| All the Pretty Horses | |
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Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Billy Bob Thornton |
| Produced by | Robert Salerno Billy Bob Thornton |
| Screenplay by | Ted Tally |
| Based on | All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy |
| Starring | Matt Damon Penélope Cruz Henry Thomas Lucas Black |
| Music by | Marty Stuart Kristin Wilkinson Larry Paxton |
| Cinematography | Barry Markowitz |
| Editing by | Sally Menke |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures (USA) Miramax Films (Non–USA) |
| Release date(s) | December 25, 2000 |
| Running time | 116 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $57 million[1] |
| Box office | $18,133,495[1] |
All the Pretty Horses is a 2000 American romance western film, directed by Billy Bob Thornton and based on the novel of the same title by author Cormac McCarthy. It stars Matt Damon and Penélope Cruz. The film received mostly negative reviews and grossed only $18 million worldwide.
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John Grady Cole, a young cowboy, and his best friend Lacey Rawlins leave their ranch in San Angelo, Texas and cross the border on horseback south to Mexico to seek work. They encounter on the trail a peculiar 13-year-old boy named Jimmy Blevins, whom they befriend, and later meet a young aristocrat's daughter, Alejandra Villarreal, with whom Cole falls in love.
Blevins is killed by a corrupt police captain. Cole and Rawlins become hired hands for Alejandra's father, who likes their work, but Cole's romantic interest in his daughter is unwelcome. He and Rawlins are framed for a crime and sent to a Mexican prison, where they must defend themselves against dangerous inmates and are nearly killed. He is freed by the aunt of Alejandra on the condition that she never sees hims again. When he is free again, Cole attempts to reunite with Alejandra over her family's objections.They originally run away together however she decides that she must keep her word as that is all she is and leaves him, returning to her family. He also tracks down the captain who took the Blevins boy's life, seeking revenge.
In the end, he ends up alone, back in the United States, defending himself in a court of law before a judge.
After Billy Bob Thornton completed his cut (said to be somewhere between three and four hours) producer/distributor Harvey Weinstein forced him to cut more than one hour out of it. Peter Biskind suggests in his book Down and Dirty Pictures that this was at least partially done as payback for Thornton's refusal to cut Sling Blade.
Thornton's cut had an effect on the storytelling. Matt Damon was publicly critical of this decision, saying to Entertainment Weekly, "You can't cut 35% of the movie and expect it to be the same movie."
Some attempts have been made to release a director's cut DVD, but arrangements can not be reached with the composer of the film's music, Daniel Lanois. As part of the re-cut, Weinstein scrapped the original score and hired Marty Stuart. Lanois felt insulted, and has steadfastly refused to license his score (which, unusually, he owns) to any release of the film.
Reviews of the film were generally negative, criticizing it as a poor adaptation of the novel and a dramatically un-involving film.[2] The comment of Entertainment Weekly critic Lisa Schwarzbaum was typical: "Faced with a choice of blunt instruments with which to beat a good book into a bad movie, director Billy Bob Thornton chooses heavy, random, arty imagery and a leaden pace."[3] The New York Times reviewer thought the film "as slick and superficial as a Marlboro advertisement"[4] The characters were also derided as undeveloped, and some reviewers considered there to be a lack of chemistry between the lead actors. Roger Ebert, however, disagreed, awarding the film three-and-a-half out of a possible four stars.[5] The film's sweeping visuals (filmed in New Mexico and Texas[6]), however, were consistently praised by all.
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