Famed cinematographer Reynaldo Villalobos (Nine to Five, Risky Business) tries his hand at directing in this beautifully photographed adaptation of Louis L'Amour's western. Real life husband and wife Sam Elliott and Katharine Ross star as an honest cowpoke and a struggling widow, respectively, whose paths cross in the picturesque wilderness of the Old West. When Edie's (Ross) husband rides off for cattle, and doesn't return, Edie offers up her little homestead as a temporary waystation for the new stagecoach line. Attacked by Indians, Edie defends her turf in an admirable fashion, and wins the respect of roving cowboy Conagher (Elliott). When Conagher is hired by a nearby ranch, he discovers that his fellow hirelings are looking the other way while the neighboring ranch hands help themselves to the owner's cattle. Conagher, very much the stereotypical tall-in-the-saddle, black-and-white (no shades of grey) kind of macho western hero fights alone, against incredible odds to bring his employer's cattle back and see that justice is served. Oddly, his and Edie's storylines rarely cross, except through an interesting--if somewhat implausible--touch. She ties poems to tumbleweeds, which he, in turn, finds and reads (they appeal to the "soft" side of this "hard" man). Plotwise, Conagher is pretty standard stuff, elevated by the truly breathtaking cinematography. There are some mighty fine sunrises and sunsets in this movie, but they can't save the film from being the traditional oater that it is. Not a necessary purchase. (R. Pitman) [DVD Review--May 30, 2005--Warner, 117 min., not rated, $14.99--Making its first appearance on DVD, 1991's Conagher comes with nothing more than a mediocre transfer and a few trailers. Bottom line: an unimpressive DVD release of an unimpressive film.]
Conagher
color. 117 min. Turner Home Entertainment. (1991). $89.98. F.A.B. rating: M (Mature) Library Journal
Conagher
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