Customer Reviews

Waltz Across Texas [VHS]

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a good Texas movie. My dad was a Land Man (secures the leases to drill) so I grew up in this milieu. Two guys really can bring in a well if the pay is not too deep. All of the high school guys in oil country worked as roustabouts (general labor) or rig hands during the summers. When two guys get together, we discuss who missed what block or who jumped offside before we talk about women. Some of the minor characters in the movie have the names of real oil men and women. Good stuff.

Nicely observed portrait of West Texans at that moment when the traditional individualistic ways of the maverick wildcatters collided with the more sophisticated, play-it-safe high-tech future. Story comes wrapped up as a romance between real-life husband-and-wife Terry Jastrow and Anne Archer.
The film does a fine job of idealizing the nuts-and-bolts of small-scale oil drilling, and makes that far more interesting than you might expect. The plot is clichéd, and the characters stereotypical, but somehow, the excellent screenplay uses familiarity to anchor us quickly into place, and then spends its own leisurely time drawing in the details that bring the whole thing to quite pleasurable life.
It's familiar without being clichéd, fleshed-out without being eccentric, dignified without being pompous. Credit the writer, and the likeability of the cast, most particularly Jastrow, who is quite charming. Richard Farnsworth also stands out in a very effective early sequence.
That said, there's a fuzziness to the technicals, to the lighting and editing and such. A better director could have made "Waltz Across Texas" absolutely sparkle. As it is, though, it's still a small, slightly under-polished gem.

After years of searching, I'd about lost hope that this movie would ever again become available on video. It's not only highly entertaining with some great actors but will hold viewers attention from start to finish in this engrossing story of survival in the search for oil. Using crude technology and wits, even those not involved in the oil industry will enjoy this movie.

I worked all over the West Texas oil fields from Wink to Andrews, and I can tell you this film is an excellent representation. The dance sequence with the Texas Two-Step to "One Hot Juke Box" was a real Texas hoedown! And Ernest Tubb did very well, too, along with Ann Archer and Mary Kay Place. Enjoy, Ya'all!

Liked this movie when I first saw it many years ago. Somewhat predictable in its format/story line, but still makes a pleasant afternoon vewing.

I have seen this film and enjoyed it many years ago. With my failing memory, I thought Ed Harris played the lead role and I wanted to see some of his earlier works again. Unfortunately, Ed Harris was not the leading man but real life Anne Archers husband. I purchased it anyway, and it was not as good as I remembered, the age of the film is showing and it has the low budget look. The chemistry is there with Archer and her husband and the towel scene is still classic. Mary Kay Place was a delight to see as supporting actress. I just loved her accent in this film even if it was a bit over the top. I own it now, so I may look at again when nostolgia occurs to see Anne Archer or MKP. Last film I saw with Anne was her film with Tommy Lee Jones in "Man of the House". If your looking for an old TEXAS romance film, this just might fill the bill.

I saw this movie years ago. When I ran across it on-line I bought it to see if it was really as good as I'd remembered. It is. Screenplay may be a little "hokey" but the story is fun.

This is a good gem of a movie well worth viewing. My dad was in the oil business and I remember hearing about this movie when it was being filmed in and around Midland, Texas. I grew up in Midland and was about 12 at the time. My mom heard when and where the final climactic scene was to be filmed, so we went out on the location and stood around for a good while with other curious on-lookers.

We had a good time that day. We were positioned over by some trailers and, at one point, Anne Archer walked right by us to get ready for the scene. Another interesting thing I remember is that this scene turned out somewhat differently in the final cut of the film. I remember an extra actor was in the scene that day. I believe he was one of the regular characters on the TV series Grizzly Adams a few years prior. I was surprised at his absence when I saw the film with my parents in Midland because I liked that actor very much from television.

However, it was still good to see the scene filmed and then to see some of it on the big screen months later. It was quite an experience and it's a good movie. It takes me back to that time period in Midland with some familiar places of my childhood.

A W*O*N*D*E*R*F*U*L Movie, and one my roommate ane I 'nearly saw' being
filmed. Being live theatre buffs AND actresses, we thought we would be able to at least glimpse the stars in lil' 'ole Marfa. Nay, nay, naton!
So we drove all the way back to Midland basking in the nearness of them.

Douthea Shaner,
Arlington, TX

Being from Midland you might say I'm a homer and thus have a bias towards this movie. This movie was literally made at the very end of the oil boom period - in fact many of the companies' whose name appear through out the movie had gone out of business by the time it was released (that's how fast the bust hit). Terry Jastrow (who is from Midland) and his real life wife Anne Archer are great opposite each other on the screen while Mary Kay Place provides great commentary on life in Texas Oil Business.