Lone Star

R

Released Jun 21, 1996

2h 14m

Drama

List

91%

Tomatometer

140 Reviews

83%

Audience Score

5,000+ Ratings

In the Texas border town of Frontera, Sheriff Sam Deeds (Chris Cooper) digs up the past when he finds an old skull in the desert. As he traces the murder of Sheriff Charlie Wade (Kris Kristofferson) 40 years earlier, Deeds' investigation points toward his late father, the much-loved Deputy Buddy Deeds. Ignoring warnings not to delve any deeper, Sam rekindles a romance with his high school sweetheart while bringing up old tensions in the town and exposing secrets long put to rest.

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Critics Consensus

Smart and absorbing, Lone Star represents a career high point for writer-director John Sayles -- and '90s independent cinema in general.

Read Critics Reviews

Jake Cole

Slant Magazine

John Sayles’s Lone Star is among the most literary films ever made.

Jan 24, 2024

Full Review

Robert Faires

Austin Chronicle

Sayles is able to touch on the humanity of each [character] and the details of the region -- the heat, the beautiful but often unforgiving landscape, and especially the pride of the residents -- are vivid and true.

Rated: 4/5

Sep 6, 2023

Full Review

Michael H. Price

Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com

A large-ensemble mystery of a scope far greater than the mere question of whodunit.

Rated: 4/5

Sep 6, 2023

Full Review

Michael J. Casey

Boulder Weekly

If you haven’t seen "Lone Star" before, you’ll be gob-smacked a movie this good isn’t talked about more.

Rated: 5/5

Jan 25, 2024

Full Review

Juan Rodriguez Flores

La Opinion

The geographic space of Lone Star has a singular historical, psychological and emotional resonance within the intimate life of those who inhabit it. [Full review in Spanish]

Sep 6, 2023

Full Review

Peter Keough

Boston Phoenix

Lone Star offers all the satisfaction of a deftly structured, deeply intelligent novel or a luminous canvas for the imagination -- not to mention a mirror for the subjective processes of memory and desire.

Sep 6, 2023

Full Review

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John H

Great story and movie.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/05/24

Full Review

Glen M

Masterpiece a great script turned in to a great film by wonderful actors and deft director

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/07/23

Full Review

Kevin L

Great John Sayles movie. Chris Cooper, Elizabeth Pena and Kris Kristofferson are all terrific. Would've liked to have seen more of McGonaughey's character rather than just the legend talk. But I get why Sayles went the route he did. Needed to build the legend to draw minds from thoughts of a cover-up. Bit soap opera-y/melodramatic at times for me, but this sort of drama often is. 3.7 stars

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

05/14/23

Full Review

K W

This is a make you think movie. It was entertaining. About the struggle among men for power but it was no Gladiator. Still, a couple of hours after it was over I realized that I wouldn't forget it. That's what I love about movies.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

05/05/23

Full Review

Steve D

Well acted but predictable and with a ridiculous (and gross) end.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/15/23

Full Review

Paul C

Amazing movie, with so many interconnected threads. It is great storytelling in this American land of so many intermixed cultures races and ethnicities. I have to put this movie on my top ten movies of all time.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

09/29/22

Full Review

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John Sayles

Director

Chris Cooper

Sheriff Sam Deeds

Elizabeth Peña

Pilar Cruz

Joe Morton

Colonel Delmore Payne

Ron Canada

Otis Payne

Clifton James

Mayor Hollis Pogue

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Synopsis

In the Texas border town of Frontera, Sheriff Sam Deeds (Chris Cooper) digs up the past when he finds an old skull in the desert. As he traces the murder of Sheriff Charlie Wade (Kris Kristofferson) 40 years earlier, Deeds' investigation points toward his late father, the much-loved Deputy Buddy Deeds. Ignoring warnings not to delve any deeper, Sam rekindles a romance with his high school sweetheart while bringing up old tensions in the town and exposing secrets long put to rest.

Director: John Sayles
Producer: Maggie Renzi
Screenwriter: John Sayles
Distributor: Columbia Pictures
Production Co: Castle Rock Entertainment, Columbia Pictures Corporation
Rating: R
Genre: Drama
Original Language: Englisch
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 21, 1996, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 1, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA): $13.1M
Runtime: 2h 14m
Sound Mix: Surround

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