The Newton Boys | | Cast : | Matthew McConaughey, Skeet Ulrich, Ethan Hawke, Vincent D'Onofrio | | Director : | Richard Linklater | | Studio : | Twentieth Century Fox | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen, Dolby | | Released Date : | March 27, 1998 | | DVD Released Date : | December 17, 2002 | | Language : | French (Dubbed), English (Subtitled), English (Dubbed), Spanish (Subtitled), English (Original Language), French (Original Language) | | Audience Rating : | PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | July 20, 2005 | | Summary | EXCELLENT!!! | Content
 | im not long winded so i will keep this short. this is one of the best westerns i have seen. Excellent acting, good plot, and overall excellent performances. If you like westerns you will love this movie. Vincent D'onofrio was Phenomenal!! |
| Rating | | | Date | February 27, 2005 | | Summary | Fascinating history of US's most successful bank robbers | Content
| I didn't see this movie when it first hit the theatres but, being a fan of Matthew McConaughey, Dwight Yoakam and Skeet Ulrich, I rented it when it became available. GREAT, fun movie! And based on the true story of four brothers from Uvalde, Texas (where McConaughey was born) who were not only the most successful bank robbers in US history but ALL lived to ripe old age, unlike those that followed them a few years later, like Bonnie & Clyde, Dillinger, etc. McConaughey, Ulrich, Ethan Hawke (excellent!) and Vincent D'Onofrio play the Newton Boys. Dwight Yoakam is wonderful as their "cowardly" sidekick who handles the nitroglycerin the gang uses on their jobs. Julianna Margulies has THE most beautiful 1920s costumes in her role as McConaughey's love interest, Louise. The film also has the best honky-tonk soundtrack, courtesy of an Austin band called Bad Livers (get ahold of a copy if you can - it is SO worth it!) and during the closing credits, we get to see the real Joe and Willis Newton in interviews. Joe's is particularly funny as he is on "The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson". And the robbery the gang pulls in Toronto has GOT to be the funniest debacle in outlaw movie history! There is a book available at Amazon entitled "The Newton Boys" which this film is based on and it's basically the oral history of the gang's exploits as remembered by Willis and Joe. Makes for fascinating reading and one other bit of trivia - when Dock Newton (D'Onofrio's character) was in his 70s, in 1968 I believe, he tried to rob the First National Bank of Rowena, Texas which just happened to be the birthplace of one infamous Miss Bonnie Parker. Just another great bit of American history not taught in schools. Heck, even Frank Hamer, ALSO of Bonnie & Clyde fame, makes a "cameo" in this movie. Just watch this movie and been amazed at one fascinating family! |
| Rating | | | Date | May 04, 2004 | | Summary | LAWBREAKERS | Content
| THE NEWTON BOYS is a well done period film, richly and warmly photographed and performed by a talented cast. I still have a problem in "justifying" their robberies. Willis' conclusion that he has been done wrong so he can do wrong too is not a quality I find admirable. Stealing is stealing, and Linklater makes it look perfectly normal to "cheer" these boys on. The fact that this is a true story only adds fire to the fuel of how we make heroes out of bad guys because they were "cute" or they got the "system", etc., etc. Nough about that, though. Matthew McConaughey, Skeet Ulrich and Ethan Hawke are splendid; they needed to give the excellent Vincent D'Onofrio more to do; Julianna Margulies was fascinating as Louise; Luke Askew in a great supporting role as the suspect-beating cop; and Dwight Yoakam as the friend who supplies the nitroglycerin.
The movie is a little long, drags some in the middle, but for a period piece, it's effective...just don't think these guys are heroes. (The end credits with the real Willis and Joe is superb) |
| Rating | | | Date | April 25, 2003 | | Summary | Excellent Movie! | Content
| Matt at his best! Funny, insightful, historical (for the most part). Worth seeing time & time again! |
| Rating | | | Date | March 19, 2003 | | Summary | Good Film Overlooked By Most | Content
| I saw this in the theater and thought it was great, but no one else I knew had seen it. Then I saw it on DVD and bought it quickly. It was just as good as I remembered. This is a "gangster" movie without gangsters. No one gets killed or tortured graphically. It's a real life story of depression era brothers trying to get some cash and having some adventures along the way. I think Hawke puts in one of his best performances ever. Dwight Yoakam also contributes some good acting, especially when compared to his fabulous "Sling Blade" villan. The only flaw is the length. The movie drags a little after a while, but it still manages to make you care enough about the characters to see it through to the end. The final credits featuring Willis and Joe Newton at the end of their lives make the film worth owning. It's one of the most clever ways to make the credits worth watching I've seen. Give this movie a chance. It's well acted and is aesthetically pleasing to watch. Plus it's really low cost! |
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