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Movies / On DVD / Brokeback Mountain
Brokeback Mountain

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Brokeback Mountain (2005)

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Reviews Counted:226

Fresh:195

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 critic A-Z; Australian critics are listed first)
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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

Not a weepy gay love story.

Full Review Source: FilmsInReview.com | comment Comment
01/17/06
Victoria Alexander
Victoria Alexander
FilmsInReview.com

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

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

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

I didn't feel an "emotional" connection with this film that pretty much relies on such an emotional feeling to work.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Report Card | comment Comment
01/23/06
Ross Anthony
Ross Anthony
Hollywood Report Card

[Ledger's] character is much more laconic, self-contained and folksy in the McMurtry tradition, yet he communicates an inner pathos that's uniquely, profoundly touching. It's the year's most haunting and unforgettable performance.

Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
12/20/05
William Arnold
William Arnold
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

A lyrical tone poem of a movie that's a haunting tribute to the great frontiers of love.

Full Review Source: Palo Alto Weekly | comment Comment
12/13/05
Jeanne Aufmuth
Jeanne Aufmuth
Palo Alto Weekly

Sorrowful and beautiful

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

Enough with the 'gay cowboy' label. The term is more or less accurate, I suppose, but the phrase has a way of diminishing this amazing movie’s focus and reach.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
12/18/05
Marjorie Baumgarten
Marjorie Baumgarten
Austin Chronicle

A film of extreme tenderness, with sympathy for all its deserving characters, including the wives and family members who suffer alongside the frustrated Jack and Ennis.

Full Review Source: Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) | comment Comment
01/13/06
John Beifuss
John Beifuss
Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)

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.

Full Review Source: Las Vegas Weekly | comment Comment
12/30/05
Josh Bell
Josh Bell
Las Vegas Weekly

The fine details of the West are as precise as you would expect from a McMurtry piece, and Lee's adroitness with the excellent cast is on full display, particularly in the brave and moving performances of Ledger and Gyllenhaal.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment Comment
09/05/05
Ray Bennett
Ray Bennett
Hollywood Reporter

Breaks new ground, but not hearts

Full Review Source: Spectrum (St. George, Utah) | comment 2 Comments
01/24/06
Bruce Bennett
Bruce Bennett
Spectrum (St. George, Utah)

It's a brave and affecting effort from a director from whom we have come to expect worthwhile things.

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
12/13/05
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
ReelViews

An epic, heartbreaking love story that's far greater than the sum of its parts.

Full Review Source: New York Daily News | comment Comment
12/09/05
Jami Bernard
Jami Bernard
New York Daily News

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
 
 
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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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