Special Coverage Comic-Con 2008Pop Culture Classics (The EW 1000)Sound BitesBox Office Game
  • --

Credits

Release Date: Nov 26, 2003; Rated: R; DVD Release Date: Jun 06, 2006; Genres: Drama, Western; With: Cate Blanchett and Tommy Lee Jones

Backlash against Ron Howard and The Da Vinci Code didn't hurt its box office returns, but popular disdain for the director's basic western parable The Missing nearly wiped it off the map. Most critics couldn't see past its obvious reference points (the Native American kidnappers plot resembles John Ford's classic The Searchers) to recognize its methodical adherence to the genre's mythology. In this new ''extended'' version, Howard has added an additional seventeen minutes to an already overlong running time, but more sweeping desert cinematography does enhance the environment of a lonely frontier. EXTRAS In his commentary and six shorts grouped as ''Ron Howard On...,'' the director recalls his personal romps with westerns, from filming childhood projects (three silent home movies, included here) to acting alongside John Wayne in the Duke's final film, The Shootist. These musings suggest that The Missing was intended mostly as homage, in which case it succeeds — at least more so than Da Vinci.


Posted Jun 01, 2006
 

Add Your Comments

The rules: Keep it clean, and stay on the subject or we might delete your comment. If you see inappropriate language, e-mail us. You must have javascript enabled to submit a comment.
--
Change/Edit your grade
characters remaining