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Brokeback Mountain poster

Brokeback Mountain

year 2005decade 00sdirector Ang Leegenre Romance / Drama

134 minutes

Cast

Selected cast credits · Film reference

Heath Ledger Ennis Del Mar
Jake Gyllenhaal Jack Twist
Randy Quaid Joe Aguirre
Michelle Williams Alma Beers Del Mar
Anne Hathaway Lureen Newsome Twist
Graham Beckel L.D. Newsome
Linda Cardellini Cassie Cartwright
Anna Faris Lashawn Malone
David Harbour Randall Malone

Brokeback Mountain | The Rewatchables

host Bill Simmonshost Wesley Morrisproducer Craig Horlbeck format 20th Anniversaryevent First Episode in New Studio
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Roger Ebert's review

4 stars (scale not stated)

Ebert gives four stars and praises the film’s close observation of its two men as making the specific universal.

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 00:58:02Read transcript
  • Ebert gives four stars and praises the film’s close observation of its two men as making the specific universal.
  • His four-star Crash review and belief that it deserved to win are criticized.

Recasting Couch

Paul Meskell, Adam Scott and Josh O Connor illustrate modern possibilities; Mike Feist is floated while Tom Holland lacks the required physicality.

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:16:26Read transcript
  • Paul Meskell, Adam Scott and Josh O Connor illustrate modern possibilities; Mike Feist is floated while Tom Holland lacks the required physicality.
  • Chalamet is considered unlikely to fit though likely to be approached; muscular Sasha Baron Cohen is a joke, Jesse Plemons may be too old, and Will Poulter is floated.
  • Sabrina Carpenter as Alma is tentatively entertained; Gosling ten years earlier could have worked.
  • Danny McBride as Ennis and Shane Gillis as Jack start as jokes but draw serious interest.

Casting What-Ifs

Van Sant wanted Damon as Ennis; Damon cites the sequence of Ripley and All the Pretty Horses. Hartnett and Phoenix are mentioned, with Phoenix reportedly denying an offer and saying he would have accepted.

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:40:39Read transcript
  • Van Sant wanted Damon as Ennis; Damon cites the sequence of Ripley and All the Pretty Horses. Hartnett and Phoenix are mentioned, with Phoenix reportedly denying an offer and saying he would have accepted.
  • Representatives reportedly feared career damage; Schumacher and Norton were attached, and Walberg reportedly declined after disliking the script.
  • Ledger wanted Ennis rather than Jack; Hathaway was asked to read Alma but identified with Lorraine.

Half-Assed Internet Research

The tent scene reportedly took13 takes and used the13th.

In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 01:54:38Read transcript
  • The tent scene reportedly took13 takes and used the13th.
  • Ledger’s horse experience and accent study, Alberta filming and multiple actor injuries are reported.
  • A Utah theater owner reportedly removed the film over family-values objections; Focus responded, and simultaneous DVD/download release is called a first.
  • International titles are discussed, with Beyond Friendship especially liked.
  • Proulx reportedly regretted fan pressure to rewrite the ending; the story is praised for concision and description.
  • Day-Lewis’s tribute, a rejected three-day hippie-river sequence and Proulx addressing an autograph to Ennis are recounted.

Picking Nits

Months of beans and a supposedly newborn baby looking four months old are criticized.

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 02:04:27Read transcript
  • Months of beans and a supposedly newborn baby looking four months old are criticized.
  • Alma Jr and the parents’ invitation are recalled; never opening the fishing equipment is foolish, though it reveals absorption and disregard for Alma.
  • What filled weeklong trips without fishing is debated; walks, Jack’s equipment, cards and board games are possibilities.

Probably Unanswerable Questions

Jack’s possible new relationship raises jealousy questions, but Ennis alone visits the parents and offers to take the ashes.

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 02:14:42Read transcript
  • Jack’s possible new relationship raises jealousy questions, but Ennis alone visits the parents and offers to take the ashes.
  • Hathaway reportedly filmed knowing and unknowing versions of the death call; combining them preserves whether Lorraine knows the truth.
  • Jack, I swear is deliberately unresolved; the story describes an answer to a question Jack never asked.

Producer review

The invited producer and his wife loved their first viewing; the ending is his favorite and Jack, I swear is beautifully vague.

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 02:19:40Read transcript
  • The invited producer and his wife loved their first viewing; the ending is his favorite and Jack, I swear is beautifully vague.
  • The film’s box-office success is contrasted with a present environment where such material would likely become a television series.

Recasting Couch

Chemistry is essential; an alternate2005 version with Ashton Coucher and Orlando Bloom is imagined.

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 02:22:48Read transcript
  • Chemistry is essential; an alternate2005 version with Ashton Coucher and Orlando Bloom is imagined.
  • More ordinary-looking men could fit the story, with McBride, Gillis and Plemons reconsidered; Ferrell and Riley carry too much comedy baggage.
  • Nathan Fielder is floated then rejected.