The Hi-Lo Country | 
| Director: Stephen Frears
Actors: Billy Crudup, Woody Harrelson, Patricia Arquette, Cole Hauser, Enrique Castillo
Studio: Polygram USA Video
Category: DVD
Buy Used: $52.95
New (3) Used (15) from $52.95
Rating:  13 reviews
Sales Rank: 61758
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dvd, Full Screen, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), French (Subtitled)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
DVD Layers: 2
DVD Sides: 1
Picture Format: Array
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 114 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
ISBN: 6305447187
UPC: 044005868722
EAN: 9786305447184
ASIN: 6305447187
Theatrical Release Date: January 22, 1999
Release Date: July 6, 1999
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
Based on the novel by Max Evans and directed by Stephen Frears, The Hi-Lo Country charted a long and circuitous route to the big screen, and the final result proves that the material posed a major--and perhaps insurmountable--challenge for screen adaptation. It's easy to see why this contemporary Western was once a coveted project of director Sam Peckinpah; its codes of honor, male bonding, and hardened morality would've played nicely into Peckinpah's artistic legacy. There are clear echoes of Peckinpah in the screenplay by Walon Green (who wrote The Wild Bunch), and while the movie is blessed by Woody Harrelson's vivid performance as a reckless latter-day cowboy, Frears fails to maintain a compelling tone and the rest of the cast nearly fades into the background. Billy Crudup (Without Limits) plays Harrelson's best pal, just returned to New Mexico from service in World War II with hopes of starting a cattle ranch free from the greedy clutches of a local rancher (Sam Elliott) who dominates the town of Hi-Lo like a bootclad kingpin. Harrelson joins in the effort, but tensions rise when he connects with the sultry seductress (Patricia Arquette) with whom Crudup has fallen inexplicably in love. Harrelson has provoked others as well, and he seems primed for a fall, but The Hi-Lo Country is a film out of balance. Memorable moments are found in abundance, and the film's period detail is impeccable, but Crudup's character is so underwritten and underplayed that his role as narrator and ostensible hero has minimal dramatic impact. By the time fate deals its inevitable blow, it's too late to care. Frears has suffered from similar missteps before (remember Mary Reilly?), and The Hi-Lo Country leaves you wondering what Peckinpah might have done with the novel he so dearly admired. --Jeff Shannon
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| Customer Reviews: Read 8 more reviews...
 All Around Satisfied February 24, 2009
Pete H. Lucero Jr. (Las Cruces, NM USA)
The product was used but in excellent condition. When I spoke with the seller to ask a few questions she was very polite and honest and I recieved my purchase very quickly at an excellent price. What more could you ask?
 The fragility of friendship. May 29, 2008
Joel Munyon (Joliet, Illinois - the poohole of America.)
Hi-Lo country's plot has already been summarized here a few dozen times, so I'll get right to the element that followed me after I finished this film. The principle friendship, between Crudup's and Harrelson's characters, appear like many of our own at first glance: rock-solid, inseparable, and fixed upon the strongest loyalties. They fight for one another and watch each other's backs like hawks; and yet, when a woman comes into play and divides them, the wheels of their loyalty come unhinged and a crashing course of events takes place.
I found this to be the chief factor of the film, and one that has essentially been the downfall of many friendships in my own circle of influence. Hi-lo country doesn't show us the way it should be when faced with divided loyalties; it shows us the way it actually is, and I applaud the film for that, if nothing else.
well-acted but mediocre story February 7, 2005
M. Schreuder (provo, utah United States)
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
There was nothing inspiring or heart-warming about this mangled love triangle; the femme fatale was unworthy of the viewer's sympathy and Woody Harrelson was the consummate big-hearted, hot-tempered heavy-drinking loyal-to-the-end type with a big heart; his untimely demise only makes the film seem to spiral downward even more relentlessly.
How typical!!!!.... April 15, 2004
moooondschine (Chicago, Illinois)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Without the perfect cast, this movie could easily be a flop.
But Patricia Arquette is here so beautiful and Woody Harrelson had never played better. Buy Buy Buy!!!!!
Finish... (:
A tribute to Sam Pekinpah and Walon Green... January 12, 2004
Thomas F. Redmond (Cleveland, OH)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This movie is basically for affectionados of Sam Pekinpah and Walon Green. The message of this film is that the nature of western life is underscored by the propensity of its people to live with recklessness and violence in generational terms. Think of it as sort of like, "The Wild Bunch" aftermath, about forty years beyond. While the "Wild Bunch" was about the west during the period of industrialization around the turn of the century, "The Hi Lo Country" deals with the period of superindustrialization following World War II. Woody Harrelson and Billy Crudup play two cowboys who fall for the same woman, Patricia Arquette. Harrelson as the violent "Big Boy" shows no sense of morality or humilty as the film's main protagonist, while Crudup as "Pete" is almost the exact opposite. Sam Elliot portrays a villanous rancher/industrialist, while the desirable Penelope Cruz is the overlooked, unrequitted love in Pete's life. All of the actors turn in solid performances, but what makes this film special is the story itself, the direction, and Jerry Goldsmith's subtle, forceful soundtrack.
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