All the Pretty Horses (2000)

Billy Bob Thornton is a real director in my eyes. He really outdid himself on this one. The shots were great, the music was perfect, the actors did a great job and the story was very heartwarming. Thank you Billy Bob Thornton, Matt Damon ,Henry Thomas,Penelope Cruz and Ted Tally ! I'm sorry I didn't see it sooner! The Old West is an expensive and not an easy thing to recreate but this film flows right through to the end. Having a good book to start with is a major plus so hats off to Author Cormac McCarthy too ! This movie is a 10 ! I can't say enough so if your surfing around on Netflix, please check it out even though it's already 14 years old.

The book is great and Billy Bob was a good fit for it, but producer Harvey Weinstein screwed it all up. He wanted a two hour cut, even though from the offset it was clear the story needed a three hour epic sweep.So you really shouldn't watch this obviously truncated version (35% was cut). Scenes are rushed and a film that was supposed to capture the feel and romance of the landscape falls flat. Apparently Billy Bob has the correct edit on VHS in his home. Matt Damon says this cut is the best film he's ever been involved in. Eventually this film will be released, so you all should just wait for it. Billy Bob talks humorously about all this on cinemablend.The Weinsteins of this world are by no means villains, it takes a lot of hard work and guts to get where they have. But the same brute force that makes them successful can prove fatal where artistry is involved. Producers can be right - sometimes directors do need reigning in. Just not in this case. Harvey wasn't dealing with a wayward, self-indulgent director, and the story really did demand more time in its telling.

The storyline sounded like a classic 'western' adventure; it turned out to be just that. Newer, 21st century westerns are expected to showcase the scenery with as much cinematographic style as can be mustered; in this movie, there could have been more resources dedicated to the cinematography, but it is still very beautiful to watch. Matt Damon has made just a few 'western' movies, his first with none other than Robert Duval and Gene Hackman as the co-starring leads (in Geronimo). The only other that comes to mind is 'True Grit (2010)'. Only in '…Pretty Horses' does he have the lead role; that role was a demanding one because he is in almost every scene and he has to ride bucking horses, rodeo style. It hurt just watching him be thrown off the horse (I'll assume some of the rides were done by stunt-men because no guy from Boston could take that kind of abuse). I liked the adventurous story, the beautiful Penélope Cruz and all I can think of to improve the movie would have been to throw in a cameo by Duval or Tommy Lee Jones perhaps.

No, this did not have a "made for TV" movie ending. It did not tie everything up in a neat little package. It was a superb piece of film making. It felt real, and you cannot say that about many movies.There was a line in the movie, something like "it is not about whether it is right". The movie is all about the characters discovering that -- some would say "growing up". Everyone wants to stand up for what is right, all the time. The reality of life is that you have to pick your fights. I suspect those that did not like this film, did not want to hear that message.The photography was superb. Matt Damon looked like he grew up riding horses (I did). Yes, sometimes there was more Texas twang than others, but it was irrelevant. What mattered was that he made you believe his character. I do not think there was one weak portrayal in the whole film. The direction and all of the actors deserve credit for a real gem of a movie.