Rotten Tomatoes Logo Do you want to see ‘Brokeback Mountain’?
Brokeback Mountain

Brokeback Mountain (2005)

tomatometer

87

Average Rating: 8.2/10
Reviews Counted: 233
Fresh: 202 | Rotten: 31

A beautiful, epic Western, Brokeback Mountain's love story is imbued with heartbreaking universality thanks to moving performances by Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal.

91

Average Rating: 8.2/10
Critic Reviews: 43
Fresh: 39 | Rotten: 4

A beautiful, epic Western, Brokeback Mountain's love story is imbued with heartbreaking universality thanks to moving performances by Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal.

audience

77

liked it
Average Rating: 3.4/5
User Ratings: 483,899

My Rating

Movie Info

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

R, 2 hr. 14 min.

Drama, Romance

Larry McMurtry, Diana Ossana

Apr 4, 2006

$83.0M

Focus Features

Brokeback Mountain Trailer & Photos

More Photos (21)
More Trailers and Videos (1)

Cast

Critic Reviews for Brokeback Mountain

All Critics (233) | Top Critics (43) | Fresh (211) | Rotten (31) | DVD (38)

Like all great love stories, Ang Lee's is one of tragic romance, strongly acted by Heath Ledger as the most buttoned-up of cowboys, and Michelle Williams as his betrayed and enraged wife.

January 13, 2006 Full Review Source: Newark Star-Ledger | Comment (1)
Stephen Whitty
Newark Star-Ledger
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Ang Lee continues to astonish.

January 9, 2006 Comment
Stanley Kauffmann
New Republic
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Both [Gyllenhaal and Ledger] embody what that old Waylon and Willie song taught us -- 'Cowboys ain't easy to love, and they're harder to hold.'

January 6, 2006 Full Review Source: Orlando Sentinel | Comment
Roger Moore
Orlando Sentinel
Top Critic IconTop Critic

A sweeping, solemn, self-serious chronicle of their relationship over several decades.

December 20, 2005 Full Review Source: Washington Post | Comment
Ann Hornaday
Washington Post
Top Critic IconTop Critic

It has become shorthand to call Brokeback Mountain the 'gay cowboy movie,' but it is much more than that glib description implies. This is a human story, a haunting film in the tradition of the great Hollywood romantic melodramas.

December 20, 2005 Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | Comment
Colin Covert
Minneapolis Star Tribune
Top Critic IconTop Critic

A film about love and the cost of lying that's exquisite in its beauty, painful in its truths.

December 20, 2005 Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | Comment
Amy Biancolli
Houston Chronicle
Top Critic IconTop Critic

An important and original romance that really and finally portrays the homosexual romance as two humans falling in love and never plays it for clichés...

August 2, 2010 Full Review Source: Cinema Crazed | Comment
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Cinema Crazed

A romantic western with a twist, Brokeback Mountain is a haunting and well acted exploration of a forbidden and secretive love affair between two cowboys.

July 6, 2010 Full Review Source: Matt's Movie Reviews | Comment
Matthew Pejkovic
Matt's Movie Reviews

Brokeback Mountain is ultimately about the paralysis of regret and how it fractures the lives of not just those afflicted by it, but everyone else around them.

December 6, 2009 Full Review Source: Cinemalogue.com | Comment
Rubin Safaya
Cinemalogue.com Source: Cinemalogue.com

Lee can't tell the difference between criticizing oppression and turning out an oppressed work

August 30, 2009 Full Review Source: CinePassion | Comments (6)
Fernando F. Croce
CinePassion

Arguably Ang Lee's best film, this swooning, achingly sad near-masterpiece offers a universal love story that lingers long in the mind.

November 21, 2008 Full Review Source: Film4 | Comment (1)
Leslie Felperin
Film4 Source: Film4

If you have the patience to sit through a slow-moving romance and you lack the vanity to be put off by explicit cowboy on cowboy relations, you'll greatly appreciate the light at the end of Brokeback Mountain, a work of art that's more than just a movie.

November 20, 2008 Full Review Source: Hollywood.com | Comment
Brian Marder
Hollywood.com

Mature, emotionally complicated film -- not for kids.

July 10, 2008 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media | Comment
Cynthia Fuchs
Common Sense Media

At times feels as ancient and familiar as any well-worn piece of American legend, even if its content could set John Wayne spinning in his grave.

May 10, 2008 Full Review Source: Style Weekly (Richmond, VA) | Comment
Thomas Peyser
Style Weekly (Richmond, VA) Source: Style Weekly (Richmond, VA)

At its core, Brokeback Mountain is not a gay love story%u2013it is simply a love story.

February 28, 2008 Full Review Source: BrandonFibbs.com | Comment
Brandon Fibbs
BrandonFibbs.com

It has the simplicity and clarity of a fable, wedded to the gnarled and taciturn physical realism of the Western.

August 11, 2007 Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | Comment
Rob Gonsalves
eFilmCritic.com

Annie Proulx's beautiful, delicate short story...has been transformed into a beautiful, delicate movie under the masterly direction of Ang Lee.

February 22, 2007 Full Review Source: Film Journal International | Comment
Kevin Lally
Film Journal International

The 2-disc collector's edition includes a docu about the making of the film; the parodies inspired by the story; music from the mountian, in which composer Santaolalla talks about his score; and stars Ledger and Gyllenhaal discussing their preparations.

January 22, 2007 Comment
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com Source: EmanuelLevy.Com

Brokeback got us good on DVD--not once but twice. Look for a third DVD in eight months with a scratch and sniff case made out of Jack Twist's denim shirt.

January 18, 2007 Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | Comment
Ed Gonzalez
Slant Magazine

Just a well-made, well-acted melodrama that is quiet and reflective instead of big and bombastic.

December 30, 2006 Full Review Source: NYC Film Critic | Comment
Ethan Alter
NYC Film Critic

Though presented as a story of thwarted love -- of ache and longing and regrets -- it's ultimately a story about the relationships that shape us -- for better and for worse.

September 22, 2006 Comment
Lisa Ann Cockrel
Christianity Today Source: Christianity Today

it could have been real campy, if it weren't so well-crafted as to be Oscar material

September 10, 2006 Full Review Source: Movies for the Masses | Comment
Joseph Proimakis
Movies for the Masses

Film with much religious and mystical imagery.

August 22, 2006 Full Review Source: Classic Film and Television | Comment
Michael E. Grost
Classic Film and Television

A gallery of worthy performances, crisp direction and a quietly graceful script make Brokeback Mountain something of a landmark in Hollywood's 2005 slate of movies.

August 20, 2006 Full Review Source: Cinema Writer | Comment
Jay Antani
Cinema Writer
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Brokeback Mountain

View All

Umm, why did i put off seeing thes great movie for two years? Stupid, stupid, stupid! Standing in the aisles applauding wildly great!

June 27, 2007
brooklynspo
Bob Stinson

Super Reviewer

Excellent film. One of those films that I'll admit I wanted to hate, because of the controversial topic, but I can't...it is great. Everything about it is wonderful; the story, characters, the acting, the music, the direction. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Excellent performances from Ledger, Gyllenhaal, Williams, and

December 7, 2010
jamers2011
Jameson Worley

Super Reviewer

Brokeback Mountain Quotes

View All

    1. Ennis Del Mar: [last lines] Jack, I swear...
    – Submitted by Alyssa B (2 months ago)
    1. Alma Jr. Age 19: Daddy, you need more furniture.
    2. Ennis Del Mar: Yeah, well... if you got nothing, you don't need nothing.
    – Submitted by Alyssa B (5 months ago)
    1. Alma: You didn't go up there to fish!
    – Submitted by Alyssa B (5 months ago)
    1. Ennis Del Mar: If you can't fix it, Jack, you gotta stand it.
    – Submitted by Alejandro O (7 months ago)
    1. Jack Twist: I wish I knew how to quit you.
    – Submitted by Alyssa G (9 months ago)

DVD

Top Rentals

35% The Hangover Part II
81% Kung Fu Panda 2
44% Cowboys & Aliens
83% Rise of the Planet of the Apes
94% Moneyball
More…

New On DVD This Week

37% In Time
93% Drive
36% The Thing
7% Dream House
39% The Big Year
More…

Movies Like Brokeback Mountain

Beautiful Thing
Milk
The Kids Are All Right
View All

Latest News for Brokeback Mountain

November 13, 2009:
James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
James Schamus might be a workaholic. If it's not enough that he's the head of Focus Features -- the...

November 12, 2009:
Five Favourite Films with Ang Lee
The rule that no two Ang Lee movies are ever the same is confidently kept intact with the release of...

View All

What's Hot On RT

Weekly Ketchup
Weekly Ketchup

Adam Sandler's Candy Land

Critics Consensus
Critics Consensus

Woman in Black is Solid

The Avengers!
The Avengers!

Five new Marvelous pictures

Total Recall
Total Recall

Unconventional Superheroes

Top Movie Quizzes

LEGO Mania: 2011 Best Picture Nominees
by natalie - 18,343 taken
created 12 months ago
How Much Do You Know About Leonardo DiCaprio?
by natalie - 43,891 taken
created 15 months ago
Pixar Movies!
by jdikwlzviv - 26,847 taken
created 15 months ago
The Wizards of Harry Potter
by jdikwlzviv - 27,332 taken
created 15 months ago

Movie News

View All

Featured on RT

Comments

Top Headlines

Fresh Links

Super Bowl Commercial Preview
Super Bowl Commercial Preview External Link
 Tecca profiles eight gametime ads that various companies have released before the big event!
15 Most Romantic Movie Moments
15 Most Romantic Movie Moments External Link
 BuzzSugar runs through a list of their favorite romantic moments to prep you for Valentine's Day.
Best Young Actress?
Best Young Actress? External Link
 Moviefone pores over awards statistics to crown this generation's best young actress!
50 Best Uses of Songs
50 Best Uses of Songs External Link
 Time Out NY brings us an awesome list of the 50 best uses of preexisting music in movie scenes!
Top 10 Freezing Cold Movies
Top 10 Freezing Cold Movies External Link
 With The Grey in theaters, TIME offers up 10 outstandingly chilly films!
Follow RT on Twitter!
Follow RT on Twitter! External Link
 Daily Tomatometer updates, interesting movie links, and vulgar jokes!

Foreign Titles

  • Le Secret de Brokeback Mountain (FR)
  • Brokeback Mountain. En terreno vedado (ES)
Help | About | Jobs | Newsletter | Critics Submission | API | Licensing | Blog | Developers | Mobile
Copyright © Flixster, Inc. All rights reserved. Terms of Service | Privacy Policy