Customer Rating:  
Summary: One of my Guilty Pleasures
Comment: I remember watching The Lone Ranger with my Father and when the movie came out, I was excited to relive that feeling. I thought the movie was a good retelling of the origion story and that it gave John Reid/Lone Ranger more of a human feel and that I could relate with him. I know that others didn't like the film, but I can still watch the film and feel like a kid again with it. I almost feel like yelling "High-Yo Silver, Away" everytime I hear the William Tell Overture. It's one of my personal favorites.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Full screen, really DVD bad transfer, and mediocre movie
Comment: So, as others have said this DVD is Fullscreen (when I placed my order the product page still mistakenly said widescreen) and the video transfer is horrendous even for an 80's movie with many scenes out of focus and lots of dust and grain on the picture as if someone just video taped the movie for the DVD from a poor projection screen. The story on top of that is also pretty mediocre but I'm glad to finally have it again to show the kids.
Customer Rating:
Summary: This is the one from the 80s
Comment: The description on this item had me confused, but I bought it anyway. It's what I was hoping it was, the Lone Ranger movie from 1981. The movie was actually a little cheesier than I remembered with Merle Haggard narrating it (don't get me wrong, I love Merle, but it was sooo 70s sounding). Also, they did absolutely NO remastering of this at all. I could have done just as good of a job recording my VHS copy to DVD. Over all, it's better than not having it at all and something nice for kids to watch to get an idea of some of the heroes that were around in older generations.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Cheesy film, lousy DVD, uninspired direction, second rate acting. In other words, a Can't-Miss!
Comment: I had not seen this film since its theatrical run way back when I was nine years old. And, at the time, I LOVED it. As time passed, I checked in to watch for a DVD release, all the while aware that my recollection of the film had to be idealized in a way that could never live up to the actual product in the here and now.
Yes and no.
Everything else written here by the other reviewers is true. The acting is mediocre at best, even by vets like Lloyd and Robard. The direction lacks any style and swipes nearly every scene from hundreds of hackneyed Westerns that have come before. The music is downright bad and the rhyming narration and title ballad is nearly unbearable. Even the classic William Tell Overture seems poorly executed as the Lone Ranger rides into action. And the DVD from Lion's Gate? Typical poor production of their budget-grade offerings. The soft focus in which the film is executed makes it all the grainier in this format. All that said, still the best ten bucks I have spent in a long time and highly recommended for families, genre fans and anyone who remembers this film and wonders how it holds up.
I was extremely pleased that The Legend of the Lone Ranger spent so much time developing the origin story - nearly the first hour of the 98-minute film passes before Reid ever dons the Ranger mask. My only wish is that the one-dimensional supporting cast, particularly Cavendish and Tonto, had been fleshed out a little during this time.
Much like Remo Williams, this film seems to be a set-up for a franchise that never occured. The remaining time in the film spent on the Lone Ranger's rescue of President Grant and undoing of Cavendish seems only to exist as a vehicle to set us up for a sequel (and even bigger Cavendish confrontation?). Fun cameo characters like Wild Bill Hickok and Buffalo Bill Cody are never even utilized (which is a shame with a great actor like Richard Farnsworth essentially wasted). Still, a great rainy afternoon flick with a good guy on a white horse, bad guys in black, and even a damsel (never really in distress, though).
A picky cinemaphile could destroy this film with no effort at all. There's no great message, no great art, not even a great story. But it's pretty good, clean fun and, really, a shame the franchise stalled so early. Here's hoping the upcoming revival is as entertaining and has a little more staying power.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great remake of the old series
Comment: This is a great movie. I liked the old series as a kid. It was good idea making this movie. It definitely does the Lone Ranger justice.
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