Kirpianuscus I do not know if it could be considered a good film. maybe, a correct one. because it has many virtues who define a beautiful storytelling, smart trip across delicate themes, the meet with real admirable actors - Miriam Colon is an example, the great performance of Lucas Black. a western who preserves a special air. not always credible, not always coherent, but giving that beauty who determine you see it again. for a specific scene, for a specific actress/actor or , maybe, for the flavor of a state of soul. so, a film full with virtues. this is all !

carla_burn8 I had high hopes for this film, as it was based on a beautifully crafted, dry novel by Cormac McCarthy. Whose usual habit is to focus immensely on the harsh reality and depravity which often comes with human existence. I did not get the same enthralling sensation watching the film as I did when reading the novel. The film lacked in the quality which came with reading the novel and was utterly frustrating to view. Not to mention the fact that the novel was largely a coming of age text, as the two main protagonists were supposed to be 16 years old, however in the film they looked like they were in their mid thirties. In saying that, the film blatantly ignored that aspect of the original text. Don't watch the film if you've read the novel, it'll disappoint you.

Dennis Potter The book is great and Billy Bob was a good fit for it, but producer Harvey Weinstein screwed it all up. He wanted a two hour cut, even though from the offset it was clear the story needed a three hour epic sweep.So you really shouldn't watch this obviously truncated version (35% was cut). Scenes are rushed and a film that was supposed to capture the feel and romance of the landscape falls flat. Apparently Billy Bob has the correct edit on VHS in his home. Matt Damon says this cut is the best film he's ever been involved in. Eventually this film will be released, so you all should just wait for it. Billy Bob talks humorously about all this on cinemablend.The Weinsteins of this world are by no means villains, it takes a lot of hard work and guts to get where they have. But the same brute force that makes them successful can prove fatal where artistry is involved. Producers can be right - sometimes directors do need reigning in. Just not in this case. Harvey wasn't dealing with a wayward, self-indulgent director, and the story really did demand more time in its telling.

bkoganbing Just as Matt Damon was able to cast aside his New England accent for a Tennessee one in The Rainmaker and use it to great affect in Good Will Hunting, he cast aside again for the Texas tones needed for All The Pretty Horses. The man's got a good ear for speech idiom, he could be a worthy successor to Robert Mitchum in that department.From a novel by Cormac McCarthy and directed by Billy Bob Thornton who also has a good ear and feel for idiom and mores of the Southwest, All The Pretty Horses is about a couple of friends who go across the border into Mexico for work. Damon's been cheated out of a ranch he was expecting to inherit and he and friend Henry Thomas go south. They find both work and trouble and Damon finds romance. How they all intertwine is the story of All The Pretty Horses.Damon's romance is with Penelope Cruz, the daughter of Ruben Blades the owner of the ranch they find work on, breaking mustangs. The two come up against both Latino culture and Texas culture and how they really clash. Trouble starts for Damon and Thomas though when they pick up young runaway kid Lucius Black who's got some real issues with authority and a bad upbringing. His actions start the trouble for everyone involved.But Black in fact steals the film from the more well known stars. I'm surprised he wasn't considered Oscar material for Best Supporting Actor. His performances succeeds on so many levels as likable, goofy, but definitely trouble riding a horse.All The Pretty Horses is a good film where director Billy Bob Thornton does a great job with his cast and with capturing the mood and ambiance of that Rio Grande border country on both sides.