Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3380 in DVD
• Released on: 2006-04-24
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, PAL
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 134 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
A sad, melancholy ache pervades Brokeback Mountain, Ang Lee's haunting, moving film that, like his other movies, explores societal constraints and the passions that lurk underneath. This time, however, instead of taking on ancient China, 19th-century England, or '70s suburbia, Lee uses the tableau of the American West in the early '60s to show how two lovers are bound by their expected roles, how they rebel against them, and the repercussions for each of doing so--but the romance here is between two men. Ennis Del Mar (Heath Ledger) and Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal) are two itinerant ranchers looking for work in Wyoming when they meet and embark on a summer sheepherding job in the shadow of titular Brokeback Mountain. The taciturn Ennis, uncommunicative in the extreme, finds himself opening up around the gregarious Jack, and the two form a bond that surprisingly catches fire one cold night out in the wilderness. Separating at the end of the summer, each goes on to marry and have children, but a reunion years later proves that, if anything, their passion for each other has grown significantly. And while Jack harbours dreams of a life together, the tight-lipped Ennis is unable to bring himself to even consider something so revolutionary.

Its open, unforced depiction of love between two men made Brokeback an instant cultural touchstone, for both good and bad, as it was tagged derisively as the "gay cowboy movie," but also heralded as a breakthrough for mainstream cinema. Amidst all the hoopla of various agendas, though, was a quiet, heartbreaking love story that was both of its time and universal--it was the quintessential tale of star-crossed lovers, but grounded in an ever-changing America that promised both hope and despair. Adapted by Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana from Annie Proulx's short story, the movie echoes the sparse bleakness of McMurtry's The Last Picture Show with its fading of the once-glorious West; but with Lee at the helm, it also resembles The Ice Storm, as it showed the ripple effects of a singular event over a number of people. As always, Lee's work with actors is unparalleled, as he elicits graceful, nuanced performances from Michelle Williams and Anne Hathaway as the wives affected overtly and subliminally by their husbands' affair, and Gyllenhaal brings surprising dimensions to a character that could have easily just been a puppy dog of a boy. It's Ledger, however, who's the breakthrough in the film, and his portrait of an emotionally repressed man both undone and liberated by his feelings is mesmerizing and devastating. Spare in style but rich with emotion, Brokeback Mountain earns its place as a classic modern love story. --Mark Englehart

Synopsis
Based on the short story by Pulitzer Prize-winning author E. Annie Proulx, BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN is the tragic and moving story of two cowboys who unexpectedly fall in love while working together one summer in 1963. When the film begins, rodeo cowboy Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal) and ranch-hand Ennis Del Mar (Heath Ledger) are strangers meeting for the first time. As the more outgoing one, it is Jack who must initiate a friendship with Ennis, a man so tight-lipped and self-consciously macho he refuses all facial expression. From this strained beginning, Jack and Ennis gradually begin to bond on cold lonely nights over a fire in the mountains of Signal, Wyoming. One particularly chilly evening, Jack invites Ennis into his tent, where a sudden awkward embrace sends their relationship in a new direction. Though each man stubbornly defends his heterosexuality, the spark between them cannot help but grow, with that initial summer on Brokeback Mountain becoming their reference point for happiness during the rest of their lives. Spanning 20 years, the film moves at an impressively slow pace that really captures the detailed and unhurried style of Proulx's story. Seeing each other a few times a year at best, Ennis and Jack spend the rest of their time half-heartedly living up to society's expectations by marrying and having kids. When the lovers do meet, there is a sense of love so palpable and frustrating it often manifests itself in physical violence. Gyllenhaal shines as the film's hopeful light, and Ledger gives a powerful performance as the emotionally blocked Ennis. Academy Award-winning director Ang Lee captures the natural beauty of Wyoming and Texas with camerawork that, while beautiful, never feels imposing. Gustavo Santaolalla's simple yet haunting score helps to complete a beautiful portrait of regret and wasted chances.

Customer Reviews

"Caveat Emptor"
The first time I watched this DVD I felt disappointed and disaffected when I returned the disc to its box. Some 18 months on while thumbing through a stack of media, I thought I'd give it a second viewing; but this time I wasn't prejudiced. This time, 135 minutes later, I found myself emotionally "torn-open". An unprecedented reaction and somewhat debilitating. How was this, I wondered. I think now perhaps I know:
Have the DVD subtitles set "ON", as it is sometimes hard to perceive the dialogue. Every word is precious in this brilliant screenplay and none must be missed. Warning: do not expect to be "entertained". That's not what this movie is about. Make sure you are undisturbed, then just recline, relax and watch. (ideally on a large wide-screen)

The cinematic crafting is magnificent and in many ways flawless, with camera shots and colour you'd find in National Geographic. The musical score is haunting and blends perfectly with the sublime scenery. Heath Ledger's portrayal of an introvert ranch-hand, anguished and perplexed by his feelings is an astonishing performance and harrowing to watch. In fact, all the actors under the guidance of Director Ang Lee were just memorising. Sometimes their silent repressed expressions were visually "deafening" with emotion. I became totally drawn in and immersed in the lives of these perceivable characters. It was an effusive encounter.

Few people will actually 'enjoy' "Brokeback Mountain". I say this because some folk, by nature of their disposition, will inevitably be uneasy, bored and restless for the film to finish. Unreceptive to its human story, as I first was. The remaining majority however will feel intense empathy and agitation from the impact of this stunning masterpiece. A wonderful ability of this film.

If, like me, this movie didn't 'engage' the first time you saw it, please give it a 2nd chance and follow my instructions. And if you've never experienced "Brokeback Mountain", I suggest you do.

This is an extraordinarily beautiful film capable of piercing emotion.

A piece of movie history
Simply the best film I have ever seen. It restored my faith in the power of cinema to be a positive force for change and enlightenment. The first 20 minutes is lyrically paced in order to do justice to the formative nature of this period on the rest of these mens lives. The acting, writing and direction were universally excellent and it should have swept the Oscars. Not until the second viewing did I fully appreciate just how multi-layered the film is; how poor these guys were and how this determined their limited options; Ennis stubbing out a half smoked cigarette and putting it in his pocket and being so worried about the loss of a shirt;Jack Twist attempting to reseal a loose heel on his shoe by placing it in the campfire. Its classic status is already confirmed and it has to be an essential part of the collection of all cinema lovers because it rewards you more with each viewing. Watch it and, if you allow it to, it may just change your life for the better.

A mountaintop experience
I recall a short story version of Brokeback Mountain many years ago in a major periodical (alas, I can't recall the periodical). I had an idea that it would, in the fullness of time, become a major motion picture, and that it has. It is an award-winning film already, and looks set for some sort of Oscar recognition. The film has garnered more Oscar nominations than any other this year.

However, in the hype surrounding the film, those interested would be wise to look at the book. There is much more depth here than in the film, much more about the interior workings of the main characters and what they must endure. This is ultimately not a love story, as the marketing has been spinning the film, but rather an expose on the dangers and drawbacks of living in the closet. For the purposes of this story, Annie Proulx has juxtaposed two diametrically opposite cultures in the American psyche - the gay culture and the cowboy culture (although history is, as it often is, in fact rather different from what the Hollywood-created current remembrance of it is). One comes to wonder at the resistance that all characters seem to have for breaking free of their bonds; ultimately, none of the relationships are satisfying, and there is an emotional desolation as wide and spare as brush land and prairies of the American West.

The lead characters meet while working for the summer as wranglers and watchers over herds. They form a bond that renews at regular intervals during their lives, lives that go on to other, more traditional and socially acceptable settings. Each gets married, each has children, each embarks (in one way or another) in a working life that would seem to preclude the other, but yet the tie that binds them draws them together again on a regular basis.

The closet theme is heightened in the lead characters, but in fact serves as a metaphor for readers who might not fit in that particular closet - we all have skeletons in our closets, it seems, and in fact, we all have our own closets in which we hide and live out part of our lives.

This theme is played in out in several scenes of the film - Ennis Del Mar finding his shirt intertwined with Jack's shirt in Jack's closet, which Ennis then proceeds to put into his own closet.

The last scene is perhaps the most powerful of all, drifting to a final image. Ennis' daughter, having announced her marriage plans, drives off into the dusty plain; Ennis is living in isolation in his own trailer which has next to no furniture (his daughter comments that he needs a chair); and the very final shot is of a closet door, kept closed until Ennis is alone, with a view of the mountains in the far distance just outside the window beyond.

In terms of overall cinematography, this is a beautiful film. Ang Lee's direction has provided wonderful panoramic views of the mountains and the plains, the not-so-wild west of America, mid-century. This is a world very different from either coast - the trends of the cities in New England and California have little effect on life here, which goes on generation after generation with an unrelenting sameness.

Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal, fresh from his role as a marine in 'Jarhead') and Heath Ledger (whose film 'Casanova', playing at the same time in the same cinema in my town, cast him in a very different role) play the leads of Jack Twist and Ennis del Mar, two down-on-their-luck wranglers who get a summer job camping out with sheep herds in the mountains - the kind of 24 hour/7 day-per-week job that virtually nobody wants. Jack is the extrovert, whereas to call Ennis an introvert might win the Oscar for understatement. At one point, Jack points this out, after a conversation that only lasted for about a minute.

Jack Twist: 'That's more words than you've spoke in the past two weeks.'
Ennis Del Mar: 'Hell, that's the most I've spoke in a year.'

Ledger's portrayal of Ennis is remarkable in that Ennis seems to be almost inarticulate. Everything is said in a grumble, a low-level, low-syllable-count manner. Gyllenhaal's portrayal of Jack as the ants-in-his-pants, high-energy bronco buster cowboy is also very enthralling. Jack's passion for many things comes through, and through the film we come to discover (as Ennis comes to discover) that this passion comes with a high price.

Anne Hathaway and Michelle Williams play the wives of Jack and Ennis, respectively. Both want 'regular' lives, and both discover there is more to their husbands' relationship than fishing-buddy friendship in different ways. In some ways, the film reminded me of another film, 'Same Time Next Year', in which a couple gets together on a regular basis while maintaining stable, family relationships elsewhere. However, there is a price to be paid for leading such double lives, and we see this manifested in different ways in the lives of Ennis, Jack, and their wives and children. Again, the issue of the closet comes into play.

Of course, the big 'issue' for the film is homosexuality and homophobia. That this takes place within the almost-sacred genre of the American Western also adds to the heightened interest - the mythology of the American cowboy being a super-macho figure has already been developed as a gay stereotype by such groups as the Village People and what sociologists might call costume-culture communities. The unspoken secret that rarely made even a mention on Hollywood screens was that cowboys, being isolated much of the time, and in male-only communities when they did have company, almost certainly had a higher incidence of same-sex expression than we have come to believe through the mythology.

Ennis and Jack do put physical and emotional expression to their passion and to their love for each other, but societal expectations and personal feelings (what some term internalised homophobia) work to keep them apart and leading separate (and dual) lives throughout the twenty-year span of the film.

There is no happy ending to this film - I left the cinema with a feeling about as desolate as the dry and dusty plains shown in many of the scenes. I found bits of the music score coming back to me for days afterwards, and each time this happened, I would feel a bit more sombre, and a little bit lost for words. The original themes by Gustavo Santaolalla and Marcelo Zarvos are very well done, and this is a soundtrack I mean to get.