Begins in a picturesque nowhere of tall mountains and big skies, where the only stone wall here is the real thing, with nothing political muddying the mortar.
Brokeback Mountain (2005)
Tomatometer
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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.
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
Reviews for Brokeback Mountain
It's a hackneyed, underdeveloped melodrama disguised as serious art house fare.
It's that it's the very powerful, very real love story of two men that gives Brokeback its quality and universality -- and scares the hell out of its detractors.
The pain and involvement for audiences experiencing forbidden love on screen rests entirely in the degree with which they can believe in that love in the first place
The film is less a salvo in the culture war over civil unions than a skirmish in the range war over masculinity itself.
It may not be the best movie ever made about homosexuality, but it's more than deserving to be the one that finally gets average viewers to pay attention.
Essentially, [this] is the same as most stories of lust and infidelity -- two people who 'can't control' their desires end up hurting others, lying, and denying responsibility for their actions.
The hubbub seems more politically driven in the wake of the gay marriage debate. And an Oscar win will be pandering to that.
Lush scenery encircles two laconic characters in this static movie.
We feel this movie's heart, even if it doesn't wear that heart on its sleeve. That's just the cowboy way.
Everybody involved in Brokeback Mountain deserves credit for crafting a film strong enough to withstand all of the third-grade snickering thats attended it.
Men finding each other in a vast wilderness should be no big deal, but conservatives would have you believe it shakes the earth off its axis.* Lee makes their relationship epic in its reality and minuteness
Ultimately, a film such as this relies on its story and characters, and in that respect, it delivers...
If you've ever wondered what lonesome cowboys do on those long nights out on the prairie, mosey up Brokeback Mountain and see for yourself, pardner.
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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