The Legend of the Lone Ranger

1981 "The untold story of the man behind the mask, and the legend behind the man."
4.9| 1h38m| PG| en| More Info
Released: 20 August 1981 Released
Producted By: Universal Pictures
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
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Synopsis

When the young Texas Ranger, John Reid, is the sole survivor of an ambush arranged by the militaristic outlaw leader, Butch Cavendich, he is rescued by an old childhood Comanche friend, Tonto. When he recovers from his wounds, he dedicates his life to fighting the evil that Cavendich represents. To this end, John Reid becomes the great masked western hero, The Lone Ranger. With the help of Tonto, the pair go to rescue President Grant when Cavendich takes him hostage.

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Reviews

Fluentiama Perfect cast and a good story
Actuakers One of my all time favorites.
InformationRap This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.
Phillipa Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.
tglennintheflesh I bought the novelization to this when I was little. My parents thought it might entice me to read. It sat on a shelf forever, unread. I always wanted to see the movie, but it came and went so fast that while I was on kid-time, I missed it. So I watched it last night, 35 years after I bought the book. I hated it in terms of where movies stand today, sensibilities, special effects, writing, etc. So thinking back to the time it was created, around the time of "Superman: The Movie," I considered a few elements that might not stand up today, but may have sort of worked in the past. First of all, the narration was quaint and more southern than western, like "The Dukes of Hazard" which did it better. The score was more melodramatic and almost inappropriate for the genre though it may have been a homage to the past.The lead character had the right size for the role, but his hair style seemed more like a guest role on "The Love Boat" or "Charlie's Angels" than a cowboy in the streets of Texas. While I like the back story, it was too long and too "after-school special" for me.In conclusion, the film seems dated, understated, simple, and tonally neutral. The Lone Ranger is one of America's greatest stories, but not even Disney could do it right.
info-655-149254 I liked this movie - the critics went nuts on it before its release because of the treatment that 50s TV Lone Ranger actor Clayton Moore received at the time. Clayton should've thanked them - he became a household name again and was featured on countless TV shows because of the legal actions of the films producers barring him from wearing the mask. The film is really quite good - what makes it a little lame is the music - not the score, the score is great - the campy, old fashioned songs sung by Merle Haggard - don't get me wrong Merl is great - but this 80s western came off like a B western with songs similar to "Branded" over the top of otherwise great color vistas and action - making them seem lame. The lead actor's voice was dubbed - apparently his own voice wasn't macho enough. Jason Robards, John Hart (another Lone Ranger actor from the 50s), Christopher Loyd, Richard Farnsworth, Jaunine Clay and others make some great scenes come to life. Great locations and scenery. Tonto is a much stronger character - but they did that without dumbing down the Lone Ranger as they did in the latest movie which in comparison is a complete failure. Watch the movie -keep in mind when it came out - ignore the stupid music with singing - you'll just might say, - "you know what, that wasn't too bad."
Blueghost I remember seeing the original Lone Ranger TV series and the two films from the 50s with Clayton Moore and Jay Silverheels. Then there was talk of bringing or revitalizing the old hero of the west, followed by a lot of controversy of who would play the masked man, and what kind of movie would be made.Well, after a lot of arguing in public and other hollow grousing, the powers that be made this flick, and, well, it got mixed reactions from what I recall. I finally saw the thing one night on HBO and shrugged at it. The lead actor didn't have a whole lot to do in the movie, barely spoke a handful of lines from what I recall, and had a lot of slow motions shots. Hired more for his physical prowess than acting ability, all one can say is Klinton Spilsbury is not Clayton Moore.I won't go on a big diatribe of how perfect Clayton Moore was for the TV series role. We already know that. But one wonders why this particular film was made at all if all that was to be done was to give Klinton a bunch of beauty shots and slow sequences? What were the producers thinking?Usually behind big budget features there's some kind of psychological thing at work, but I'll be darned if I could find any depth or meaning in this film. It just is, or was. Like my review of one of the Pierce Brosnan Bond films, it's not a bad film for what it is, but it's no Lone Ranger piece. Stick with the original TV series and the two films that Clayton Moore did. You'll be happier.
ma-cortes The legend of the Lone Ranger is ¨the untold story of the man behind the mask and the legend behind the man¨ . This flick that wavers between irony and seriousness follows the adventures of the Ranger , his white stallion Silver and his American Indian pal Tonto, as they attempt to bring local criminals to justice. It began on radio and made the transition to the small screen more than 50 years ago . This cinematic adaptation deals with the young Texas Ranger named John Reid ( Klinton Spilsbury who was dubbed), he is the sole survivor of an ambush arranged by the rebel outlaw leader, Butch Cabendich, as he is saved by an old childhood Comanche partner named Tonto (Michael Horse), and subsequently both of them form a formidable pair . The sole surviving Texas Ranger of a treason planned by the militaristic Butch Cavandish (Christopher Lloyd) returns to fight back as a relentless masked hero . When Reid recovers from his wounds, he becomes the great masked western hero, The Lone Ranger. With the help of Tonto, the duo go to save the President Grant (Jason Robards) when the nasty Cabendich takes him hostage . The President Ulysses S. Grant is accompanied by other historic personages as Will Bill Hickok (Richard Farsworth) , Gen. George A. Custer (Lincoln Tate) and Buffalo Bill Cody (Flicker) .The Ranger who was nursed back to health by the Indian Tonto rides with him, on Silver and Scout, throughout the West, doing good deeds and they dedicate their life to combat the evil that Cabendich represents. The two heroes ride off in a cloud of dust under classic musical background composed by Rossini.¨The Legend Of The Lone Ranger¨ is crusader's last silver screen outing , but the film bombed so badly at the box office, the movie's star Klinton Spilsbury never worked in Hollywood again. The film contains action , thrills , great scenery with spectacular outdoors magnificently photographed by Laszlo Kovacs . This shows a campy and entertaining glimpse at nostalgic television series , though slow-paced and often corny. Klinton Spilsbury is mediocre as the mysterious and righteous gunslinger , he is at times absurdly awkward, yet the shows have an endearing innocent charm to them , while Michael Horse is passable as his faithful sidekick Tonto. This is a middling effort to narrate origin of the masked man though packs some fine action and excellent musical score by John Barry. The motion picture is regularly directed by the late William A. Fraker. While children will undoubtedly love , adults will probably be tiring and falling asleep .Originally created as a radio play in 1933 by George W. Trendle and developed by Fran Striker, this is the last big screen iteration of the famous character .The Lone Ranger started off as an America radio show started in the 1930s and finally ended in 1954. It later expanded on to the big screen with 1938's "The Lone Ranger," 1939's "The Lone Ranger Rides Again," . The Lone Ranger was also a television series from 1948 through 1957 in which gained widespread notoriety on ABC television, as Clayton Moore donned the mask each week to fight crime and corruption in the old west and of course Jay Silverheels as Tonto. The last appearance of The Lone Ranger was in 2003 for a two-hour special on WB Network starring Chad Michael Murray and Nathaniel Arcand.Jerry Bruckheimer Films has debuted a logo for the upcoming adaptation of The Lone Ranger.The tagline on the site reads, "The Legend Returns." Pirates of the Caribbean director Gore Verbinski has been contracted to filmmaking the classic TV show film , a blockbuster retelling for the big screen, and Johnny Depp is attached to play Tonto, the Lone Ranger's partner. There's still no word on who will play the Lone Ranger, but at one point George Clooney was rumored to be in talks.