Dead Man's Walk

This old fashioned style T.V western yarn has some brilliant actors and is a prequel to the famed 'Lonesome Dove'. The strongest aspect of the story is seeing these Texas Rangers battle it out against the fearsome Apache and (lesser known) Comanche warriors. Although the show has quite a sentimental romance running through the three episodes, it also shows more than a few white folk getting scalped; a fate worse than death (but usually resulted in the latter). The quality of the cast raise it above the normal viewing standards and anyone who enjoys Westerns will certainly enjoy. Watching this it might put the Comanche at nearly number one, as bad-ass Indians as they hone torture down to a perfection.

While the previous comments praise the actors' style and likeness in terms of their forebears (Jones and Duvall), this movie is a pleasure to watch by way of the incredible scenery and the presence of several veteran character actors like Harry Dean Stanton, Keith Carradine, and the always awesome, Edward James Olmos. Fans of "O Brother Where Art Thou" will be pleased to see Ray McKinnon and Tim Blake Nelson featured prominently. I also noticed all of the previous comments were written by Yankees, so I might point out that the landscapes are a bit flawed (albeit beautiful) in terms of Texas-New Mexico geography. I've been to all of the places described in the book... believe me, most of West Texas is flatter than they let on! The sunsets are accurate, as are the rocky buttes, but they're using the Davis Mountains of the Big Bend region as the backdrop for most of the film, and that's a bit of a stretch. If you ever want to see some of the most beautiful scenery in West Texas, visit there sometime. The real places they traveled weren't always so pretty. I found that the actors didn't seem to be struggling for food and water as much as the characters in the book. Survival (man vs. nature) is a big part of the novel, and doesn't feature too prominently here. I kept getting hungry and thirsty while reading it! McMurtry mixes in a lot of real events with the narrative. You might think this stuff is fiction... it's not! Bigfoot Wallace was a real character and was known to have done many of the things this character experiences. The real Bigfoot survived to tell the tales as a seasoned old fart. The Santa Fe expedition is real.. and what happens to them is real. The Comanches as the lords of the plains? You bet! The were the kings of the Llano Estacado for 200 years. Buffalo Hump was real Comanche chief... his real name, Hard Penis, was too much for 19th century Texans so they gave him the new moniker. The descriptions of torture? McMurtry uses real sources.. he doesn't have to make this stuff up to be shocking... it really happened! The timeline is a bit compressed for drama, but the Texans of the 1840's lived this stuff. The Black Bean drawing is also real, but it happened in Saltillo Mexico and 17 guys drew black.

For a dose of Texas History, you can't beat Dead Man's Walk. Read the book! But don't be afraid to read James Haley's "Texas: From Frontier to Spindletop". It's the real deal and includes just as much gore, drama, and adventure.

Larry McMurtry seems to be turning "Lonesome Dove" into a cottage industry, but this "prequel" works fairly well on its own terms. It's mounted in good-looking style and has a first-rate whipping scene wherein Jonny Lee Miller, stripped to the waist, is tied to the back of a wagon and given 100 lashes, the first 50 by one man and the second 50 by another. When that first lash hits Miller's bare back, you not only see it and hear it -- you FEEL it!

I'm a Texan and as such it's hard to take the obvious mistakes made in reference to Texas geography. One minute they're supposedly on the staked plains near the Palo Duro Canyon (in the TX Panhandle) and then suddenly they're showing mountains in Southwest Texas near Big Bend National Park. Then there's the Grizzly Besr incident. At that time there wouldn't have been any more Grizzly's left in Texas where they did once range a very long time ago. With all that said, this is a good movie and enjoyable to watch. I was impressed with how the Comanches were portrayed with some very accurate depictions of Comanche horse prowess. The acting is solid. It was nice to see it was filmed in Texas in areas where I've done a lot of hiking and camping.

I've watched this movie about 4 times, and really enjoyed the personifications of these historic characters (albeit apocryphal).

Johnny Lee Miller and David Arquette are very convincing as Gus and Woodrow. The most memorable performance is easily that of Keith Carradine. He portrayed Bigfoot Wallace, a larger than life frontiersman, who actually outlived the firing squad at Saltillo, in a clever, poetic and humorous way. The only downer of the movie, is the same with any and all Larry McMurthy films: they're depressing as hell! Death, tragedy and sufferin'! And as with all of his films, the conquering will of the human spirit shines through. A fine example of a Western film.