Open Range movie is one of the most popular 2003 American western drama film directed and co-produced by Kevin Costner with Jake Eberts, and David Valde.
It is one of the finest modern westerns where Duvall heads a group of law abiding grazers who gets attacked by a local cattle baron.
The reason behind the fight is that the baron has murdered one of the members of Duvall group which is a direct indication to open war on them.
Kevin Costner’s movie was inspired from The Open Range Men novel by Lauran Paine in which characters don’t seek violence as the solution but sometimes they left with no option.
Open Range Filming Locations
Open Range movie is set in Montana but the actual filming took place in Alberta, Canada and Texas, USA.
According to IMDb, the principal photography began on 17 June 2002 and wrapped up in 8 Sep 2002 covering a total of 3 months.
Most of the filming took place in Stoney Indian Reservation while the rest of scenes set in Longview, Calgary, and Morley parts of Alberta.
Some scenes were also filmed in the state of Texas, USA, near the town of Raymondville. The beautiful landscapes and wide-open spaces in these locations helped create the authentic Western setting for the film.
Behind the Scenes
Costner spend nearly a million dollars to build a town from the scratch because he didn’t like any existing one. Moreover, the location was so far from the reach of common peoples and nearly $40k spent to build a route to bring the staff there.
Even though, all the 225 cattle were handled by trained cowboys on the set. Some beautiful landscapes and scenery were also taken in an unknown town nearby Longview. Moreover, he built the whole town featured in the film from scratch to make all the scenes authentic and realistic to the audience.
Even though, Kevin has put a lot of hard work in the 2003’s western drama along with the cattlemen who seek revenge on a land baron and corrupt sheriff. The film is still an underrated drama today. At the time of release, the Open Range was proven to be a mega hit among old fashioned handsomely mounted western viewers.
Open Range Cast
As per casting, Kevin Costner made his mind to keep Robert Duvall as Boss Spearman. Literally, he wasn’t in the mood to make the film if he turned down for that role. He didn’t make the movie at all if Duvall denied to play his part but he immediately accepted and Costner gave him the top billing. That’s other thing, Duvall broke 6 ribs while practicing horse riding.
Finally, all the cast members that starred in the movie were:
- Robert Duvall as Boss Spearman
- Kevin Costner as Charley Waite
- Michael Gambon as Denton Baxter
- Abraham Benrubi as Mose Harrison
- Annette Bening as Sue Barlow
- Herbert Kohler Jr. as Cafe Man
- Michael Jeter as Percy
- James Russo as Marshal Poole
- Rod Wilson as Gus
- Dean McDermott as Doc Barlow
- Kim Coates as Butler
- Julian Richings as Wylie
- Diego Luna as Button
- Peter MacNeill as Mack
- Cliff Saunders as Ralph
- Patricia Stutz as Ralph’s Wife
- Ian Tracey as Tom
Open Range Review
There were various western films that came out with compelling storylines like Jeremiah Johnson movie, Tombstone, Hollington Drive, Desperado, Saving Private Ryan, Shanghai Nights, Night of the Grizzly, etc.
But the Kevin Costner’s directed movie fulfills all your expectations with twists and turns. The curmudgeon and western hero combination looks pretty amazing along with other cast members.
Annette Benning has beautifully portrayed her character much more than the scripts given to her. Michael Gambon as the slimy Irish rancher played his part well, doesn’t matter he is shown in 2-3 scenes but his acting paid off.
The final action scene is incredibly visceral as all the characters made a place inside one’s heart while watching film, wished more of such films were made.
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