Conagher

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when TNT was in its prime
When the subject of best westerns ever made is mentioned, Conagher never gets any recognition. Maybe the reason is it never made the big screen. But not so long ago during the good ol' 90's the TNT network produced some of the best television features in the history of prime time from biblical epics to shows based on Louis Lamour like this one. One thing these features had in common were high production values, good direction and some of the finest ensembles of actors found in television. Conagher in particular gets my attention because the story is outstanding. You get gritty hard edged western action from Sam Elliott who is one of the most authentic western actors you'll ever see. You even have a fine romance with the frontier woman played by Katherine Ross (the tumbleweeds). I don't know why TNT quit making this kind of feature.Maybe its cheaper to make legal dramas.

This is Cowboy Poetry
This is a fine movie from a veteran couple. The notes on the tumbleweeds, the romote western desert scenery, the stuggles, and the triumphs are classic cowboy poetry put to film. Look for a great old timer in this movie. Of Course, this is a Louis L'Amour story. It is written right and filmed right.

A lot of good in this story
More than just a romantic western (though it is that), this story gives us a picture of manliness we don't often see: the honor, generosity, courtesy, courage, independence and toughness which duty demands of a man, and how those around him are better off when he rises to meet that standard. The young cowhand (Johnny?) in the story is confronted with the hard decision between two opposing paths. Nor is Conn Conagher any wishy-washy, "tolerant" compromiser when it comes to what is right for men to do. For most boys coming of age today, such times and such men are long gone, it seems. Yet those who aspire to be counted as men face that same hard decision. They deserve to be presented with the choices in such clear terms.

A Great Western
Sam Elliot was born for the western and this is a beaut. Based on a classic Louis L'Amour novel. The tale of a cowboy who finds the lonely notes of a frontier wife (real life wife Katherine Ross) on the tumbleweeds. A great story and thank God for TNT. John Wayne is gone, Clint Eastwood is old so with TNT (and the tv movies of Elliot and Tom Selleck) they are the only salvation western fans have.

Sam Elliot's Tribute To Louis L'Amour: The Best TV Film Adaptation Of A L'Amour Book To Date
This review is for "Conagher" DVD (DVD Release Date: 2005) Adapting an extremely popular book into a screenplay for a movie is almost alway a nearly impossible task--especially if one considers the fact that one script page, which is probably one fourth to one half of a book page at best, is equal to about one minute of film time. Louis L'Amour's novel, "Conagher," considered by many to be one of the best novels written, is around 192 pages (one reviewer states it is 152 pages). The film, again made for television on a small budget, is 117 minutes. Thus the writers--Sam Elliott (also a star and producer), Jeffrey M. Meyer, and Katharine Ross (also a star of the film)--had to condense the novel from 192 pages to approximately 48 pages; or a screenplay of about 117 pages. That means that over 100 pages of novel had to be deleted or heavily summarized. What the screenwriters provided was a phenomenal capsulization of Louis L'Amour's brilliant novel. (Please note that I am not a big fan of Louis L'Amour books, although I have read about a fourth of them. "Hondo" and "Sitka" are the other two books that I truly enjoyed.) Could "Conagher" have been a better movie? Absolutely--if they had made it into a mini-series, and had the budget to go with it! Could "Conagher" be any better, given the limitations under which it was produced? Not in my mind. Other reviews have done an excellent job of discussing the performances of most of the actors--although some fail to "understand" or appreciate the beauty of Katherine Ross' performance--but less has been said about the sets. These buildings are the real things; the type of buildings I find in "ghost towns" and out on the plains of Montana and other western states. In deed, I cannot believe that other productions have not utilized--to my knowledge--the sets from this film. The photography is also excellent, capturing the vastness of the plains, and an intrinsic harmony that people of the land, like Conn Conagher and Evie Teale, feel in their souls. (That said, I do want to point out that many "westerners" never garnered that harmony--one that is close to what Native American Indians had as well--but rather they have "adapted" an appreciation and ideal of what the land represents). I am sure that "Conagher" is a film that will be hard for some to fully appreciate because it--in spite of the necessity to limit itself, as discussed above--moves at its own pace. The film is about two people and the intersections of their lives in a "tough" and "lonely" west, that happens to incorporate some standard themes of the western genre. The only real weakness in the film--partially because the movie sought to stay "faithful" to the book--is its portrayal of the "Indians" in the film. In fact, I think that this is one part of the story that the writers should have left out; albeit, it helps to "demonstrate" Evie's "toughness" and "sand" as a character. While this has nothing to do with the film itself, I found the DVD transfer to be rather poor. It takes a lot for me to comment about the quality of a transfer, as I understand the inherent problems of television films; conversely, Turner network usually takes much more "pride" in their work. Moreover, given the rather unique "status" of "Conagher," I feel that a Director's cut, clean of commercial breaks, with added scenes of the cowboy's daily routine (those "things" that made Conagher "happy"), Evie's turmoil and "happiness," and greater focus on the connections between the two characters would greatly enhance this film. If this review was not helpful to you, I would appreciate learning the reason(s) so I can improve my reviews. My goal is to provide help to potential buyers, not get into any arguments. So, if you only disagree with my opinion, could you please say so in the comments and not indicate that the review was not helpful. Thanks.