Open Range

Director: Kevin Costner Kevin Costner

Overview

Kevin Costner's 2003 Western Open Range comes to DVD with a widescreen anamorphic transfer that preserves the original theatrical aspect ratio of 2.35:1. English soundtracks are rendered in both Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1. Spanish subtitles are accessible. Supplemental materials include a commentary track recorded by Costner. He talks about his theories as a director, his affection for the Western genre (a type of movie that, with this film, he proves he has absorbed), and many tales about the film's production. His commentary is as earnest and heartfelt as the film itself. A second DVD is full of information on the making of the film, allowing the viewer access to almost every aspect of the process. This is a strong disc from Disney/Buena Vista that will be of particular interest to any genre enthusiast.

Product Details

Release Date:	01/20/2004
UPC:	0786936226379
Original Release:	2003
Rating:	R
Source:	Walt Disney Video
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround, DTS 5.1-Channel Surround Sound]
Language:	English
Time:	2:19:00
Sales rank:	2,907

Special Features

Closed Caption; Disc One: Open Range feature film; Audio commentary with Kevin Costner; Disc Two:; "America's Open Range"; "Beyond Open Range" director's journal; Deleted scenes with optional commentary by Kevin Costner; "Storyboard: Open Range"; Music video montage

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Robert Duvall	Boss Spearman
Kevin Costner	Charley Waite
Annette Bening	Sue Barlow
Michael Gambon	Denton Baxter
Michael Jeter	Percy
Diego Luna	Button
James Russo	Sheriff Poole
Abraham Benrubi	Mose
Dean McDermott	Doc Barlow
Kim Coates	Butler
Herb Kohler	Actor
Peter MacNeill	Mack
Cliff Saunders	Ralph
Pat Stutz	Ralphs Ehefrau,Ralph's Wife
Julian Richings	Wylie
Ian Tracey	Tom
Rod Wilson	Gus
Diego Del Mar	Ballester,Ballester
Patricia Benedict	Actor
Tim Koetting	Actor
Tom Carey	Ray
Kurtis Sanheim	Cory
Billy Morton	Junior
Alex Zahara	Chet
Chad Camilleri	Ace
Greg Schlosser	Pete
Guy Bews	Roy
Lorette Clow	Macks Ehefrau
Alexis Cerkiewicz	Macks Tochter
Benrubi Abraham	Actor
Michael Kamen	Composer

Technical Credits

Craig Storper

Lauran Paine

Kevin Costner	Director,Producer
Craig Storper	Screenwriter,Executive Producer
Armyan Bernstein	Executive Producer,Producer,Sound Effects
Guy Bews	Stunts
Jake Eberts	Producer
Norman Howell	Stunts
Mindy Marin	Casting
David J. Negron Jr.	Special Effects
Neil Trifunovich	Special Effects
David Valdes	Producer
Barry Cameron	Special Effects
Dave Badgerow	Stunts
James Bailey	Sound Effects
Lauran Paine	Screenwriter
Rocco Larizza	Special Effects
Gerry Martins	Special Effects
Robert Sheridan	Special Effects
Steve Bartkowicz	Sound Effects
Barney Cabral	Sound Effects
Claudia Carle	Sound Effects

Scene Index

Side #1 --
1. Opening Credits/A Rainy Campsite [9:49]
2. Mose Is Sent to Town [6:48]
3. Searching for Mose [7:15]
4. Doc Barlow's [9:55]
5. A Midnight Raid [13:33]
6. Tending to Button [5:00]
7. A Storm Is Brewin' [2:26]
8. A Warm Cup of Tea [6:55]
9. Showdown at the Saloon [9:06]
10. A Visit With the Sheriff [7:13]
11. Charley and Sue [2:48]
12. The Town Prepares [9:23]
13. Charley Lays Out His Plan [5:00]
14. The Gunfight Begins [2:13]
15. The Town Helps Out [2:59]
16. Charley Asks to See Sue [9:40]
17. A Proposal [11:06]
18. End Credits [6:14]

Menu

Side #1 --
   Play
   Bonus Feature
      Audio Commentary
         View Film With Commentary by Kevin Costner On
         View Film With Commentary by Kevin Costner Off
      Register Your DVD
   Scene Selection
   Set Up
      Audio Options
         English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
         English DTS 5.1 Surround Sound
         French
      Captions & Subtitles
         English Captions for the Hearing Impaired
         Spanish Subtitles
         No Subtitles
   Sneak Peeks
      Hidalgo
      Veronica Guerin
      Cold Creek Manor
      Haunted Mansion
      ESPN
      Alias
      Play All
Side #2 -- Bonus Features
   Beyond Open Range
      Play All
      Beginnings
      Preproduction Challenges
      On Location
      First Day!
      Weathering the Elements
      Wardrobe and Stars
      The Realism of a Gunfight
      A Film Is Finished
   America's Open Range
   Deleted Scenes
      Play All
      Send Mose to Town
      River Campfire
      Tracking Mose
      Mose's Story
      Watching From Jail
      Toss Jail Keys
      Wife & Child
      Rip it Down
      Charlie With Dead Men
      Baxter Kills Bill
      Livery
      Cemetery
      View With Select on Camera Introductions by Kevin Costner On
      View With Select on Camera Introductions by Kevin Costner Off
   Storyboarding: Open Range
   Music Video: "Broken Wagon"

Editorial Reviews

Westerns have always been good luck for Kevin Costner. His showy supporting role in 1985's Silverado marked him as an up-and-coming talent, and his 1990 directorial debut, Dances with Wolves, got that year's Academy Award for Best Picture and earned him an Oscar for Best Director. Open Range is a more traditional, straightforward genre film, but it's every bit as effective in its clean, unpretentious storytelling and deceptively simple portrayal of archetypal protagonists. In addition to wielding the megaphone, Costner plays a former gunman and mercenary who has long abandoned his killing ways to ride herd with free-grazing cowman Robert Duvall, an old-school cowboy who abides by a strict code of honor. When one of their fellow drovers (Abraham Benrubi) is savagely beaten and later killed by henchmen of ruthless cattle baron Michael Gambon, Costner and Duvall reluctantly buckle up their gun belts and seek the justice denied them by crooked sheriff James Russo. Annette Bening, as a frontier doctor's sister smitten with the enigmatic Costner, is frankly superfluous to the story but delivers a fine performance. The star exercises unusual restraint in his portrayal of the taciturn, haunted gunslinger, and he cedes center stage to Duvall's crusty, moralistic range rider. The characters played by Gambon and Russo are two-dimensional, but they are sufficiently well drawn as to be believable in this old-fashioned morality tale. Open Range has a refreshing but unobtrusive self-awareness about its unabashed deployment of clichés; in some movies that would be a fatal flaw, but in a suspenseful shoot-'em-up like this one, that's not only acceptable but preferable. After a string of clinkers, Costner finally strikes pay dirt again with this rousing horse opera, reminding us once again of his formidable talent both behind and in front of the camera.

Barnes & Noble - Ed Hulse

Bookended by somewhat flawed first and third acts, Kevin Costner's Open Range has a strong second act that makes it quite worthwhile. This simple tale about morality and revenge could easily have been filmed in the early '50s with John Wayne in the Costner part and Walter Brennan in the Boss Spearman role, although one is hard pressed to think anyone could be better than Robert Duvall, who manages to find the right mix -- part real person, part mythic evocation of the West -- to give this film the weight Costner is aiming for much of the time. The first 30 minutes of the film -- when the men are alone with the expansive land -- attempts to bring the viewer into the languid pace associated with Westerns, but occasionally blurs the line between leisurely and dull. Once they make their way into town, however, the film has a confidence that should keep any viewer involved. Costner the director displays talent throughout the film, although it wavers in some instances. The climactic gunfight, a very long sequence full of action, frightening stillness, tension, and occasional humor is brilliantly handled. The audience can see where everybody is and why people shoot when and where they do. At the same time, however, there is a scary, disorganized feeling in the speed of the shooting and in the camera angles that gives the audience the same sense of fear that the combatants are experiencing. The violence is real and visceral without being exploitive. Sadly, the flat-footed resolution of the love story between Costner and Annette Bening ends the film with a whimper rather than a bang. There are three scenes between the couple -- which is certainly one and probably two too many. But that misstep in the final ten minutes does not take away from the achievement that is the meat of Open Range. Costner has made a good film by displaying his knowledge of Westerns and his appreciation for Robert Duvall.

All Movie Guide - Perry Seibert