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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: Westerns

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 comments; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 >> >|
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[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

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 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

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

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]

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

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

A jaundiced portrait of maleness in crisis… extending not only to… the central characters, but also to the validity of manhood as exemplified by every other male character in the film.

Full Review Source: Decent Films Guide | comment 12 Comments
02/11/06
Steven D. Greydanus
Steven D. Greydanus
Decent Films Guide

It is simply one of the greatest love stories in film history.

Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | comment 4 Comments
12/18/05
Joe Williams
Joe Williams
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Beautifully photographed and well acted, but also slow moving and episodic

Full Review Source: jackiekcooper.com | comment 3 Comments
02/08/06
Jackie K. Cooper
Jackie K. Cooper
jackiekcooper.com

A story of forbidden love on the range, Brokeback Mountain is acted, directed, written and photographed with heart-pounding beauty.

Full Review Source: Dallas Morning News | comment 3 Comments
12/17/05
Philip Wuntch
Philip Wuntch
Dallas Morning News

Heath Ledger, in particular, I think really has to get an Oscar nomination.

Full Review Source: Ebert & Roeper | comment 3 Comments
12/05/05
Richard Roeper
Richard Roeper
Ebert & Roeper

The first quarter of Brokeback Mountain plays like a silent movie version of Waiting of Godot, but starring two Marlboro Men instead of Vladimir and Estragon . . .

Full Review Source: SA Movie & DVD Magazine | comment 2 Comments
02/09/06
James O'Ehley
James O'Ehley
SA Movie & DVD Magazine

If the filmmakers weren’t trying so hard to deny the characters' failings, Brokeback Mountain might have lived up to its immense reputation.

Full Review Source: Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL) | comment 2 Comments
12/15/05
Jeffrey Westhoff
Jeffrey Westhoff
Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)

Brokeback Mountain is an American masterpiece.

Full Review Source: New York Observer | comment 2 Comments
12/07/05
Rex Reed
Rex Reed
New York Observer

Because 'Brokeback Mountain' has made such a profound impact on so many viewers, I almost feel guilty that I can't rave about it.

Full Review Source: ReelTalk Movie Reviews | comment 1 Comment
01/27/06
Betty Jo Tucker
Betty Jo Tucker
ReelTalk Movie Reviews

Breaks new ground, but not hearts

Full Review Source: Spectrum (St. George, Utah) | comment 1 Comment
01/24/06
Bruce Bennett
Bruce Bennett
Spectrum (St. George, Utah)

Lush scenery encircles two laconic characters in this static movie.

Full Review Source: Compuserve | comment 1 Comment
12/29/05
Harvey S. Karten
Harvey S. Karten
Compuserve

The movie is too tame and too clumsy to be worth much outside its "groundbreaking" status.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment 1 Comment
12/08/05
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid
 
 
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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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