Brokeback Mountain

2005 Drama

Ang Lee's adaptation of E. Annie Proulx's story Brokeback Mountain stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger as young cowboys named Jack Twist and Ennis Del Mar. Each of them is hired to corral sheep on the title location and they soon bond very closely. Their platonic relationship explodes into a physical one, but eventually the two are separated when their job comes to an end. Although the two follow different life paths -- one becoming a father of two and the other marrying into a successful business -- they have a reunion years later. Each is affected profoundly by the rekindling of their old feelings for each other. Those feelings lead each to consider what continuing their hidden relationship would cost them. The screenplay was written by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana.

Director: Ang Lee

Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Heath Ledger, Michelle Williams, Anne Hathaway, Randy Quaid

 30 Reviews  54 Awards

Reviews

  • Mr. Ledger magically and mysteriously disappears beneath the skin of his lean, sinewy character. It is a great screen performance, as good as the best of Marlon Brando and Sean Penn.

    Stephen Holden - The New York Times

    19 January 2013

  • Confidently directed by Ang Lee and featuring sensitive and powerful performances by Jake Gyllenhaal and a breathtaking Heath Ledger, this film is determined to involve us in the naturalness and even inevitability of its epic, complicated love story.

    Kenneth Turan - Los Angeles Times

    19 January 2013

  • Brokeback Mountain has been described as "a gay cowboy movie," which is a cruel simplification. It is the story of a time and place where two men are forced to deny the only great passion either one will ever feel. Their tragedy is universal.

    Roger Ebert - The Chicago Sun-Times

    19 January 2013

  • Brokeback Mountain is that rare thing, a big Hollywood weeper with a beautiful ache at its center. It's a modern-age Western that turns into a quietly revolutionary love story.

    Owen Gleiberman - Entertainment Weekly

    19 January 2013

  • Ang Lee's unmissable and unforgettable Brokeback Mountain hits you like a shot in the heart. It's a landmark film and a triumph for Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal.

    Peter Travers - Rolling Stone

    19 January 2013

Awards

  • AFI Movie of the Year

    AFI Awards (2005)

  • Best Achievement in Directing

    Academy Awards (2006)

  • Best Foreign Feature Film (Årets utenlandske kinofilm)

    Amanda Awards, Norway (2006)

     

  • Best Edited Feature Film - Dramatic

    American Cinema Editors (2006)

     

  • Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Theatrical Releases

    American Society of Cinematographers (2006)

     

Lists

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