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Lone Star
 
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Lone Star (1996)

Starring: Chris Cooper, Elizabeth Peña Director: John Sayles Rating: R (Restricted) Format: DVD
4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (85 customer reviews)

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Product Details


Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential video
This complex and rich film by John Sayles stars Chris Cooper as the contemporary sheriff of a Texas border town still under the sway of his late, legendary lawman father (Matthew McConaughey, seen in flashbacks). The discovery of a skeleton and crusted-over badge--buried some 40 years--initiates an investigation into an old crime no one wants to talk about but which will determine for Cooper's character, once and for all, various truths about his father's life. Sayles ingeniously sets this mystery against the backdrop of a developing, multicultural community losing its economic base while haggling over a history of racism. The overall effect is of a complicated American tragedy mitigated by the possibility of personal redemption. A terrific experience. --Tom Keogh

Product Description
When the skeleton of his murdered predecessor is found sheriff sam deeds unearths many other long buried secrets in his texas border town. Studio: Turner Hm Entertainm Release Date: 03/29/2005 Starring: Chris Cooper Matthew Mcconaughey Run time: 121 minutes Rating: R Director: John Sayles

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Customer Reviews

85 Reviews
5 star:
 (63)
4 star:
 (12)
3 star:
 (4)
2 star:
 (4)
1 star:
 (2)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.5 out of 5 stars (85 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
77 of 81 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars John Sayles at His Best, January 2, 2000
By Terry Knapp (Santa Rosa, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This is one of those films where words of praise seem to be almost always inadequate. I think LONE STAR may turn out to be a classic. It is certainly one of the best films Sayles has yet given us. The story is richly textured and wonderfully complex in it's characters, it's social themes and it's who-done-it mystery.

This film covers a potpourri of subjects: racial strife, national identity, interfamily relationships, political corruption and political correctness, among others. That Sayles is able to contain all these tumultuous matters in one film and make them work naturally within the structure of that film is nothing short of miraculuous.

The performances are uniformly excellent, with Chris Cooper and Elizabeth Pena standouts as former high school sweethearts who were torn apart by their parents. The reason for their separation is not what it at first seems to be and it is one of the "kickers" of this movie. Francis McDormand is featured as Cooper's bipolar ex-wife in a wonderful cameo. McConaughey is fine in flashbacks as Cooper's legendary lawman father. Kristofferson is all snake venom as a corrupt and murderous sheriff. Joe Morton is properly reserved as the commander of a local military installation, a man who has worked his way up in a formally structured institution, coming to terms with his estranged father, a former numbers runner and gambler who is now the owner of the only local bar that caters to the Afican American community.

This film is gorgeously shot in Super 35 by Stuart Dryburgh, who has captured the modern American Southwest in a way that few other cinematographers have. You can almost feel the sun on the back of your neck.

The DVD is light on extras but that is compensated for by the Amazon price. Grab this and settle back for an evening of challenging, adult entertainment.

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49 of 52 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Funny and Wise, Best of the Best, January 22, 2001
By Holly Loth (Philadelphia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Lone Star (1996) [VHS] (VHS Tape)
Lone Star is about a lot of things. It's about a small town sheriff's investigation of a thirty year old murder which may have involved his father, a local hero. It's about his childhood sweetheart, a Latina public school teacher, and her mother, a successful restauranteur who pretends her roots are Spanish rather than Mexican. It's about a black army colonel who is posted to command a closing base near his estranged father's nightclub. It's about his father and his son. It's about a small town on the border between the US and Mexico, and it's about the borderlands between history and legend, between fact and truth, between love and enmity. It's a romance, a mystery, an unblinking portrait of an American town at the end of the twentieth century.

It's possibly the most intelligent commentary on American history I have ever seen or read, and the fact that it's so damned smart doesn't make it one iota less entertaining. John Sayles is a master, and this is his best film yet. The cast, the screenplay, the cinematography, the setting--everything is perfect, and everything combines to make a film one can watch over and over and over again, gleaning something new each time.

If I could make every US citizen watch one movie, this would be it.

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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A masterful film, April 7, 2002
This review is from: Lone Star [VHS] (VHS Tape)
First I would like to thank John Sayles for his unique style.

A somewhat sleepy Southwest Texas border town provides the backdrop for this most unusual film. There is nothing uncommon about the demographic mix here: Anglo, Hispanic, Mexican, Black, yet Sayles hand creates an unforgettable experience through the use of warts-and-all character development and beautiful insight.

I realize some may have issues with the regional nature of this film but make no mistake, having lived most of my life in the Southwest, I can name actual persons that closely match each character in this film.

Chris Cooper plays the part of Sam Deeds to perfection. Recently divorced, Chris returns to Rio County as its new Sheriff, following in his legendary fathers' footsteps. As Chris states in the film, 'I spent the first 15 years of my life trying to be just like my old man, and the next 15 trying to kill him'. For those who do not have larger-than-life fathers, Cooper's portrail is a direct hit. For those who do, I need not say anything.

Although the plot revolves around the discovery of the remains of long-dead Sheriff Charlie Wade, this film is about conviction and human frailty, not solving a murder. An example of the wisdom of Sayles is when Otis Payne, bar owner, explains to his black-and-white thinking Colonel son Chet Payne, poignantly played by Eddie Robinson that most blacks in Rio County patronize both his bar and the church. And Sayles holds true to these words. With the exception of Charlie Wade's character, each shares strengths and weaknesses, frailty and prejudice, practicality and remorse.

Sam Deeds and Elizabeth Pena as Pilar Cruz fit together wonderfully as high-school sweethearts who are reunited after Sam's divorce. Convictions play heavily into both characters: Sam's ambivalent feelings toward his fathers' graft and political gain, Pilar's fight against a canned school curriculum. Sayles wisely points out that people of conviction are not perfect but are special. And when two special meet and fall in love, it is for a lifetime. Circumstances are not on their side, which makes their love affair that much more poignant. The few moments they are able to share are full of deep emotion and affection, just as they should be.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Sayles' finest hour (or two)
If I could have only ten DVDs on a desert island, this would make the cut. If you can only see one film by John Sayles, choose Lone Star. How come? Read more
Published 2 months ago by Bliss

5.0 out of 5 stars LoneStar stars!
I ordered LoneStar to show my 12th-grade lit students as a contemporary take on an ancient theme as an introduction to Oedipus Rex. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Kathy Benson

3.0 out of 5 stars Keeping need to know information secret has consequences
A small town in Texas has to face the secrets
that have been kept for nearly 40 years
when a grave is found in the desert
on an old Army firing range. Read more
Published 4 months ago by R. Bagula

4.0 out of 5 stars Relax and enjoy it!
The movie consists of several intertwining plots and requires attention and patience from the viewer. Read more
Published 4 months ago by J. Lisenko

5.0 out of 5 stars 5 stars for Lone Star
The movie arrived a few days after I ordered it. It was inexpensive and arrived quickly. I am quite pleased with this purchase. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Leonard Federico

4.0 out of 5 stars Major whodoneit soap
Good who done it soap with good cast, script and plot. A little bit of everything from a little Texas town just north of the Rio Grande...plus the kitchen sink. Read more
Published 9 months ago by F. N. Mastrogiovanni

5.0 out of 5 stars Exceptional.
I had forgotten how good Lone Star is. The simplest way to explain it, is that its No Country For Old Men without the blood bath. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Coronet Blue

5.0 out of 5 stars A lot of power
Excellently subtle tapestry of race matters, family secrets & romantic irony in a sleepy Texas border town. A film to watch more than once. Excellent casting.
Published 14 months ago by Robert W. Scott

5.0 out of 5 stars Lone Star
Reuniting Sayles with his "Matewan" star Cooper, this border-town mystery exemplifies Sayles's talent for telling compelling human stories that deal with important social issues-... Read more
Published on July 13, 2007 by John Farr

5.0 out of 5 stars American Masterpiece
There have been six Masterpieces produced in American Cinema that go to the heart of being an american (if this doesn't start a war I don't know what will!). Read more
Published on May 16, 2007 by The Final Word

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