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Movies / On DVD / Brokeback Mountain
Brokeback Mountain

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Brokeback Mountain (2005)

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Reviews Counted:225

Fresh:194

Rotten:31

Average Rating:8.1/10

Consensus: A beautifully epic Western, Brokeback Mountain's gay love story is embued with heartbreaking universality, helped by the moving performances of Ledger and Gyllenhaal.

Rated: 15

Runtime: 2 hrs 15 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:06-01-2006

Synopsis: From Academy Award-winning filmmaker Ang Lee comes an epic American love story, based on the short story by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Annie Proulx and adapted for the screen by the team of... From Academy Award-winning filmmaker Ang Lee comes an epic American love story, based on the short story by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Annie Proulx and adapted for the screen by the team of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana. Set against the sweeping vistas of Wyoming and Texas, the film tells the story of two young men – a ranch-hand and a rodeo cowboy – who meet in the summer of 1963, and unexpectedly forge a lifelong connection, one whose complications, joys and tragedies provide a testament to the endurance and power of love. Early one morning in Signal, Wyoming, Ennis del Mar (Heath Ledger) and Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal) meet while lining up for employment with local rancher Joe Aguirre (Randy Quaid). The world which Ennis and Jack have been born into is at once changing rapidly and yet scarcely evolving. Both young men seem certain of their set places in the heartland – obtaining steady work, marrying and raising a family – and yet hunger for something beyond what they can articulate. When Aguirre dispatches them to work as sheepherders up on the majestic Brokeback Mountain, they gravitate towards camaraderie and then a deeper intimacy. At summer's end, the two must come down from Brokeback and part ways. Remaining in Wyoming, Ennis weds his sweetheart Alma (Michelle Williams), with whom he will have two daughters as he ekes out a living. Jack, in Texas, catches the eye of a rodeo queen Lureen Newsome (Anne Hathaway). Their courtship and marriage result in a son, as well as jobs in her father's business. Four years pass. One day, Alma brings Ennis a postcard from Jack, who is en route to visit Wyoming. Ennis waits expectantly for his friend, and when Jack at last arrives, in just one moment it is clear that the passage of time has only strengthened the men's attachment. In the years that follow, Ennis and Jack struggle to keep their secret bond alive. They meet up several times annually. Even when they are apart, they face the eternal questions of fidelity, commitment and trust. Ultimately, the one constant in their lives is a force of nature – love. -- © Focus Features [More]

Starring: Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Williams, Anne Hathaway

Starring: Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Williams, Anne Hathaway, Randy Quaid, Linda Cardellini, Anna Faris, Valerie Planche

Director: Ang Lee

Director: Ang Lee
Screenwriter: Larry McMurtry, Diana Ossana
Producer: Diana Ossana, James Schamus
Composer: Gustavo Santaolalla
Studio: Focus Features

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Reviews for Brokeback Mountain

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 >> >|
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Arguably Ang Lee's best film, this swooning, achingly sad near-masterpiece offers a universal love story that lingers long in the mind.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
11/21/08
Leslie Felperin
Leslie Felperin
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

[A] powerful and moving film, a smart study of relationships that could but can’t and never will be.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
04/01/06
Damon Wise
Damon Wise
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Brokeback Mountain is about as close to perfection as it's possible to come in modern Hollywood.

Full Review Source: FilmFocus | comment Comment
01/15/06
Joe Utichi
Joe Utichi
FilmFocus

Nothing in Ledger's string of previously wooden performances can prepare you for how good he is here - the deep seated sense of heartfelt longing he conveys is devastating to watch.

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
01/07/06
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

The whole movie is a rich, spacious, passionate way of showing, not telling, feelings that dare not speak their name -- and doing so with superb intelligence and magnificent candour.

Full Review Source: Observer [UK] | comment Comment
01/07/06
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Observer [UK]

Lee has taken a story of gay love and placed it where it should be -- in the mainstream. He’s delivered a beautifully crafted film to boot.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
12/22/05
Dave Calhoun
Dave Calhoun
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Brokeback Mountain is a truly epic romance story from a director at the peak of his powers.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
12/20/05
Stella Papamichael
Stella Papamichael
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

All four central cast members have moments of transparency that shake us to the core.

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
09/30/05
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

Lee can't tell the difference between criticizing oppression and turning out an oppressed work

Full Review Source: CinePassion | comment Comment
08/30/09
Fernando F. Croce
Fernando F. Croce
CinePassion
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Cinema Crazed | comment Comment
04/29/09
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Cinema Crazed

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Hollywood.com | comment Comment
11/20/08
Brian Marder
Brian Marder
Hollywood.com

At times feels as ancient and familiar as any well-worn piece of American legend, even if its content could set John Wayne spinning in his grave.

Full Review Source: Style Weekly (Richmond, VA) | comment Comment
05/10/08
Thomas Peyser
Thomas Peyser
Style Weekly (Richmond, VA)

At its core, Brokeback Mountain is not a gay love story%u2013it is simply a love story.

Full Review Source: BrandonFibbs.com | comment Comment
02/28/08
Brandon Fibbs
Brandon Fibbs
BrandonFibbs.com

It has the simplicity and clarity of a fable, wedded to the gnarled and taciturn physical realism of the Western.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
08/11/07
Rob Gonsalves
Rob Gonsalves
eFilmCritic.com

Annie Proulx's beautiful, delicate short story...has been transformed into a beautiful, delicate movie under the masterly direction of Ang Lee.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
02/22/07
Kevin Lally
Kevin Lally
Film Journal International

Just a well-made, well-acted melodrama that is quiet and reflective instead of big and bombastic.

Full Review Source: NYC Film Critic | comment Comment
12/30/06
Ethan Alter
Ethan Alter
NYC Film Critic

Though presented as a story of thwarted love -- of ache and longing and regrets -- it's ultimately a story about the relationships that shape us -- for better and for worse.

Full Review Source: Christianity Today | comment Comment
09/22/06
Lisa Ann Cockrel
Lisa Ann Cockrel
Christianity Today

it could have been real campy, if it weren't so well-crafted as to be Oscar material

Full Review Source: Movies for the Masses | comment Comment
09/10/06
Joseph Proimakis
Joseph Proimakis
Movies for the Masses

Film with much religious and mystical imagery.

Full Review Source: Classic Film and Television | comment Comment
08/22/06
Michael E. Grost
Michael E. Grost
Classic Film and Television

A gallery of worthy performances, crisp direction and a quietly graceful script make Brokeback Mountain something of a landmark in Hollywood's 2005 slate of movies.

Full Review Source: Cinema Writer | comment Comment
08/20/06
Jay Antani
Jay Antani
Cinema Writer
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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Latest News for Brokeback Mountain

November 13, 2009: James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
James Schamus might be a workaholic. If it's not enough that he's the head of Focus Features -- the independent imprint of Universal -- he's also an established producer and... More...

November 12, 2009: Five Favourite Films with Ang Lee
The rule that no two Ang Lee movies are ever the same is confidently kept intact with the release of his latest, Taking Woodstock, a comedy about the true story behind the... More...

January 29, 2008: No Country for Old Men Takes Top Honors at SAG Awards
Blessed with a waiver by its striking brethren in the Writers Guild, the Screen Actors Guild was able to turn Sunday's SAG Awards ceremony into one of the only "real" awards... More...

January 22, 2008: Heath Ledger: 1979-2008
Heath Ledger, star of films including Brokeback Mountain, 10 Things I Hate About You, and the forthcoming The Dark Knight, was found dead this afternoon. He was 28. More...

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