Lonesome Dove

Dir: Simon Wincer, 1989, 6 hrs. (9.1*)

Larry McMurtry is our generation's best novelist (Terms of Endearment, Hud, The Last Picture Show), and here his epic, grandiose Pulitzer-winning novel is made into a worthy miniseries starring Robert Duvall and Tommie Lee Jones. The title is the small ranch on the Rio Grande they live on, but the drama of the series comes from a 2,500 mile cattle drive from Texas to Montana. Angelica Huston and Diane Lane also star, and for once they filmed a novel properly. My only complaint (hence 9*'s not 10) is that its not widescreen, shot in 35mm for TV, otherwise the perfect Western. 6 Emmys for 18 nominations.