Western Weekends - Lonesome Dove (The Miniseries)

It's been a while since I've done a Western Weekend. One of my favourite reads of last year was Larry McMurtry's 1985 western novel, Lonesome Dove. It's a hefty read, but it's nonetheless gripping and poignant. So, I figured I'd take a look at the 1989 miniseries.

Robert Duvall and Tommy Lee Jones star as Augustus McRae and Woodrow Call, former Texas Rangers and the proprietors of the Hat Creek Cattle Company and Livery Emporium of Lonesome Dove, Texas. Things take off when fellow Ranger Jake Spoon, played by Robert Urich, unexpectedly arrives in Lonesome Dove after a ten-year absence. Jake is wanted for murder in Arkansas, but the stories of travels inspire Woodrow to gather a herd and set up a ranch in Montana.

It's amazing how such a big book could be transferred to the screen. In fact, that was the original intention. Larry McMurtry wrote Lonesome Dove as a screenplay back in 1972, under the title Streets of Laredo. The film was due to be directed by Peter Bogdanovich (whom McMurtry had previously worked with on The Last Picture Show), and was going to feature John Wayne as Woodrow Call, Jimmy Stewart as Augustus McRae, and Henry Fonda as Jake Spoon. However, John Wayne turned the role down, prompting the others to back out, and McMurtry eventually bought back the rights to the story and made it into a novel.

Watching this, I agree with John Wayne; I really cannot see him in the role. However, Robert Duvall and Tommy Lee Jones share some great chemistry. The expansive scenery looks stunning, and I am invested in the journey all the characters go through. The first part starts out with the promise of an adventure, but then it takes dark turns at every corner. OK, not quite to a Game of Thrones level of killing off main characters, but they still try and keep things a little gruesome if toned down.

I do have to reserve some criticism for one particular scenes: The first river crossing at the end of the first episode. One of the ranch hands gets killed after his horse disturbs a nest of water mocassins. It's not exactly a pleasant end, but the slow motion and extreme close-ups ended up looking silly. They show it again at the beginning of the next episode, but the aftermath is still poignant.

There are a couple of other changes from the book that I didn't entirely agree with, but that's expected and often required, so I can't really fault that. They still kept the emotional feel of the book, and that's all that really matters.

The miniseries is four parts, all of which are about an hour and a half. I've not seen it on any streaming services in the UK, but the DVD is available online and I do recommend you buy it. I do recommend subtitles though, as the accents are quite thick.