Search - Buffalo Girls on DVD

Frank E. (realartist) from HENDERSONVLLE, NC
Reviewed on 12/26/2008...

Here's your "girls can ride 'em, rope 'em, shoot 'em, rough it in the horrid outdoors' too western.

1 of 3 member(s) found this review helpful.

A wonderful mini-series!

Brett Heitkam | Lena, IL United States | 03/01/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Buffalo Girls is one of the best made-for-tv movies from the 1990s and it is a pleasure to have this forever on DVD.

The film stars Anjelica Huston, Melanie Griffith, Peter Coyote, Sam Elliot, Gabriel Byrne, Liev Schrieber, Jack Palance, and Reba McEntire. Even if the film hadn't been as well written as it was, the sheer star power of the film would have carried it through.

Huston plays Calamity Jane expertly with such emotion and understanding of the character. Melanie Griffith was my favorite, however, playing ex-madame Dora DuFran, Calamity's best friend. Her story is an emotional rollercoaster, and Griffith's incredible skills as an actress shine through here. Sitcom star Reba McEntire plays Annie Oakley, and it's a shame that her role in the film is so small. In the 3-hour film, she is maybe in it a total of fifteen minutes. I think Reba is wonderful and it would have been nice to see more of her as Annie. All in all, a great, involving movie that is a joy to experience.

The DVD from Platinum Disc Corporation has no extra features, but luckily presents the movie as it originally aired on TV, in two seperate parts. The earlier VHS release had the two parts edited together into one long movie and had a scene edited out. It's nice to have the Buffalo Girls in it's original form. The picture quality is perfect and the sound is a robust 2-channel stereo track with surround seperation at very appropriate times in the film.

For the low price Amazon is offering this 3-hour DVD at, it is ridiculous not to buy it. Even if you are not a fan of westerns (I certainly am not), it will still keep you entertained!"

Women in the Old West

Brett Heitkam | 11/05/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Ok, so you have to get through some TV movie hokieness to appreciate this movie. At first, I was distracted by the awkward direction, acting, and accents, and the general TV-movieness of it all. But as the movie went on, I was able to overlook those things and started to enjoy it, especially Angelica Huston as Calamity Jane. Some quality about her, a grittiness and strength, seems just right for the role. Melanie Griffith is not always a favorite of mine, but she has a sweetness that makes her Dora enjoyable. Gabriel Byrne as the lovelorn Blue makes a good match for her. He is suitably and touchingly romantic here, not as much "darkness" to his character as in most roles. I enjoyed their story, though I was distracted at first by that heavy Texas drawl issuing from Byrne's mouth. It was fine when I got used to it, though it did start me thinking that probably there were a lot of cowboys with Irish, Scandinavian, German and other accents--immigrants. The only reason we think of all cowboys with a Texas drawl is Hollywood.I also thought the movie shortchanged Indian women a bit. What does Blue's Native American wife think of being married to a white guy who doesn't love her? That's sad for her, and in a movie about women of the Old West, would have been a good angle to the story. Westerns usually show Indian women as victims or passive prizes for "sympathetic" white men. In reality, Indian women often had much more autonomy and power than European women. The idea of being given as a "prize" to a white men would have been entirely against their culture. (To learn more about Native American women, I recommend the writings of James Alexander Thom, a historical novelist whose wife is Native American.)On the plus side, I liked the alliance between Calamity and Annie Oakley. So much better than making them enemies. And the story about Jane's daughter was touching, even though I knew it was pure fiction.This is a good movie to while away a winter weekend. It would also be good for parents looking for good viewing material for pre-teen to young teen girls, even though I have a problem with anything that portrays prostitution as a good career choice for women. The angle is downplayed, though. Enjoyable and recommended."

Ride 'em, cowgirls!

Peggy Vincent | Oakland, CA | 08/27/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Angelica Huston rocks in Buffalo Girls, in which she plays Calamity Jane. This movie plays fast and loose with history and fiction, but what good 'true' movie doesn't. A great take on a woman's perspective of the Old West."