MOVIEmeter
SEE RANK
Up 1,021 this week

Lone Star (1996)

R  |   |  Drama, Mystery, Romance  |  21 June 1996 (USA)
7.6
Your rating:
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 -/10 X  
Ratings: 7.6/10 from 22,185 users   Metascore: 78/100
Reviews: 170 user | 69 critic | 22 from Metacritic.com

When the skeleton of his murdered predecessor is found, Sheriff Sam Deeds unearths many other long-buried secrets in his Texas border town.

Director:

Writer:

Watch Trailer
0Check in
0Share...

Watch Now

From $2.99 on Amazon Video

ON DISC

10 Best Action Heroes

We consulted IMDb's Highest-Rated Action-Family Films to came up with 10 scene-stealing action figures your kids can relate to, look up to, and be inspired by.

Visit our Family Entertainment Guide

Related News

Silver City
| The Hollywood Reporter

User Lists

Related lists from IMDb users

a list of 47 titles
created 18 Jul 2011
 
a list of 37 titles
created 11 Sep 2011
 
a list of 25 titles
created 12 Jun 2013
 
a list of 21 titles
created 18 Jul 2013
 
a list of 39 titles
created 10 Jul 2014
 

Related Items

Search for "Lone Star" on Amazon.com

Connect with IMDb


Share this Rating

Title: Lone Star (1996)

Lone Star (1996) on IMDb 7.6/10

Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.

Take The Quiz!

Test your knowledge of Lone Star.

User Polls

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 15 wins & 15 nominations. See more awards »

Videos

Photos

Learn more

People who liked this also liked... 

Matewan (1987)
Drama | History
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.9/10 X  

A labor union organizer comes to an embattled mining community brutally and violently dominated and harassed by the mining company.

Director: John Sayles
Stars: Chris Cooper, James Earl Jones, Mary McDonnell
Men with Guns II (1997)
Adventure | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.6/10 X  

Humberto Fuentes is a wealthy doctor whose wife has recently died. In spite of the advice of his children, he takes a trip to visit his former students who now work in impoverished villages... See full summary »

Director: John Sayles
Stars: Federico Luppi, Damián Delgado, Dan Rivera González
Crime | Thriller
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 4.5/10 X  

On the run from the law, desperate drug runner Astor and his beautiful prisoner struggle through the savage heat. They are offered a ride by two unsuspecting travelers. Claiming to be ... See full summary »

Director: Brian Cox
Stars: Angel Aviles, Rubén Blades, Jessika Cardinahl
Biography | Comedy | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.8/10 X  

Simple Italian postman learns to love poetry while delivering mail to a famous poet; he uses this to woo local beauty Beatrice.

Director: Michael Radford
Stars: Massimo Troisi, Philippe Noiret, Maria Grazia Cucinotta
Passion Fish (1992)
Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.4/10 X  

May-Alice Culhane was a successful soap opera star, but a car accident has left her bound to a wheelchair. She returns to her now-empty family home in the bayous of Louisiana which she had ... See full summary »

Director: John Sayles
Stars: Mary McDonnell, Alfre Woodard, Angela Bassett
Withnail & I (1987)
Comedy | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.8/10 X  

London, 1969 - two 'resting' (unemployed and unemployable) actors, Withnail and Marwood, fed up with damp, cold, piles of washing-up, mad drug dealers and psychotic Irishmen, decide to ... See full summary »

Director: Bruce Robinson
Stars: Richard E. Grant, Paul McGann, Richard Griffiths
Drama | Romance
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.9/10 X  

A woman and her new husband returns to her hometown roots in coastal northern Florida, and must deal with family, business, and encroaching real estate development.

Director: John Sayles
Stars: Angela Bassett, Edie Falco, Alex Lewis
The Player (1992)
Comedy | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.7/10 X  

A Hollywood studio executive is being sent death threats by a writer whose script he rejected - but which one?

Director: Robert Altman
Stars: Tim Robbins, Greta Scacchi, Fred Ward
Crime | Drama | Thriller
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.4/10 X  

A young lawyer defends a black man accused of murdering two men who raped his 10-year-old daughter, sparking a rebirth of the K.K.K.

Director: Joel Schumacher
Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Sandra Bullock, Samuel L. Jackson
Smoke (1995)
Comedy | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.5/10 X  

A Brooklyn smoke shop is the center of neighborhood activity, and the stories of its customers.

Directors: Wayne Wang, Paul Auster
Stars: Harvey Keitel, William Hurt, Giancarlo Esposito
Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8/10 X  

A successful black woman discovers that her birth mother is a lower-class white woman, but the woman denies it. As emotions run high, everyone's secrets are exposed.

Director: Mike Leigh
Stars: Timothy Spall, Brenda Blethyn, Phyllis Logan
Comedy | Drama | Romance
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.8/10 X  

In a suburb of London, young Jamie is escaping sport hours, to avoid being the victim of his comrades. Young Ste, his neighbor, is beaten by his father, and comes to sleep overnight. They discover new feelings, sleeping in the same bed.

Director: Hettie Macdonald
Stars: Glen Berry, Linda Henry, Meera Syal
Edit

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
...
Cliff
Stephen J. Lang ...
...
Sam
...
Oni Faida Lampley ...
Celie
...
Molly
...
Deputy Travis
Gonzalo Castillo ...
Amado
...
Enrique
...
Hollis
Tony Frank ...
Fenton
...
Mercedes Cruz
...
Charlie Wade
...
Young Hollis
...
Edit

Storyline

John Sayles' murder-mystery explores interpersonal and interracial tensions in Rio County, Texas. Sam Deeds is the local sheriff who is called to investigate a 40-year-old skeleton found in the desert....As Sam delves deeper into the town's dark secrets, he begins to learn more about his father, the legendary former sheriff Buddy Deeds, who replaced the corrupt Charlie Wade. While Sam puzzles out the long-past events surrounding the mystery corpse, he also longs to rekindle a romance with his old high-school flame. Sayles' complex characters are brought together as the tightly woven plot finally draws to its dramatic close. Written by Tad Dibbern <DIBBERN_D@a1.mscf.upenn.edu>

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Taglines:

John Sayles invites you to return to the scene of the crime.

Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Romance

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for brief language, sex and violence | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
Edit

Details

Country:

Language:

|

Release Date:

21 June 1996 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

Estrella solitaria  »

Filming Locations:

 »

Box Office

Budget:

$5,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$3,845,000 (USA) (19 July 1996)

Gross:

$13,269,963 (USA) (10 January 1997)
 »

Company Credits

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

|

Color:

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1
See  »
Edit

Did You Know?

Trivia

Joe Morton plays Ron Canada's son, despite being over 18 months older than him. See more »

Goofs

In the bar, the head of the beer in the jug in the background repeatedly changes size between shots. See more »

Quotes

[first lines]
Cliff: [cataloging the flora] We got cenizo, that's purple sage, agave, nopal... What's that stuff? Yeah that's it, that's whatchamacallit. That's horse crippler.
Mikey: This place is a gold mine.
Cliff: Lead mine.
See more »

Connections

Referenced in Sunshine State (2002) See more »

Soundtracks

Sabor A Mi
Written by Alvaro Carillo
Performed by Isidro Lopez
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.

User Reviews

 
Great movie -- one of the few I watch over and over.
8 July 2005 | by (San Antonio, Texas) – See all my reviews

I live in San Antonio and have been to Eagle Pass (where the movie was filmed) many times. I have watched this movie over a dozen times. It is a wonderful piece of film-making! John Sayles captures a lot in this film. His characters have depth and substance. His portrayals of the role racism has played in Hispanic and African-American lives are brilliant but not heavy-handed. The acting is incredible. The casting was perfect. Frances McDormand as Sam's ex-wife is unforgettable. I agree with another commenter that the camera work was exceptional when Sayles filmed flashback scenes using a single take. I especially liked the scene along the river with Sam and Pilar. I am sure there are some people who don't share my opinion, but this movie is one of my top ten favorites of all time.


37 of 43 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you?

Message Boards

Recent Posts
Lacked a certain visual style.. henriz1-1
Should Sam and Pilar Be Arrested? harrytrue
Is this a good Movie ? FlorenceLawrence
Lone Star Beer EvilPrince
question on the end of the movie stewart55024
They Say 'Forget the Alamo'-Isn't the Alamo a Monument to Slavery? harrytrue
Discuss Lone Star (1996) on the IMDb message boards »

Contribute to This Page

Create a character page for:
?