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Just when you thought it was safe to go and see another Kevin Costner movie- oh, wait a minute. "Open Range" is actually worth seeing! Seems like the movie-going public had it in for Costner ever since his career began to nosedive with "Waterworld," his follow-up to the Oscar-winning "Dances With Wolves" that received mixed reviews and tanked at the domestic box office. Then came "The Postman," an equally dismal theatrical failure, followed by a string of hit-and-miss acting ventures that ranged from his terrific turn in "Thirteen Days" to such powerhouse flops as "3000 Miles to Graceland" and the much-maligned "Dragonfly." If ever there was a career that had so many ups and downs as to make one question the validity of a filmmaker's upcoming project, it is Costner's. ***

Or was, anyway. After having seen "Open Range," what little faith I had lost from his few missteps has been restored to its entirety, boosted up by the brilliance of Costner's expert direction, which returns him to the same form that won him the Oscar for Best Director back in 1990. Here he shows us what made him such a great filmmaker to begin with: he cares about the project, its many minor nuances, and most importantly, he wants to make a great movie. And that he has: this is not only a well-crafted homage to the genre that is the Western, but a solid modern classic that is earnest in its adherence to form and function, and all the better for it. ***

You won't find much outside of the genre within the confines of the story: set in the vast expanses of the West in the early 1880's, the film introduces us to the likes of Boss Spearman (Robert Duvall), Charley Waite (Costner), Mose Harrison (Abraham Benrubi), and Button (Diego Luna), four free-grazing cattle ranchers who consider civilization a burden, but are not unacquainted with such things as civility or honor. The represent the very last of their kind, a group of people that certain folks don't take very kindly to, as they are about to discover when they stop to graze outside of the small town of Harmonville. Run by the bloodless Sheriff Poole (James Russo) and tyrannical rancher Denton Baxter (Michael Gambon), the town poses a threat to our ranchers, who find themselves out of place very quickly, and soon meet with tragic results when Baxter's cronies take the life of Mose and leave Button with near-fatal injuries. ***

You can practically hear the bells of revenge ringing in bell towers across the planet, and it's not that hard to pinpoint where things will eventually lead between Charley and Sue Barlow (Annette Bening), the sister of the town's doctor who gives them shelter. But where another movie might yield a "Been there, done that" type of reaction, "Open Range" is so full of respect for the different genre elements it presents throughout its developing story that I came to devote my own respect for its integrity and beauty. Yes, we've seen all of this before, from the pairing of a wise, learned elder with a slightly younger former gunslinger (who just happens to have a tainted past); heck, pretty much the entire plot is a pastiche of Western characters, actions, motivations, and themes. But it is handled with the utmost care by Costner, who has enough faith in his audience to allow the material to be what it is, plain and simple, without revamping or refurbishing what need not be touched. ***

The film is a production brimming with attributes, not the least of which belong to several cast members, Costner included. But while he adds a sense of lonesome remorse for a dirty past to the picture, it is Robert Duvall who turns in the film's finest effort. As Boss Spearman, he gives one of the year's great performances, lending a rugged gentility and burnished grace to a role that now feels as though no one else could have played it as such. And while her character receives less screen time than the normal genre heroine, Annette Bening manages to keep us involved in her character's emotional plight without making it feel too sappy or melodramatic. ***

And I cannot close without commenting on the glorious cinematography of first-timer James Muro, who worked with Costner on "Dances With Wolves," and whose past work includes acting as camera operator on such films as "Titanic" and "L.A. Confidential." Here, he supplies us with picture portraits of a land gone by, paying homage to the wide-open spaces of Westerns long ago whilst opening up his own canvas into something visually stunning and emotive. The production design team led by Gae S. Buckley is intricately detailed, the score by Michael Kamen in fine form, and the overall grandeur of the movie a thing to be admired, cherished, and enjoyed as a brilliant work of entertainment, and maybe for some (myself included), art. The lifeblood of the Western runs throughout the very heart of "Open Range," and those who have a passion for the genre will most likely succumb to its many rustic charms.

The 2.35:1 anamorphic image for "Open Range" is an often-glorious transfer that features very few flaws during its presentation. Nature looks pretty damn good here through the excellent color saturation, with wonderfully recreated hues and accurate fleshtones, and some of the brightest greens and sky-blues I've ever seen on a DVD. Contrast and shadow detail compliment these colors nicely, and blacks are rich and solid throughout. Clarity is handled very nicely as well, with sharp edges that (gasp!) display a near-complete absence of enhancement halos! How nice! And the source print could not be better: no grain, no dirt, no scratches, and all perfection. Buena Vista has certainly done right by "Open Range." ***

And the sound is also worth checking out, and comes in both DTS 5.1 and Dolby Digital 5.1 mixes. These are very engaging tracks that bring us into the movie experience for an all-around good time listening to the sweet sounds of Michael Kamen's score, the explosive suddenness of a gunshot, and the natural atmospherics that surround all of this. The rear channels are used generously throughout, especially in scenes involving rainstorms and thunder, while the .1 LFE lends a nice undercurrent of deep bass to gunshots and other elements. Channel separation and imaging are very well-handled considering their more reserved approach, and dialogue sounds very crisp and clean, although if truth be told, it could be a bit better balanced within the overall mix. The DTS option has better distinction across the soundfield and a slightly cleaner low end, but the Dolby track does just fine if that's all you're left with.

After scoring a box office success in the late summer season and restoring Kevin Costner's good name in filmmaking, "Open Range" is getting a terrific DVD presentation that should make the fans happy with a purchase. Spread out across two discs, the extras included on this set give us both the backstory of the movie as well as a little background on the subject matter. ***

Then we move on to Disc Two, which houses the brunt of the supplements, and kicks off with an excellent documentary: "Behind Open Range." Shot during the production and featuring a number of interviews and comments with Costner and various other cast and crew members, the doc covers the shooting and post-production processes from the first day of photography to the film's premiere, and many facets in between. We hear from Annette Bening, who comments on wearing a real corset to get into her character; we also learn that Robert Duvall almost didn't get to play the role of Boss because of a horse-riding accident prior to production. Even Costner's bout with laryngitis couldn't prevent the show from going on. The behind-the-scenes footage and glimpses of the creative process add greatly to the piece; this is one of the better docs I've seen in awhile. ***

Up next we have "America's Open Range," a historical piece narrated by Costner that chronicles a small collection of stories of rangers, free grazers, and others who lived on the frontier during the latter half of the 19th century. The stories here are actually quite fascinating, including that of future president Theodore Roosevelt, and a woman who ventured out and made a living taking photographs and portraits. Then we have a collection of deleted scenes, some of which are basic filler, others of which enhance those to which they are connected in the final cut. A storyboarding featurette shows us the process by which the storyboards were entered into the computer and put into motion to give the filmmakers a sense of the editing and photography, and the disc closes out with a music video montage.