"Lonesome Dove" (1989) TV mini-series

User Rating:

8.9/10   

Director:

Simon Wincer

Writers (WGA):

Larry McMurtry (novel)
William D. Wittliff (teleplay)

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

5 February 1989 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Western

Plot:

Epic story about two former Texas rangers who decide to move cattle from the south to Montana. Augustus...

Plot Keywords:

Montana | Cattle | Texas | Texas Ranger | Cattle Drive

Awards:

Won 2 Golden Globes. Another 14 wins & 17 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Tue. July 7	8:00 PM	CMTV
Tue. July 7	10:00 PM	CMTV

Cast

Robert Duvall

...

Augustus 'Gus' McCrae (unknown episodes)

(more)

Series Directed by
Simon Wincer		(unknown episodes)

Series Writing credits
Larry McMurtry		(unknown episodes)
William D. Wittliff		(unknown episodes)

Series Produced by
Suzanne De Passe	....	executive producer (unknown episodes)
Robert Halmi Jr.	....	co-executive producer (unknown episodes)
Dyson Lovell	....	producer (unknown episodes)
Michael Weisbarth	....	supervising producer (unknown episodes)
William D. Wittliff	....	executive producer (unknown episodes)

Series Original Music by
Basil Poledouris		(unknown episodes)

Series Cinematography by
Douglas Milsome		(unknown episodes)

Series Film Editing by
Corky Ehlers		(unknown episodes)

Series Casting by
Lynn Kressel		(unknown episodes)

Series Production Design by
Cary White		(unknown episodes)

Series Art Direction by
John Frick		(unknown episodes)

Series Set Decoration by
Michael J. Sullivan		(unknown episodes)

Series Costume Design by
Van Broughton Ramsey		(unknown episodes)

Series Makeup Department
Jean Ann Black	....	makeup artist (unknown episodes)
Manlio Rocchetti	....	hair styles supervisor / makeup supervisor (unknown episodes)

Series Production Management
Dick Gallegly	....	production manager (unknown episodes)
Joel Hatch	....	production supervisor (unknown episodes)
Adam Merims	....	assistant production manager (unknown episodes)
Ruben R. Munoz	....	post-production supervisor (unknown episodes)
Larry Sherwood	....	electronic post-production supervisor (unknown episodes)

Series Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Matt Bearson	....	second assistant director (unknown episodes)
Robert Rooy	....	first assistant director (unknown episodes)
Dean Semler	....	second unit director (unknown episodes)
Candace Suerstedt	....	second assistant director (unknown episodes)

Series Art Department
Catherine Davis	....	assistant property master / property master (unknown episodes)
John Huke	....	special art projects (unknown episodes)
Neale Joudrie	....	property wrangler (unknown episodes)
Amy Morrison	....	scenic artist (unknown episodes)
Jay Raymond	....	leadperson / set dresser (unknown episodes)
Eric A. Williams	....	property master (unknown episodes)

Series Sound Department
James L. Aicholtz	....	sound re-recording mixer (unknown episodes)
Kay Colvin	....	utility sound (unknown episodes)
G. Michael Graham	....	sound editor (unknown episodes)
Michael Herbick	....	sound re-recording mixer (unknown episodes)
Kristi Johns	....	adr supervisor (unknown episodes)
Donald F. Johnson	....	sound mixer (unknown episodes)
Joseph Melody	....	supervising sound editor (unknown episodes)
Kevin O'Connell	....	sound re-recording mixer (unknown episodes)
Mark Steele	....	sound editor (unknown episodes)
Richard S. Steele	....	sound editor (unknown episodes)

Series Special Effects by
Lyn Caudle	....	special effects assistant (unknown episodes)
Robert A. Sturtevant	....	special effects technician (unknown episodes)

Series Visual Effects by
Jesse Silver	....	matte artist / special visual effects supervisor (unknown episodes)

Series Stunts
William H. Burton	....	stunt coordinator (unknown episodes)

Series Camera and Electrical Department
Jeffrey R. Clark	....	first assistant camera (unknown episodes)
Glenn Dunn	....	electrician (unknown episodes)
Danny Eccleston	....	gaffer (unknown episodes)
Gary Jay	....	first assistant camera (unknown episodes)
William 'Bear' Paul	....	second key grip (unknown episodes)
Tony Poston	....	key grip (unknown episodes)
Don Reddy	....	camera operator (unknown episodes)
David Sanderson	....	second assistant camera (unknown episodes)
Dean Semler	....	cinematographer: second unit (unknown episodes)
John Sheeren	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera, second unit (unknown episodes)
Steve Spallone	....	best boy electric (unknown episodes)
Henry Tirl	....	assistant camera (unknown episodes)

Series Casting Department
Celeste Gose	....	extras casting (unknown episodes)
Liz Keigley	....	casting: Texas (unknown episodes)
Stacey Rhodes	....	extras casting (unknown episodes)

Series Costume and Wardrobe Department
Annette Hoffman	....	key set costumer (unknown episodes)
Neale Joudrie	....	wardrobe (unknown episodes)
Cheri Reed	....	costumer (unknown episodes)
Joan Thomas	....	wardrobe supervisor (unknown episodes)

Series Editorial Department
Terry Blythe	....	assistant film editor (unknown episodes)

Series Music Department
Tim Boyle	....	score mixer (unknown episodes)
Jamie Forester	....	music editor (unknown episodes)
John Rotondi	....	scoring engineer: Y4 (unknown episodes)
Tom Villano	....	music editor (unknown episodes)
Dan Wallin	....	score mixer (unknown episodes)

Series Transportation Department
Lee Stepp	....	driver: cast (unknown episodes)

Series Other crew
Marlene Bergman	....	title designer (unknown episodes)
Anne Carr	....	craft service (unknown episodes)
George Corsillo	....	title designer (unknown episodes)
Michael Dellheim	....	location manager (unknown episodes)
Tom Goodman	....	wrangler (unknown episodes)
Kathryn Korniloff	....	assistant production accountant (unknown episodes)
Jimmy Medearis	....	head wrangler (unknown episodes)
Sharon Medearis	....	head wrangler (unknown episodes)
Cynthia Upstill	....	script supervisor (unknown episodes)
Anne Wilson	....	key assistant production accountant (unknown episodes)
Brad Wilson	....	assistant: Robert Duvall (unknown episodes)

Production Companies

• Motown Productions
• Qintex Entertainment
• RHI Entertainment

Distributors

• Artisan Entertainment (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Astra Cinema
• Betta Entertainment (Brazil) (VHS) (compact version)
• Cabin Fever Entertainment (video)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS)
• Hallmark Home Entertainment (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Image Entertainment (USA) (laserdisc)

Special Effects

• Makeup Effects Laboratories

Other Companies

• Helen Uffner Vintage Clothing  special thanks (vintage clothing rentals)

Runtime:

384 min | Brazil:145 min (video version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Finland:K-16 | Singapore:PG | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Alamo Village - Highway 674, Brackettville, Texas, USA

Company:

Motown Productions

Trivia:

Despite the huge ratings and massive critical acclaim (20 years later, it is still mentioned at every Emmy Awards show when they reference the greatest mini-series of all time), Lonesome Dove inexplicably lost the 1989 Outstanding Miniseries Emmy Award to "War and Remembrance" (1988).

Goofs:

Continuity: When the Irish kid falls in the water and is attacked by the snakes, he is bit by one of them on the cheek at the end of chapter one. In chapter two, when his wounds are being investigated, there's not a bite mark on his cheek.

Quotes:

Jake Spoon: I didn't see no line Gus. I was just trying to get through the territory without getting scalped, that's all.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The 59th Primetime Emmy Awards (2007) (TV)

The Best Western Ever Filmed

As a boy, I never liked western films. My father loved them all, all the John Wayne classics, the Spaghetti Westerns, the whole lot.

I despised them all. They were all the same. Same plot. Same rotten cinematography. Same unbelievable characters. Couldn't understand the attraction.

Then I saw Lonesome Dove. This film (actually a mini-series) is an absolute masterpiece.

It starts with the cinematography and locations. It was not your stereotypical Utah-canyon photography, it was the great plains, the Texas deserts, the wide rivers, the mesquite groves. Not marvelous vistas, but simple, real, gritty scenery. You can taste the dust of the panhandle and smell the Kansas plains.

Then there's the action. There's lots of it. Flooding rivers, driving rains, realistic fights, thundering cattle drives, horrible scenes of rape and torture (just under TV censor radar), plenty of death and sadness. All of it believable. All of it heart-tugging. All of it amazing.

But above all of these great features are the characters and the writing. Augustus McCrae and Woodrow F. Call have become two icons of pop culture, polar opposites who work well together and, in the end, are incomplete without one another. The supporting cast as well is fabulous, well written, patently interesting, and tremendously played. Even the evil characters are fascinating.

This is what television and film should be. It is very, very rare for anything of this quality to ever appear on the small screen, and with today's "reality TV" craze, it is even rarer still.

Buy the DVD set. You won't be disappointed. 10 out of 10.

Barky