these women prove to play important roles in the lives of these two young men. Along the way, the expedition comes into the crosshairs of Comanche Indian Chief Buffalo Hump (Schweig), the Spanish Army and the mysterious and dangerous Apache Indians.

Surprisingly, this prequel to Lonesome Dove is really well done. It is the last in the trilogy and almost carries as much weight as the first. After becoming so close to McCrae, Call, Clara and Newt (Mattie’s son), it is nice to see how these people’s paths crossed for the first time and how their relationships blossomed in the dangerous Old West. Arquette is superb as the young McCrae. Not only does he capture the mannerisms that Duvall provided the character in the original, he really finds the heart of the man. I honestly believe this to be one of his finest performances ever. Jonny Lee Miller is sufficient as the young Call and, I might add, he really proves his worth in the final moment of the film. With one look, he encapsulates the sad story of his love for Mattie and his son Newt. He had a hard task ahead of him since Jones created such a deeply hidden and almost mysterious character in the original, but he did the character justice.

Brian Dennehy seems miscast in his small role as the boys' first captain with the Texas Rangers. Jennifer Garner is infinitely charming as the young Clara, and it is easy to see why McCrae fell so deeply in love with her at first sight. The scenes they have together are really touching. Harry Dean Stanton and Keith Carradine also really shine in this story. The relationship that their characters share enables you to really get to know and love them.

It’s interesting to note that these are the same two writers who brought us the travesty that is Streets of Laredo, the ill-advised sequel to Dove. This script is so much stronger than Laredo that I have to wonder why, all things being equal on the scribing side of things, it works here and not there. We are allowed to really care for the characters again, and we are able to go on a journey that is similar to that of the original: where the characters are at the mercy of the harsh world that was the Old West. As always, the cinematography is amazing, and the authenticity is as solid as the original as well.

The "Making of" featurette lasts about ten minutes and barely skims the surface of this four-hour movie. There just really isn't that much to it. The qualm that I have with this DVD is that they put the same featurette on both of the two-disc set that this title entails. Rather than finding some other piece of information, like some historical stuff about the Republic of Texas and its history; even a history quiz would have been better than the same featurette on both DVDs.

On the whole, this DVD is worth adding to your collection, especially if you really get into the story of these two men as I have. But be assured, you're buying this sucker for the film.