Return To Lonesome Dove (1993/Western TV Mini-Series/RHI/Vivendi DVD Set)
Picture:
C Sound: C Extras: D Episodes: C-
Some
returns are a good idea, but others prove you can’t go home again and the
sequel TV Mini-Series Return To Lonesome
Dove (1993) is very much the latter, following up one of the most
critically and commercially successful Mini-Series of the sadly barren
1980s. Though I was not as big a fan,
one of our fellow writers felt otherwise, as this link shows:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/7351/Lonesome+Dove+(1989/Genius+Blu-ra
Part of
the problem is that author Larry McMurtry had nothing much to do with this and
there is nothing much done here we have not already seen elsewhere. At least the first series had some sweep and
energy to it. As good an actor as Jon
Voight can be (and he still was at the time before he became repetitious in the
2000s), he is an awkward replacement for Tommy Lee Jones as Woodrow F.
Call. It never totally works. Barbara Hershey succeeds Anjelica Huston as
Clara Allen and even that does not quiet come off.
Even when
some actors return (like Rick Schroder), the chemistry and energy is no more
here than the script, writer John Wilder does not take us anywhere new and that
leaves us with a very, very long 322 minutes, presented here in four
episodes. Director Mike Robe also cannot
overcome all this and the result is for diehard fans only. William Petersen, Oliver Reed, Louis Gossett
Jr., Dennis Haysbert, CCH Pounder, Nia Peoples, William Sanderson, Reese
Witherspoon and Chris Cooper also star.
The 1.33
X 1 image was shot in 35mm color film, but the episodes look color-dull
throughout as these are analog NTSC masters like the ones the show was finished
on. Detail and depth also suffer, but
maybe they’ll be retransferred like the original series and also issued on
Blu-ray, et al. The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
is harsh, distorted and sometimes shrill, sounding over-digitized at
times. Be careful of playback volumes
and sound switching. There are no
extras.
- Nicholas Sheffo
