In praise of "Lone Star."

Message Bookmarked

Bookmark Removed

Lately I've been doing a sorta retrospective viewing of John Sayles' films and was struck again by how wonderful "Lone Star" is- it could very well be a masterpiece of ensemble film making. Everything about it is pitch perfect. I recently reviewed it on my film blog (http://www.endofmedia.com), thought it's more of an essay. Anyone else love that movie?

I've been on ILM for a while, and just now wandered over here for the first time.
(sorry, I forgot to do a topic search...)

― James Slone (Freon Trotsky), Friday, 22 July 2005 14:02 (nineteen years ago)

Easily Sayles' best, he only did nearly as well with "Passion Fish," which is dominated by two characters in a single time and place.

― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Friday, 22 July 2005 19:03 (nineteen years ago)

i'd also rate lone star and passion fish 1-2. if the last act of limbo was completely different, it'd be in the running.

― a spectator bird (a spectator bird), Friday, 22 July 2005 20:21 (nineteen years ago)

a great film. his best by far.

― jed_ (jed), Friday, 22 July 2005 20:53 (nineteen years ago)

His masterpiece so far.

― M. V. (M.V.), Monday, 25 July 2005 14:06 (nineteen years ago)

i agree.

― j fail (cenotaph), Tuesday, 26 July 2005 23:31 (nineteen years ago)

Definitely one of my favorite 50 movies.

― polyphonic (polyphonic), Friday, 29 July 2005 03:50 (nineteen years ago)

Matewan to thread.

His most beautiful, most cinematic film, with the great ensemble work of Lone Star and Sunshine State and City of Hope and....a gunfight at the end. Perfect.

― David N (David N.), Friday, 29 July 2005 22:31 (nineteen years ago)

I feel the urge to sarcastically invoke the name of Will Oldham. Except that I like Matewan and I like Will Oldham.

Sarcasm would come much easier to me if I hated more stuff.

― M. V. (M.V.), Monday, 1 August 2005 05:51 (nineteen years ago)

BTW, James, are you familiar with the Harold Bloom-identified phenomenon of "aftering"?--which he defines as a malaise caused by a sense of having arrived "after the event." Is there maybe some of that in "Lone Star"?

― M. V. (M.V.), Monday, 1 August 2005 10:29 (nineteen years ago)

nine years pass...

bumping thread for...

http://images3.cinema.de/imedia/6993/2376993,B5jGH8SUJdtW9mW4BIbKPtiqzHTDZzEtgHM7pp77xTJdMf3pUgk7xLDXZ8tKvlDi1H1IAfmPU7pckuW_8sNCwg==.jpg

― Elvis Telecom, Thursday, 16 October 2014 06:40 (ten years ago)

I need to see this again.

― TracerHandVEVO (Tracer Hand), Thursday, 16 October 2014 10:58 (ten years ago)

Great film.

― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Thursday, 16 October 2014 16:11 (ten years ago)

fucking looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooove this movie so much, so good

― marcos, Thursday, 16 October 2014 16:11 (ten years ago)

everybody is pretty much perfect

― marcos, Thursday, 16 October 2014 16:12 (ten years ago)

hey can anybody refer me to some other really good us/mexico border movies?

― marcos, Thursday, 16 October 2014 16:14 (ten years ago)

El Norte (1983)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085482/

― TracerHandVEVO (Tracer Hand), Thursday, 16 October 2014 16:27 (ten years ago)

thanks! yea i've seen el norte a couple of times, first was in college and i loved it, then again a year or two ago and i hated it, thought it was totally overkill.

― marcos, Thursday, 16 October 2014 16:39 (ten years ago)

honestly i think 'breaking bad' is really great as a border story. it is more than that obviously but i really, really love the new mexico setting and the proximity to the border, it's such a strong grounding for the show. (note i've been watching it on netflix for the first time this summer and am only part-way through s4)

― marcos, Thursday, 16 October 2014 16:41 (ten years ago)

The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada
No Country For Old Men
Rio Grande(?)

― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Thursday, 16 October 2014 16:43 (ten years ago)

thanks! excited especially about 'three burials' (have seen 'no country' before, it's obviously great)

― marcos, Thursday, 16 October 2014 16:48 (ten years ago)

the wild bunch?

― LIKE If you are against racism (omar little), Thursday, 16 October 2014 16:48 (ten years ago)

pioneering, you might say:
Alambrista! (1977)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075654/

http://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/review/alambrista

― this horrible, rotten slog to rigor mortis (Dr Morbius), Thursday, 16 October 2014 16:52 (ten years ago)

just saw these headlines, so sad. RIP

― goole, Thursday, 16 October 2014 21:34 (ten years ago)

oh SHIT, just thought this was bumped just because. didn't realize she died. RIP. she was phenomenal in this film

― marcos, Thursday, 16 October 2014 21:39 (ten years ago)

I thought the last series of The Bridge (US) was a very decent Border Drama. The first season sucked shit and was a poor Yank approximation of a brilliant Scandinavian classic tv series, the second was more like the Breaking Bad Mexico episodes. Some really awesome border-noir characters in it like Demian Bichir's principled cop - who seems more in peril this season, Franka Potente's merciless angel of death/cartel accountant and Ramon Franco's ruthless/comedic middle aged cartel boss Fausto. The snooping journalists played by Rios/Lillard are both excellent as well. Probably a hard sell because that first series was piss poor. It does the same(ish) BB trick of showing a future bloodbath in the first episode (Lyle Lovett wondering about a show house riven with corpses and blood that tells you it won't end happy.

― xelab, Saturday, 18 October 2014 23:12 (ten years ago)

nine years pass...

Very good interview with Sayles in advance of Criterion's release of Lone Star. Worth yr time.
https://thereveal.substack.com/p/interview-john-sayles-on-lone-star

― Elvis Telecom, Friday, 12 January 2024 00:57 (one year ago)

You must be logged in to post. Please either login here, or if you are not registered, you may register here.