Advantages: Compelling, bitter-sweet, wonderful acting
Disadvantages: A little slow to get started

...After hearing such words as "exquisite" from those who had seen Brokeback Mountain at the cinema I was determined to buy it when it came out on DVD. I have to say that I am so glad that I did as Brokeback Mountain is a film that I will watch over and over again, and the story will stay with me for a long-time to come. Furthermore, in light of the tragic situation with Heath Ledger, this film only highlights his extraordinary acting talents and what a loss his unexpected death it is for the film industry as a whole. The film opens with two rather uncommunicative cowboys waiting for a ranch owner to appear in order to obtain work for the summer. They are told that they must protect the sheep when they are pastured on Brokeback Mountain, with one staying in base camp whilst the other lives with the sheep. After both accepting the work... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Beatiful Setting, Good Story.
Disadvantages: Deals with a controversial gay relationship

...Brokeback Mountain is a fictitious place in Wyoming that film director Ang Lee used as the setting for his 2005 blockbuster movie of the same name. Inspired by the Big Horn mountains and Tecon Peaks of Wyoming the film was actually shot 700 miles to the north in Alberta, Canada, yet in a paradoxical sort of way the success of the film which won four Golden Globe awards, including Best Picture has boosted the tourist economy of Wyoming and the tourist information office still receive hundreds of calls every week enquiring about the location of Brokeback. The story begins in 1963 and centres around the two main characters of the film Ennis Del Mar (played by Heath Ledger) and Jack Twist (played by Jake Gyllenhaal) who pick up a casual summer job herding sheep in the mountains and ensuring that they don't fall prey to the Wolves... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: The lead actors are sensational
Disadvantages: A little slow in pacing

...Originally a short story by Annie Proulx, Brokeback Mountain is screenplayed by Larry McMurtry and brought to the big screen by Ang Lee. Set over three decades, Jack Twist is a rodeo cowboy who goes in search of work and is sent up Brokeback Mountain with drifter Ennis Del Mar through the cold winter to herd sheep. When the cold winter gets too much for them, they bunk in the tent together for heat, and there begins an emotional and forbidden sexual relationship that will stay with them through their adult lives. When the winter is over, the men go their seperate ways, get married and have kids. Jack continues to embrace that side of his sexuality on weekends away with Ennis, but as those weekends become fewer over the years, he searches elsewhere to satisfy that side of himself. Ennis, however, isn't so free about his sexuality... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: good acting, sensitive story, dramatic
Disadvantages: slow in some places

...What do you expect when you hear of a movie about two bisexual cowboys on a mountain? To hit it off. At least, so I thought after watching the first half hour of the movie. The truth is Brokeback Mountain is much more than seeing Jack Twist (played by Jake Gyllenhaal) and Ennis Del Mar (Heath Ledger) pretending to have sex on a mountain. This movie was created to bring tears into our eyes and to evoke these emotions that you will only experience when you watch the likes of Million Dollar Baby and The Notebook. To get to the story, based on the short story by Pulitzer Prize-winning author E. Annie Proulx, two cowboys Jack and Ennis are struggling to make ends meet in the late 1960s. They take a job as sheep herder and start experiencing homosexual delight high up on Brokeback Mountain. However, when the summer ends, their passion... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: see below
Disadvantages: see below

...****************************************************************** TITLE : Brokeback Mountain RATING: ****½ CAST: Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Williams, Anne Hathaway, Randy Quaid, Graham Beckel, Anna Faris, Linda Cardellini, Roberta Maxwell, Peter McRobbie. DIRECTOR: Ang Lee SCREENWRITERS: Larry McMurtry & Diana Ossana BASED ON SHORT STORY: "Brokeback Mountain" by E. Annie Proulx STUDIO: Focus Features / River Road Entertainment RUNNING TIME: 134 minutes RATED: R (US) & 18 (UK); for strong sexuality, nudity, violence and language. DVD AVAILABILITY: 6 GBP from Amazon; ASIN# B000E6ULOA BLU-RAY AVAILABILITY: 18 GBP from Amazon; ASIN# B000IMVMFW ************************************************************* ***** PART ONE: SEPTEMBER 22, 2008 While I was sleeping, my sister... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Great story full of emotion
Disadvantages: It wasn't made for so long

...Brokeback Mountain, Rating 15, Run Time Approx 134 Mins. I have heard so much about the film 'Brokeback Mountain' that I decided it was time to see what all the fuss is about. How it all began: Brokeback Mountain is based on a short story written by Edna Anne Proulx; in 1997 the story appeared in The New Yorker and was read by writers Larry McCarthy and Diana Ossana. Together they decided to take this 30-page short story and turn it into a full screenplay, when the screenplay was finished it remained up touched for a number of years, no one wanted to put their name to it because of the content of the story. Fortunately Directed Ang Lee (Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon) came along and took a risk, and it paid of. The Story: Jack Twist and Ennis Del Mar are both Cowboys who are looking for work to make ends meet... Read review

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