The Virginian

Director: Daniel H. Blatt

Overview

Actor Bill Pullman made his directorial debut with this third screen adaptation of the classic Western novel by Owen Wister. The Virginian (Pullman) leaves the state of his birth to make a new life for himself on the frontier of the American West. He falls in love with Molly Stark (Diane Lane), a schoolteacher also new to Wyoming, and becomes the foreman of a successful cattle ranch, hoping to make good in her eyes. But he is forced to resort to violence when he must protect the ranch against the treacheries of a rival rancher and the betrayal of a former friend; Molly's stern opposition to eye-for-an-eye justice demands that he choose between his conscience and the woman he loves. The Virginian, which received its world premiere on the TNT cable network, co-stars John Savage, Dennis Weaver, and Colm Feore; James Drury, who played the title role in the 1960s TV series based on The Virginian, appears as Rider.

Product Details

Release Date:	11/13/2012
UPC:	0883316677902
Original Release:	2000
Source:	Warner Archives
Region Code:	A
Presentation:	[Full Frame]
Sound:	[stereo]
Language:	English
Time:	1:35:00
Sales rank:	26,742

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Bill Pullman	The Virginian
Diane Lane	Molly Stark
John Savage	Steve
Colm Feore	Trampas
Harris Yulin	Judge Henry
Dennis Weaver	Sam Balaam
Dillinger Steele	Shorty
Mark Anderako	Mr. Ogden
James Drury	Rider
Tom Glass	Drifter
Arnold Lawson	Wiggins
Billy Merasty	Lee
Mark Antonini	Craig
Christopher Benson	Drummer
Stephen Hair	Bannister
Norman Edge	Thorsem
Larry Austin	Diamond Joe
Iloe Flewelling	Aunt Edna
James Rattai	Nebrasky
Maureen Rooney	Mrs. Ogden
Dawn Greenhalgh	Molly's Mother
Tom Morris	Pianist
Keith Frey	Wagon Driver
Gary Farmer	Buster
Brent Stait	Griffin
Jessica Blatt	Young Female Househand
Nathan Barr	Composer

Technical Credits

Larry Gross

Daniel H. Blatt	Executive Producer,Director
Ruth Fainberg	Producer
Tom Glass	Stunts
Mary McCarthy	Casting
James Paradis	Special Effects
Bill Pullman	Director,Producer
Lynn Rainor	Producer
Mary Vernieu	Casting
Larry Gross	Screenwriter

Editorial Reviews

The Virginian, Owen Wister's classic Western novel, arguably the first nuanced treatment of the cowboy in American fiction, has had a long history as a source for adaptation. It was twice filmed as a silent film, then in 1929 as an early talkie with Gary Cooper, and then again in 1946 with Joel McCrea. In the 1960s, it became the basis for the first 90-minute TV series, with its hero (James Drury) employed by a series of bosses and its villain, Trampas (Doug McClure) a continuing character, his rough edges sanded down. This version, filmed for the TNT cable channel, returns to the book's set of characters, though with one omission, the "dude" narrator, a literary device that seems extraneous for dramatic presentation. Bill Pullman, who also directed and produced, is a stolid choice for the lead, and, although he is at least ten years older than the character was in the book, so is Diane Lane, who plays Molly, the schoolmarm he courts. For its first half, this version gets the windswept, treeless geography of southern Wyoming right, and then inevitably slips in towering mountains during the story's pursuit section. The film is strongest in reflecting Wister's view that frontier society was making things up as it went along (the story was set in 1885, five years before Wyoming gained statehood), showing shifting loyalties among the cowboys, the difficulties of enforcing the law in a literally wide open territory, and the consequences of vigilantism. The dialogue respects Wister's Victorian locutions without proving distracting. It's weaker in portraying Molly's character; here, she seems too quickly disillusioned with the difficulties of life on the frontier and then all too easily converted simply by the affectionate attentions of the Virginian. The fact is, neither the Cooper nor the McCrea film versions are among those actors's best performances nor their strongest Westerns, so Pullman and company should be given credit for largely respecting the material and giving it a handsome mounting.

All Movie Guide - Tom Wiener