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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.

Runtime: 2 hrs 15 mins

Genre: Dramas

US Box Office: $82,970,165

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 fresh rating; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 >> >|
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Ang Lee's beautiful epic is both a classic American western and a sweeping old fashioned romance that will tug the heartstrings of all but the coldest of people

Full Review Source: Dark Horizons | comment Comment
12/05/05
Garth Franklin
Garth Franklin
Dark Horizons
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Lee and his collaborators have tapped into Proulx's story and gathered it up without missing a single sad, delicate nuance.

Full Review Source: Sydney Morning Herald | comment Comment
01/27/06
Sandra Hall
Sandra Hall
Sydney Morning Herald
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A haunting and complex story that explores the strength and fragility of love, Ang Lee's visually magnificent film is as affecting as it is beautiful.

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
01/19/06
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: In Film Australia | comment Comment
05/04/06
In Film Australia
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A heartbreaking, groundbreaking love story -- and it won our hearts as one of the best flicks of the year.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
12/09/05
E! Online
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Brokeback Mountain is a beautifully filmed and superbly acted picture. It's a romance for the ages and it's ready, willing and able to break your heart.

Full Review Source: Juicy Cerebellum | comment Comment
01/08/06
Alex Sandell
Alex Sandell
Juicy Cerebellum

A film about love and the cost of lying that's exquisite in its beauty, painful in its truths.

Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
12/20/05
Amy Biancolli
Amy Biancolli
Houston Chronicle

As devastating and heart-breaking as the best love stories of cinema: Gone with the Wind, Casablanca, Doctor Zhivago.

Full Review Source: FilmStew.com | comment Comment
12/09/05
Anderson Jones
Anderson Jones
FilmStew.com

...a multi-hankie emotional experience.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles CityBeat | comment Comment
12/15/05
Andy Klein
Andy Klein
Los Angeles CityBeat

Sorrowful and beautiful

Full Review Source: Sympatico.ca | comment Comment
12/31/05
Angela Baldassarre
Angela Baldassarre
Sympatico.ca

A sweeping, solemn, self-serious chronicle of their relationship over several decades.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
12/20/05
Ann Hornaday
Ann Hornaday
Washington Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Its beauty wells from its sorrow, because the love between Ennis and Jack is most credible not in the making but in the thwarting.

Full Review Source: New Yorker | comment Comment
12/05/05
Anthony Lane
Anthony Lane
New Yorker
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Anchored by the performances of the two leads, the power of 'Brokeback Mountain' is retained despite the film's unneccesary bloat, convincing in its tale of love and the severe penalties imposed by societal homphobia.

Full Review Source: culturevulture.net | comment Comment
12/11/05
Arthur Lazere
Arthur Lazere
culturevulture.net

...a courageous, transcendent film that may prove to be a landmark down the line in the Hollywood landscape.

Full Review Source: FromTheBalcony | comment Comment
01/09/06
Bill Clark
Bill Clark
FromTheBalcony

There's no contest. Brokeback Mountain is the most poignant movie love story of the year.

Full Review Source: Arizona Republic | comment Comment
12/20/05
Bill Muller
Bill Muller
Arizona Republic

Lee ... is simply telling a story of the heart, how unpredictable it can be and how empty life can be when individuals don't follow theirs ...

Full Review Source: Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN) | comment Comment
01/21/06
Bob Bloom
Bob Bloom
Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN)

Ang Lee's best film to date; career best performances of Ledger and Gyllenhaal, amazing score and cinematography and a heartbreaking love story to boot. One word: Wow.

Full Review Source: european-films.net | comment Comment
09/15/05
Boyd van Hoeij
Boyd van Hoeij
european-films.net

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's such a slow burn that you likely won't even smell the fire until after it has surrounded you... measured subtlety makes this simple story an emotional masterpiece.

Full Review Source: Freeze Dried Movies | comment Comment
12/08/05
Brian Juergens
Brian Juergens
Freeze Dried Movies

Click to read the article

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