Lone Star (1996)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

John Sayles

Writer (WGA):

John Sayles (written by)

Release Date:

21 June 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Mystery | Romance | Western

Tagline:

John Sayles invites you to return to the scene of the crime.

Plot:

When the skeleton of his murdered predecessor is found, Sheriff Sam Deeds unearths many other long-buried secrets in his Texas border town.

Plot Keywords:

Sheriff | Texas | Skeleton | Border | Bar

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 12 wins & 11 nominations

Cast

Stephen Mendillo	...	Cliff
Stephen J. Lang	...	Mikey
Chris Cooper	...	Sam
Elizabeth Peña	...	Pilar
Oni Faida Lampley	...	Celie
Eleese Lester	...	Molly
Joe Stevens	...	Deputy Travis
Gonzalo Castillo	...	Amado
Richard Coca	...	Enrique
Clifton James	...	Hollis
Tony Frank	...	Fenton
Miriam Colon	...	Mercedes Cruz
Kris Kristofferson	...	Charlie Wade
Jeff Monahan	...	Young Hollis
Matthew McConaughey	...	Buddy Deeds

MPAA:

Rated R for brief language, sex and violence.

Runtime:

135 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Iceland:16 (video rating) | France:U | South Korea:15 | USA:TV-MA | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Finland:K-14 | Germany:12 (w) | Netherlands:16 | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/12 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R | Canada:AA

Filming Locations:

Del Rio, Texas, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

The hands seen laying out the bones in this movie belong to David Glassman, a forensic anthropologist at Southwest Texas State University.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Sheriff Charlie Wade is armed with a Colt 'New Frontier' revolver, first introduced in 1961 by Colt as an updated version of the old Colt 'Peacemaker'. The events in the film take place in 1957 and 1958.

Quotes:

Mikey: Hey, Cliff!
Cliff: What'd you find? Pieces of eight? Relics from the Coronado expedition?
Mikey: Cliff, come here!
[Cliff comes over and sees a half-buried skeleton in the ground]
Cliff: Jesus...
[Mikey lifts a ring out of the ground]
Mikey: Was Coronado in the Masons?

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 69th Annual Academy Awards (1997) (TV)

Soundtrack:

My Love Is

John Sayles' best movie

"Lone Star" was John Sayles' first look at a state, followed by "Limbo" (Alaska), "Sunshine State" (Florida) and "Silver City" (Colorado). This one focuses on a border town in Texas, and the influences of and conflicts between the white, black and Hispanic populations there. It starts when they discover the remains of racist Sheriff Charlie Wade (Kris Kristofferson), murdered under mysterious circumstances many years earlier; Sheriff Sam Deeds (Chris Cooper) leads the investigation. In the process of everything, we get to see - among other things - the battle over education in the Lone Star State: the school only wants to teach the white people's side of history, but Pilar Cruz (Elizabeth Pena) wants to teach it from the Mexican point of view. As it is, this town carries many secrets, many of which are about to blow open. This was, in my opinion, John Sayles' greatest movie ever. It is not to be missed.