BBM and Lonesome Dove

[Front-Ranger]

I'm enjoying the interesting part about young Newt's first foray into Mexico with the others.

[ifyoucantfixit]

     I agree a great deal about how much alike that Call and Ennis are.  They are the ones that feel the need to stick to convention.  "Do the right thing."
He was so suppressed in his conventional wisdom, that he couldnt even show or much less tell his own son that he loved him.  He had to go out of
his personal way, to show his need to take care of the boy.  He respected him as a young man, and in his own way, I am sure he loved him.  But to
have said it, would have shown weakness.  To have been in love with a whore.  Not a fine upstanding woman of the community.  He had so many 
moral issues over his head, that he couldn't admit that he was imperfect.  He did love Gus though with every fibre of his being.  Not in a sexual way,
but in the way that binds souls together.  Gus forced Call to take him back to his "place," for burial.  Knowing that he would need a time of solitude,
and reflection in order to grieve.  He could never have done that, in front of all of his men.  It would have seemed to have made him appear weak.  That
was the one thing he would not allow himself to be.  It was a very quick ending, I think because of the disrepair that the body and the box were getting.
The cart was falling apart, and so with all the mishaps did the rest of the cargo.  It had to be rushed in order for him to make it there with any part of
it still intact.

[Brown Eyes]

**Spoilers**

  He did love Gus though with every fibre of his being.  Not in a sexual way,
but in the way that binds souls together.  Gus forced Call to take him back to his "place," for burial.  Knowing that he would need a time of solitude,
and reflection in order to grieve.  He could never have done that, in front of all of his men.

Thanks for the great observations Janice!  I agree that there was a strong platonic love between Call and Gus.  And, I love what you say about Gus very deliberately giving Call the long mission to go back to Texas alone in order to give him a lot of time alone.  It's interesting to think it may not have all been sentimental whim on Gus's part... and that his deathbead wish had as much to do with taking care of Call (to a certain extent) as it did with his memories of Clara.

[Brown Eyes]

 
My Lonesome Dove DVDs came today!!  Wow, Amazon was speedy with this part of my order.  I also ordered Dead Man's Walk, Comanche Moon and the film studies book that has a BBM pic on the cover (and apparently all those items are still on their way).

So, anyway, I'm excited to start watching LD!  I'll probably start watching it tonight.

[Front-Ranger]

Great to hear friend! In my reading of LD, the big roundup of horses in Mexico is done. It was beautifully told. I especially love the dialogue. Excellent character development too, with the characters of Dish and Deet portrayed in "eloquent confusion."

[mariez]

My Lonesome Dove DVDs came today!!  Wow, Amazon was speedy with this part of my order.  I also ordered Dead Man's Walk, Comanche Moon and the film studies book that has a BBM pic on the cover (and apparently all those items are still on their way).

So, anyway, I'm excited to start watching LD!  I'll probably start watching it tonight.

I'm excited for you, Amanda!  Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on the mini-series.  I haven't seen it in a while, but I remember it was long! 

Marie

[ifyoucantfixit]

    Lonesome Dove and Roots, have always been my favorite miniseries.  After having watched the series, that induced
me to read the books, in both cases. 
    I once met Alex Haley, in an elevator in downtown Los Angeles, when I was going to a doctors appointment.  He was
very cordial, but also somewhat introverted.  It was right after the series had been shown.  Maybe he had succumbed to
the "too much attention" syndrome that Heath seemed to have gotten later in his career.  What a shame that fame
has to intimidate some people so directly.

[Brown Eyes]

Glad you're still enjoying it Lee!

And, Janice, your post came in as I was composing this.


*spoilers*

I'm excited for you, Amanda!  Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on the mini-series.  I haven't seen it in a while, but I remember it was long! 

Marie

Hi Marie,
I've watched the first installment so far... the part called "Leaving."  And, there are many things I like about it.  I think the setting for the town of Lonesome Dove and the Hat Creek establishment is perfect... exactly how I imagined it.  I also think Robert Duvall and Tommy Lee Jones are great as Gus and Call.  Those two, along with Diane Lane as Lorena, seem like great casting.  I still don't exactly know how I feel about Ricky Schroder as Newt... in this case he seems "fresh-faced" and innocent so that it works to a certain extent.  Jake Spoon is visualized and played very differently from how I pictured him actually... when reading the book, I pictured Jake as being much more "dapper"... or at least I pictured him attempting to be more dapper.  

I'm quite enjoying it so far, and I agree that it seems very faithful to the book.  My one criticism is that it seems a little dated in terms of a production, especially in when it comes to special effects.  To me, that aspect was pretty distracting actually.

I was also surprised at how quickly the moved through the whole Mexico episode in this early installment.  The other thing that this production doesn't seem to do an equivalent job with as the book... is the depiction of the activity of herding the cattle and horses.  McMurtry's written descriptions of the darkness, drama, scariness, etc. of herding the cattle at night and in storms, etc., seemed much more dramatic than the way it appears in the mini-series.  It's so great to experience those dramatic moments of herding and all the details (like the dust, etc.) through the naive perspective of Newt... so we learn about the customs, unexpected elements and circumstances of herding along with Newt.

[Brown Eyes]

I'm just here again to report that I received my copies of Dead Man's Walk and Comanche Moon today in the mail.

LOL, I wonder if it's frustrating for Larry McMurtry to write something as concise as a screenplay.  It seems clear that he feels very much at home as a writer producing very lengthy works.  My new copy of DMW is 518 pages and CM is 716.
 


I also watched the second installment of Lonesome Dove last night.  And, I have to say, Tommy Lee Jones and Robert Duvall really are wonderful in these roles.  And, Gus as a character is just fantastic.

[mariez]

Glad you're still enjoying it Lee!

And, Janice, your post came in as I was composing this.


*spoilers*

Hi Marie,
I've watched the first installment so far... the part called "Leaving."  And, there are many things I like about it.  I think the setting for the town of Lonesome Dove and the Hat Creek establishment is perfect... exactly how I imagined it.  I also think Robert Duvall and Tommy Lee Jones are great as Gus and Call.  Those two, along with Diane Lane as Lorena, seem like great casting.  I still don't exactly know how I feel about Ricky Schroder as Newt... in this case he seems "fresh-faced" and innocent so that it works to a certain extent.  Jake Spoon is visualized and played very differently from how I pictured him actually... when reading the book, I pictured Jake as being much more "dapper"... or at least I pictured him attempting to be more dapper.  

I'm quite enjoying it so far, and I agree that it seems very faithful to the book.  My one criticism is that it seems a little dated in terms of a production, especially in when it comes to special effects.  To me, that aspect was pretty distracting actually.

I was also surprised at how quickly the moved through the whole Mexico episode in this early installment.  The other thing that this production doesn't seem to do an equivalent job with as the book... is the depiction of the activity of herding the cattle and horses.  McMurtry's written descriptions of the darkness, drama, scariness, etc. of herding the cattle at night and in storms, etc., seemed much more dramatic than the way it appears in the mini-series.  It's so great to experience those dramatic moments of herding and all the details (like the dust, etc.) through the naive perspective of Newt... so we learn about the customs, unexpected elements and circumstances of herding along with Newt.

Hey Amanda,

I'm glad you're enjoying it.  It's been a few years since I've watched it - I'll have to do so again soon - but, yes, I imagine it would seem a bit dated in terms of production value.  I think it was produced in the late 80's?  Generally speaking, I'm never quite satisfied when novels are turned into movies b/c certain elements are never captured exactly the way I've pictured them in my mind, but generally speaking I remember being pleasantly surprised and satisfied with most of the LD mini-series. 

I couldn't agree more about the casting of Jones and Duvall as Call and Gus.  They are pitch perfect, imo.  And, yeah, Gus is an unforgettable character!  Both of them stayed with me for a long time after I read the book and watched the movie, but I admit that Gus holds a special place in my heart.  Enjoy the rest! 

Marie