It was Heath Ledger's idea that Jack reverse the order of their shirts, putting his own inside Ennis', showing they'll both always be in each other's hearts. The original novella's author Annie Proulx liked this so much that she included it when she adapted the story into an opera.
There's an opera?! This reminds me of the time I learned there was a musical for Bridges of Madison County. Except I might actually want to see the opera. 🤣
@@chefskiss6179 It sold for just over $101,000. and that was in Feb. 2006 about a month after the movie was released. A great investment since the movie later gained 3 academy awards among other awards and has been recognized as one of the best films from that era. The auction estimate today would be well over $1M.
My favourite fact about this movie is that Heath Ledger refused to attend the 2007 Oscars because they had asked him to make a Brokeback Mountain joke and he refused saying "It's not a joke to me. I don't want to make any jokes about it." 😭
My grandmother took my brother to see this movie in theaters the year after he came out. Well…it was a year after I outed him. In my defense, I was thirteen, we all already suspected and I didn’t understand the importance of coming out. It has been nice to see my grandmother go from somewhat conservative and maybe even ignorant to being very supportive of the LGBTQ+ community!
Sometimes it works out that having a family member who is a part of the alphabet mafia can make a previously _maybe kinda discriminatory_ person see the light, so to speak. I'm glad that was the case with her. My dad was never, like BIGOTED or anything, he was just raised in the '50s and didn't understand it, plain and simple. Meeting my best male friend in college - who was _very_ gay lol - along with several conversations with me about social issues completely changed his mind about the whole thing. When he told me that I had changed his mind, it was one of my proudest moments, ngl. That was years ago now and since then I realized I was ace and my sister realized she was g€nd€rqü€€r and pan, and his only thing was just asking for clarification/education about what our respective orientations meant before telling each of us, "It doesn't matter to me so long as you're happy." The Christmas after I came out to him and my mom they gave me an ace pride mug, drink koozie, and throw pillow that said "love is love" in rainbow on the back of it. My sister received similar pan pride goodies the next year, and a 30+ year friend of mine who recently came out as trans was told by my dad that "You are always safe and welcome in our home and [my mom] and I are proud of your courage". My sister and I are truly blessed.
This movie broke me when it came out. The story, direction and acting all make this a masterpiece in my eyes. It is quiet, subtle and devastating. The era, the location, the socio-economic class--these guys had no good options. Jack was a brave optimist, he was willing to try to make a life with Ennis, come what may. Poor Ennis was so terrorized by what he had seen happen to a gay couple as a kid that he couldn't even imagine such a life. Heartbreaking, as you called it, is the right word--I'm a 59 y.o. gay man and I am a complete mess every time I watch certain scenes (i.e. most of the movie). When you think about what people had to go through, and still have to go through in many places to this day, just to love someone, it is just awful. And the collateral damage which results from not letting people be who they are is nearly as devastating. Thank you for reacting to this, and for your respectful and sensitive insights. This film has been the butt of so many homophobic jokes since the day it came out, and it doesn't deserve that.
I just watched this movie for the first time yesterday, July 9th 2022....I'm 19. This movie.... I never cried so much because of a movie. It made me realize how privileged I am to be able to be open about my sexuality, sure I faced homophobia before but I can't imagine how it was 40 or more years ago.... I can't imagine how bad it was. The movie made me think of my grandpa's brother, I don't know much about him my family refuses to tell me anything about him except that he was queer and was in love with this guy, his childhood best friend... They were caught together, they were in love. .. They fled to Spain during the 60s after my uncles daughter was born. (my family is from Germany) Apparently my family doesn't know what happened to him after that..... I just wish that I could know if he was alright, if he had a happy life. I just wish he had a happy life with his boyfriend, I will never know. If I had the chance to meet him I would want him here in MY part of the family, consisting of my mum, my boyfriend, my brother and I, since the rest of our family hates him. I wish I could've met him, but I never will. I will never know what happened to him and his boyfriend. If he I still out there u hope he knows that a part of our family loves him. Brokeback mountain made me realize how lucky I am to be born into a time where I can love my boyfriend openly almost without fear.
@@jasxnuwu4539 You sound like a sensitive, caring person. I've found that this movie is one that you either "get it" or you don't, and it doesn't necessarily matter what your sexuality is. I have some gay friends who thought it was boring, and some straight friends who found it as moving and haunting as I did. You are one of those who gets it. Thank you for telling us about your grandfather's brother. Let's hope that he found a good life and happiness with his boyfriend. Although Spain under fascism wasn't exactly an ideal place for gays, maybe they were still able to make a good life together. What I know is, that your grandfather's brother would be proud of what a caring person you are, and would be very happy that you don't have to go through the same things that he did. Take care and all the best to you and your boyfriend!
@@bluefriend62 haha thank u that's very nice of u to say. I'm honestly very sure that he tried to reach out to my grandpa and his parents over the years but they don't talk about him so I'll never know. My grandfather doesn't talk to me either for obvious reasons 💀😂 It's better this way, this man causes a lot of anger in me, he'll have a heart attack when he finds out my little brother also seems to be into boys. My boyfriend and I have been going strong for 4 years now and are planning to move in together in October for our next uni semester. If I'm lucky I might be able to trank my uncle down some day or maybe if he had a sort of family there. Maybe some day I will even know his name, it would be a start. When I watched Brokeback Mountain I got a feeling of what strongly internalized homophobia and strongly suppressed emotions can look like. I can't imagine what it must feel like.... Ennis portrays exactly what I imagine a person to be like that grew up as a gay man in these times. The self hatred, the physical pain coming from this hate and letting your feelings happen as they are supposed to be... His frustration and him blaming Jack for the way he feels.
@@bluefriend62 my uncle probably lived/lives his entire life thinking that his family hated him. If he's still alive he is in his 70s now. I will probably never meet him but maybe, just maybe I'll be able to find out more about him hopefully in the near future
The very end of this movie, unexpectedly, made me cry my eyes out. I was invested all along, but the end just hit me hard out of nowhere about as soon as that music started playing.
I saw this film in first run, on a Friday afternoon (took some PTO and left the office early), and saw it in a theater in DC's very gay neighborhood of Dupont Circle. The film ended to the sounds of multiple people, myself include, just sobbing. We were a blubbering mess in the men's room afterwards. This reaction video gets a really vital point about the film, too - how damaging being in the closet is to the family members of those who are hiding. I'm sure there are film theory PhD theses about the damaged women of "Brokeback Mountain." My personal favorite is Cassie, played by Linda Cardellini, who just gets ghosted by Ennis after he has his huge psychological breakthrough in his last meeting with Jack, and accepts who he really is.
Thanks for this heartfelt reaction. This movie is such a masterful tragedy, because all four main characters are suffering deeply from the situation, but you can sympathize with all of them, mistakes and all. The only true "villain" is the society that hates and fears what Jack and Ennis feel towards each other, and forces them to hide it, and punishes them for acting on it.
This movie came out while i was working at a movie store in high school in Texas. Customers would hide the dvd cases (or just throw them in the trash), and it just pushed me further in the closet thinking of what kind of hate and ignorance I was living around.
I work in a library and similar things have happened where certain books are hidden or misplaced. If it's any consolation, it's usually just a few, sad people doing stuff like this.
Saw this in a small theater in a gay neighborhood in NYC by myself and was probably the only woman and heterosexual there. I was sobbing so hard at the end the guys sitting next to me asked me if I was ok. I was inconsolable for days. I interpreted the flashes of Jack’s death as Inis’ deep fear of their secret coming to fruition, not necessarily the truth of what happened. Still mad it was robbed of best picture to Crash.
Great comment and yes, I agree that what really happened to Jack will never be known but Ennius definitely imagined what could have happened because that childhood memory. This movie was definitely robbed of the Oscar.
23:32 I never suspected that Lureen had anything to do with Jack's death, but I think she knew exactly what really happened to him and what he was that may have brought on that violent end. I think she had that practiced speech about what happened to Jack as self preservation and protect their son as well. No woman in the 80's wants to tell people their husband was murdered because he was gay and she was basically a beard the whole time. He wasn't a bad husband. The Thanksgiving scene proved he was a good man to her, he stood up for her and demanded her their son and ~her~ father respect her. Now at 17:10 we see Jack and Randall get to talking and it sounds like Randall is looking for a gay side 'relationship', if Jack pursued that, then there could have been someone related to Randall or his wife that murdered Jack. Or could have just been some random raging homophobes that figured him out. Like the two men that Ennis talks about.
I were a young adult and out of the closet when this came out. And I remember it being revolutionary, especially over in America (I live in Sweden, which, at the time were more accepting of at least the gay part of LGBTQ than America seemed to be). It seems like this woke a lot of people up to the fact that being gay isn't just about sex, but actual love. It's a very sad movie, but also beautiful and important. It is easy to point at the kill your gays trope, but yeah, deadly homophobia were very much a reality back in the day (and still is, of course, but not to the same extent) and I see this movie as basically teaching queers my age and younger about or collective history. And it's not a happy one.
Yes, many many people were killed for their sexuality. Not all that long ago either, and the fear of that kept many closeted for a long time. Thank you for bringing that point to the forefront.
Thank you for this. Yeah, the loss of Best Picture at the Oscar's was seen as homophobic. And later in 2015 when the Academy was polled on their past decisions, most agreed this had been a mistake. And Anne Hathaway (who has always been an ally), loudly spoke out on the violent hate this movie got from the right. She later said her support of our community came from having a Gay brother, and loving him unconditionally.
I was in college when this came out, and my roommate and I were on a kick where we'd watch movies we normally wouldn't, and to watch movies that might challenge us. We were both pretty open-minded considering the small southern towns we grew up in. We were both pretty taken aback by the idea of homosexuals being homophobic, because neither of us had really ever heard of or considered such a thing. We had a really good and productive conversation after the movie ended about how the indoctrination of homophobia in a homosexual most certainly has to turn into denial, shame, and self-loathing...and is probably the source of latent homosexuality or worse...suicide. Now, as a 41 yr old man, it seems so obvious; but at the time, that was a new concept for both of us. We weren't homophobic before watching this movie, but it really raised our empathy for homosexual people after seeing it.
The music and the way Ang Lee shoots the landscape is just so beautiful. This movie ALWAYS makes me cry, throughout, but especially that last scene 😭😭😭
It's crazy to think how far we've come in less than 20 years. I remember going to see this in the theater with my friends (we were 14 at the time). Even though we went to a major movie theater, it was shown in the smallest room. I think there were like 6 rows of seats. And of course no advertising for it anywhere.
The fact that people make fun of this movie just shows how relevant it is, and how far we still have to go in this society. And you nailed the real message of the movie which is the collateral damage of sexual repression. I must confess, it gets me so pissed off to see Heath Ledger in this because he od'd died right afterwards. He played the Joker next (which is not nearly as great of a performance) and then he kicked the bucket. What a frickin' waste. I remember being shocked to discover he was Australian. Jake Gyllenhall is great in it, also. (All the actors are). Super depressing.
I only saw this film once and then never again. Just broke me completely 😢 What is wrong with people? And now that we've come this far, we're moving backwards again.... Live and let live - mankind will probably never fully understand this principle. But thank you for your reaction. Nice that you chose a film like this 🙂👍👍👍 Unfortunately, you probably don't react to series, but if you have time for yourself, I can heartily recommend Sense8. The series gets better with every episode and is so heartwarming 🙂
I absolutely LOVE Sense8. Such a shame it didn’t continue on. I also really want to start reacting to series, it’s just very hard for me since I do all my own editing!
@@OGBReacts Heyyyy. No one I ask knows the series. Cool that you like them too 🙂 I can imagine that it is an awful lot of work. No Problem, maybe someday 😉
Thank you for reacting to this movie. When I watched this in 2005, I got angry at how it ended. I too had been closeted and in a secret relationship that withered in the shadows of deceit. I had wasted nearly 10 years of my life waiting for someone who couldn’t accept his sexuality and made me struggle with my own. We eventually went our separate ways. When I saw this film, I wanted Jack and Ennis to have the fairy tale ending that had escaped me but alas it was not so. It was a hard dose of reality for me and is something that I struggle with to this day.
I'm so sorry to hear that! That ending gets me every time! The amount of grief, regret, sadness and rage he must have felt....it's gut-wrenching. Still, I come back to watch it over and over again!
All the comedy skits you might see before knowing anything about this movie don’t prepare you for the gut punches that just keep coming. Very heartfelt.
Hey Sam, Regarding Jack's death I always thought that Jack may have been making advances to someone where he lived and some people caught wind of it and they ambushed him. I think the wife may have just made up a story as to what happened to save face and keep the secrets in the family. I don't think her actions were nefarious on her part. Of course, I may be wrong. Growing up in days gone past I know when a person dies under weird circumstances (like dying on the toilet or at the house of the mistress). The family would make up a story to be told at the funeral and then that story just keeps being repeated. That's just my 2 cents.
This movie just rips my heart out. It’s an important story to be told, to remember how dangerous it used to be, and maybe still is some places. It’s just tragic.
oh my god!! i’ve been wanting more reaction channels to watch this movie. i can’t wait to watch this later tonight ❤️ heath ledger gives an outstanding performance and understood ennis down to the bone. and he was only 25 when they filmed this!! he was beyond talented. he is one of my favorite actors to this day. i hope you enjoyed watching!! :)
@@brian52763 I didnt bring up GOD. You did. Which means its on your mind. Which means in some subconscious you know there is one. You think all of this was so perfectly created yet randomly? What a joke. Also, what kind of dolt would risk an eternity in a hellish state by boycotting GOD. As an example, i would rather believe in GOD and die then nothing happens. Rather than not believe, die, then having that Oh $hyt moment once you die. Only a dum dum would take the latter approach. Lol. Also if GOD isnt real then neither is love. I cant see or feel love. So you cannot prove it is real to me. Im not gonna take your word for it. Get woke. Or keep getting clowned.
I squealed when I saw that you chose this today! Great film and so touching. RIP Heath Ledger. You are so right about it being better if it was played by gay actors, however, one good thing is these two were so famous that it may have drawn people to watch it who otherwise were too homophobic. It was a different time. Love to you from Seattle! Still hoping one day you will do Robin Williams and Jeff Daniels in The Fisher King. It’s just stellar. Love to you Sam! Happy Pride!
The thing is most gay or bisexual actors aren't open about it, so how do we know it wasn't played by actors who are part of the LGBT community? Straight people would be amazed at how many bisexual men there are, they're never open about it though, ever
Wow! Consistently with the quality, OGB. Ang Lee's body of work makes it look so effortless. Nothing more to add that other commenters haven't already said about you checking out this beauty. So... a simple 'thank you' as per usual.
I hardly ever comment on a video on TH-cam. However seeing your genuine reaction to what is in my opinion one of the most emotional movies ever made - made me smile and cry at the same time - thank you !
17:27 Jack says.. "How about tomorrow?" btw... I haven't watched this movie in a few years, but I am crying my eyes out right now just from your reaction video. it gets me every time.❤
I saw this movie once in the cinema and once at home with my mom. I've never been able to watch it again. It's terrific, but so heavy and emotionally draining, not to mention soul-crushingly depressing.
It's not definite Jack was murdered. What you saw was what Ennis imagined happened. It wasn't a flashback. It's up to the audience to decided what they think. Also, it shows where Ennis' mind automatically goes.
@@OGBReacts Yes it can be interpreted either way. Also, the wife's delivery of the lines can be interpreted as she had him killed, knew why he was killed or was just over the marriage and didn't care that he died in an accident. The delivery was too odd to not have been on purpose. The director was too good for that.
This movie was so heartbreaking 🥺 They just wanted to love each other. They hurt everyone around them but those same people in a way hurt them to because they couldn't be together freely because of those people not accepting them and it threatening their lives.
COMPLETELY agreed, society is at fault for being incredibly homophobic, yes. That's why I kept saying it was such a tough situation because yes, they were basically forced to be in these heterosexual relationships, but you also can't help but feel badly for their wives because they're innocent in terms of that, yknow? Truly such a tough situation.
This is such a beautiful film, but so bleak & heartbreaking at the same time. I hate to see Jack & Ennis hurting their loved ones, but they should’ve never had to make that choice. I hope, sometime soon, that they could partner up & no one would bat an eye.
I remember going to see this at the mall in here in Oxford, Alabama and it was only showing during the day. It was me and and 3 other people in the theater and 2 actually got up and left during the movie. By the end I was ugly crying, sobbing and had to collect myself so I could leave and walk back through the mall to be able to go home. Me being a straight ally since I was a teen and seeing so many of my closeted gay friends in these hidden relationships…. I had seen those hurts in real people around me. I mean it’s always been so bad especially here in the south (even still now sometimes sadly). Heath Ledger was such an amazing actor, I’m so sad we lost him so early in his career. This movie did bring him a legacy for the movie and his Daughter Matilda. He and Michelle (who played his wife) fell in love, married and had her. Even though their marriage didn’t last, they did produce a beautiful baby girl.
Perhaps what this film is best known for is its surprise Best Picture loss at the Oscars, where it was the heavy favorite, to the film Crash, in which middle-aged white guy Paul Haggis writes and directs a movie lecturing us all about how racism is bad. Even Jack Nicholson, who presented the award, was visibly shocked when he opened the envelope and let out a quiet "Whoa!" Unsurprisingly, there was immediately a huge wave of accusations of the Academy taking the coward's way out and awarding the comparatively "safe" message of racism being bad rather than homophobia being bad. Though if that really was the case, there was kind of a sweet footnote to the whole thing as a few years later, Paul Haggis left Scientology over their support of Proposition 8 (and then made the film The Next Three Days, which is about a prison break that he openly said was inspired by his experience trying to leave the cult).
That whole Best Picture line-up was killer except for Crash; I think people could have handled any of the others winning over Brokeback Mountain (although I've come to believe that it's the best of the lineup, even though Good Night and Good Luck was my pick at the time).
Loved your reaction, Sam and so glad you watched this! My husband watched it with me and even though a couple of scenes made him a tad uncomfortable, he also thought it was a fantastic movie. The oppressive time period of 1960 Wyoming when these two meet compared to how things are now is so huge. I cried buckets at the end of this. One of my all time favorites. ❤
Odds are you've seen people talk about this movie on the Internet as being about "gay cowboys eating pudding," which is actually a reference to a South Park episode from a few years earlier with a running gag that all independent films are nothing but that. When Brokeback was first announced, the show's creators even joked that they'd sue if there was any pudding in it. This even overshadows that Jack and Ennis aren't actually cowboys, though all the marketing made it a very easy mistake.
Admittedly, people have a tendency to call any Western character who wears a stetson and rides a horse a cowboy, regardless of their actual profession.
Fun fact Michelle Williams who plays his love interest was his wife in reality and they had a kid, she is the wife in greatest showman. Also the lovers…..they was close friends in this film and he became godfather to his daughter and another woman they was close with in film is godmother to daughter of heath. This film he gave it his all. I watched a documentary on it and he was like saying to his mate…just do it! He took his roles so serious. So sadly missed
I remember seeing this movie for the first time in the art house theater in my city because it wasn't even playing in the regular theaters at the time when it first came out (and I'm from a big city, Philadelphia). it just goes to show you what times were still like when this movie came out. by the end of the movie, I was a mess because I was bawling my eyes out. I remember reading somewhere that Annie Proulx regrets writing the short story that this movie is based on because so many people have focused on the "tragic love story" that the real message has gotten lost. it's a story about homophobia and its dangers, pure and simple. I like what you said Sam about how much the decisions they were making kept hurting everyone around them, yet it was really homophobia and the fear of literally being killed, that forced them into making those decisions in the first place. in the end, nobody won. thanks for reacting to this beautiful film ❤️
Love your reactions especially to the emotionally gut wrenching ones. I saw this movie in the theater once b/c I cried my eyes out. When this movie came out it brought to the forefront that any loving and complicated relationship is just that loving and complicated, no matter the gender. My cousin saw it and he told me you know it just showed me their relationship is like any other one. That just made my day!
I'm sure you've already chosen all your pride films, but a British movie called Pride (2014) is so worth your time - based on a true story about a group of gays/lesbians in the 80s deciding to raise money to support a tiny Welsh mining town when they go on strike.
This was the first LGBTQIA movie to be nominated for Best Picture but lost to Crash, a crime drama film about racism and bigotry in Los Angeles, involving several different people including a cop, a lawyer, a film producer and his wife.
Thanks for doing this one! I know it's difficult to condense this great movie down to 30. min. so I hope anyone who has not seen it will view the entire movie. It's really an incredible film winning 3 academy awards and 8 nominations.
I'm binge watching people reacting to brokeback mountain because I can't move on from it 😭😭and my friends can't relate if I'm telling them this....but I still tell them... They'll be annoyed but still....
We absolutely need more reactions of this movie here on TH-cam. I saw this in theaters and was captivated beyond belief. I hold a lot of resentment for Crash winning Best Picture over this as Brokeback Mountain's overall quality was substantially better. There are persisting rumors that those who voted in this category were homophobic, hence why they voted on the more conservative film. I don't mean to entirely hate on Crash, though. It was very good, just not nearly as good. The director Paul Haggis even later admitted his movie didn't deserve the highest honor. And Ang Lee was allegedly devastated his film lost, from those who were present during the ceremony.
This movie, much like Monster's Ball, has that surface reaction of "oh there's just that sex scene" but just like Monster's Ball it's the thing people focus on instead of the fact that it's all around this tragically real backdrop of "I found and fell in love with this person but there's so many other issues and problems tied to it"...and it's so sad because because love should never have to mean "watch your back because you are x or y".
I remember when this first came out I have never cried so hard at any other movie. It reminded me of the loss of my partner many years before and brought so many emotions back. For a week I was broken and kept hearing the music in my head and would just break down. I guess some movies can just do that. 😪
I don't think that Jack's wife plotted his death because she's crying while she was told Ennis her version of the story. Great movie in direction, everyone's acting, writing, cinematography, etc. Too tragic and sad for me when I first saw it when it first was released in theaters and it would still make me cry if I watched it again. Great reaction and sensitive analysis.
I went to see this movie right after I parted ways with an extremely good looking person 17 years my junior! I had to let him go because I knew it would not work but I was happy for awhile and proud I was his first! Now almost 20 years later we still keep in touch and I am happy he got married to a man he loves deeply. I will be turning 60 in September 2023 and we are planning a reunion to celebrate our long friendship and my birthday.
Jack's wife and her friends set him up starting with the guy with the beard and brown cowboy hat saying he had a cabin they could go to. Once Jack agreed to it that set things in motion that lead to him being beaten to death. As you can see she wasn't all too broken up about his death when she spoke with Ennis on the phone. But imagine finding out that the love of your life was dead by a DECEASED stamp on the last post card he got from Jack, that makes me wonder if she sent it and had them stamp it on it to tell him also so she wouldn't receive any mail etc from Ennis except the call to tell him what "happened."
I think the end is supposed to be ambiguous. I always had the impression she was angry and bitter about his death, not that she's been the cause of it, and that she lied to cover up the cause of his murder. If she blamed Ennis for his part in Jack's life and death that's reason enough to sound as terse on the phone as she does.
People definitely were making fun of this movie maliciously, in a "harhar they gay" kinda way, for a large part because it was about gay men. :( I love this movie, it always manages to make me cry. Edit: While it's possible Jack's wife had something to do with his death, it's also quite possible she's covering it up to save face, both hers and Jack's reputations will suffer a lot if the truth came out, and she doesn't know Ennis, so she doesn't know she can tell him what really happened.
Heath Ledger's performance is so quietly devastating in this film. I mean, people go on and on about his portrayal of The Joker being great, but I think this is one of the finest performances in any film I've ever seen. Love and identity are complicated especially in a time when men were strongly restricted by the expectations of their gender roles and socioeconomic positions. Jake Gyllenhaal did an interview last year where he talked about Heath's understanding of how to carry himself in discussing the movie and realizing the importance. I still sob for hours at the end of this movie every time.
It's quite interesting to see this movie in light of Tom Hanks' recent statement that a straight man like him wouldn't be cast in Philadelphia anymore, and that's a good thing. Just as that movie played a big role in making people aware of gay issues at all, Brokeback went further by showing its gay characters being just as quote-unquote masculine as anyone could possibly want, and as awkward as it may be now that they're both played by straight actors, it played a huge role in paving the way for the big push we have now for gay actors to be allowed to tell their own story.
Completely agreed. As much as I loved this movie and loved how the actors played the story, it wouldve been even better if they were actual gay actors.
@@OGBReacts I’m a gay man, and I respectfully do not agree with this. Are we to erase all the heterosexual parts played by gay actors in classic Hollywood. There goes Pillow Talk. The four main cast members of the 50s Witness for the Prosecution, a favorite, were all gay or bi. I’d much rather see the best actor get the role, whether they were gay or straight, male or female. (Have you seen Linda Hunt in the Year of Living Dangerously? She won an Oscar for her role.)
I appreciate your statement but as a gay man, I have to disagree. The point of acting is to be someone that your not. I could care less if a gay actor plays a gay role. The part should be given to the best actor. Does that mean that gay people cannot play straight roles anymore? The whole thing makes absolutely no sense to me. This movie never would’ve been the same without heath ledger and jake gylenhaal. They were so phenomenal that I couldn’t imagine any other two actors playing those roles.
I don't agree with that at all. Why shouldn't a straight actor have gay roles, or gay actors straight roles? For me that speaks more towards integration and gaining a deeper understanding of each other than putting up roadblocks for who gets to do what. Do gay actors want to be type-cast and restricted to gay roles? Do we want to give movie-viewers the idea that only gay people can "act" gay and it's somehow impossible for a straight actor to even imagine being gay?
@@vanyadolly I completely get everyone’s points here! I’m honestly a bit undecided, and a bit back and forth. I think if a straight person is willing to play gay characters, so be it, but I just always appreciate it even more and find it more impactful if gay actors play gay characters, that’s all. I’m not saying these roles should be so restricted, especially since both of these actors did an amazing job, but yeah I guess for me it depends. Though I will say, when it comes to actors playing trans folks in whatever it may be, I really think the actor should be trans thenself. Yknow what I mean?
First off thank you for reacting to one of my favorite movies EVER! I'll just write here what I wrote on another reaction video because my thoughts are still the same, so I hope you don't mind. :) This movie BROKE my heart when I first watched it. 💔 I felt so BAD for the guys. And their wives. It was just a all around shitty situation. Especially back in the 60's where you had to hide or risk being killed for just being yourself. :( I felt REALLY awful for Ennis specifically, being shown a dead body at such a young age is so traumatizing. For anyone really young or old. Fuck his dad for messing him up like that. 🖕 I miss Heath Ledger so much. 🥺😢 He was such an INCREDIBLE actor! Taken too soon. 💔 Jake Gyllenhal was AMAZING in this too. I also enjoyed Michelle Williams and Anne Hathaway's performance as well. A really solid sad but important film. I love it so much. ❤
Awe Sam, I feel for you and this heartbreaker. This movie wrecks me every time. I'm not gay, but I think everyone should find that love and enjoy that love. I tell people today there have always been gay relationships just in the last 15 years or so people don't have to hide it. Jack's beating reminded me of Matthew Shepard of Laramie project play and movie infamy. So many lives are lost to the actions of ignorant folks out there.
Linda Cardelini, who plays the waitress Ennis was dating, was in the tragically short-lived show Freaks and Geeks. If you ever want to do reactions to TV, I would recommend this one. And also My So-Called Life, which was also tragically short-lived, but broke a lot of boundaries for the time (early 90s). Both shows were ahead of their time.
i worked in a stock yard / livestock auction in montana. being a big guy, they of course usually put me in the alley where they sent the bulls. and most of these bulls were MEAN mofos. after the cattle were sold off, sometimes, there'd be a sheep auction. those wooly little bastards have springs for legs! they're damned hard to herd into a pen. i'll take mean, charging bulls over bouncy, fuzzball sheep ANY day of the week.
At last someone reacts to this one! I'm dying to see this! But I'm out of town! Gaaaaaa! I don't want to wake anybody up! I'll be watching this definitely when I get back home next week!!
As far as Jacks death. The story she told was the practiced story both for herself and family but for others, the beating death was really what happened.. Ang Lee.. said there was a scene in a draft script that had the 3 garage mechanics witnessing Jack saying goodbye to Randall Malone (the one one that told jack they should go up to his cabin and go "fishing") the ranch forman....which lead to Jacks murder.. this scene was deleted very early on as Ang did not want to dwell on Jack's violent end.. and the only place he could have inserted the scene was when Ennis comes to vist Jacks parents.. Ang said he felt it was unecessary and would distract from the focus ...which of course is Ennis's grief .
I didn't want to know that. 😢 I had interpreted it so that the widow told what actually happened, but poor Ennis imagined in his head the worst possible, based on his youth experiences.
People make jokes about this movie? No one around me talks about this film and I only watched it yesterday. I like how this movie really lets shots linger
Once i broke down the themes and naunaces of the story ive literally been crying rivers whenever i start thinking about it honestly people should avoid this film to not get emotionally damage 😭 but im gonna walk away knowing that lgbt love is just as powerful and serious as any other
Jack's death.... it may have been Ennis imagining the worst, he always suspected he/they may be beaten to death- his fears/trauma of seeing such a thing when young may have led him to think that and Jack may have died as his wife said.... the movie lets us draw our own conclusion... if anything nefarious happened, I'd suspect Jack's father-in-law of getting wind of Jack's hidden life and sending some boys out to get him (especially after the Thanksgiving blow up)- making it look like an accident/telling his daughter it was.
You're extremely lucky to live in a time and within a family where you can freely love who you love. My mother told me once that she'd be sad if one of her kids was gay and I'm only about ten years or so older than you. Not being honest is what ruined their lives, but you were right, they had to do it that way because it was legitimately dangerous for them to be honest. Yes, there's still terrible homophobia, but you're very lucky that you can be honest about who you love without dying for it being a near certainty. I'm not as lucky as you, but luckier than Ennis and Jack.
I live in south Texas and I lost a cousin to something like this. He was a gay man, married to a woman and in love with a ranch hand he worked with a few years into his marriage. He knew he couldn’t be with him, even after he and his wife divorced, he ended up committing suicide. This was around 1985ish, with homophobia more rampant, plus the added machismo culture in the Latino community, it was just hard and he had no one to turn to. I wish life could have been different for him, I wish he could have lived his truth and be accepted by society and his culture.
I remember me and a few gay friends seeing this in theatre and giggling and wincing at the first sex scene, and then getting a total 180 thrown at us by the ending. Heath and the shirt WRECKED us. Things are better, but its sad as you mention, that people can still be killed for who they love.
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It was Heath Ledger's idea that Jack reverse the order of their shirts, putting his own inside Ennis', showing they'll both always be in each other's hearts. The original novella's author Annie Proulx liked this so much that she included it when she adapted the story into an opera.
😭😭😭
There's an opera?!
This reminds me of the time I learned there was a musical for Bridges of Madison County. Except I might actually want to see the opera. 🤣
@@spangelicious837 It received mixed reviews, one calling it "an impressive achievement, but difficult to love."
I remember reading back in the day about those two shirts, still together, going up for auction, fetching a pretty good price.
@@chefskiss6179 It sold for just over $101,000. and that was in Feb. 2006 about a month after the movie was released. A great investment since the movie later gained 3 academy awards among other awards and has been recognized as one of the best films from that era. The auction estimate today would be well over $1M.
My favourite fact about this movie is that Heath Ledger refused to attend the 2007 Oscars because they had asked him to make a Brokeback Mountain joke and he refused saying "It's not a joke to me. I don't want to make any jokes about it." 😭
That's amazing
I'm straight, AND I consider this one of the best love stories made.
My grandmother took my brother to see this movie in theaters the year after he came out. Well…it was a year after I outed him. In my defense, I was thirteen, we all already suspected and I didn’t understand the importance of coming out.
It has been nice to see my grandmother go from somewhat conservative and maybe even ignorant to being very supportive of the LGBTQ+ community!
Sometimes it works out that having a family member who is a part of the alphabet mafia can make a previously _maybe kinda discriminatory_ person see the light, so to speak. I'm glad that was the case with her.
My dad was never, like BIGOTED or anything, he was just raised in the '50s and didn't understand it, plain and simple. Meeting my best male friend in college - who was _very_ gay lol - along with several conversations with me about social issues completely changed his mind about the whole thing. When he told me that I had changed his mind, it was one of my proudest moments, ngl.
That was years ago now and since then I realized I was ace and my sister realized she was g€nd€rqü€€r and pan, and his only thing was just asking for clarification/education about what our respective orientations meant before telling each of us, "It doesn't matter to me so long as you're happy."
The Christmas after I came out to him and my mom they gave me an ace pride mug, drink koozie, and throw pillow that said "love is love" in rainbow on the back of it. My sister received similar pan pride goodies the next year, and a 30+ year friend of mine who recently came out as trans was told by my dad that "You are always safe and welcome in our home and [my mom] and I are proud of your courage". My sister and I are truly blessed.
@@kriscynical Aww! This makes me so happy!! I’m glad your experience with your parents was a positive one!
This movie displays complicated relationships in a very subtle way, avoiding any emotional overkill. I cried a river when I watched it.
I still cry. I saw it in the theater way back when, it gets me everytime. Fantastic movie
Girl I've been crying a river for four days now 😅
This movie broke me when it came out. The story, direction and acting all make this a masterpiece in my eyes. It is quiet, subtle and devastating. The era, the location, the socio-economic class--these guys had no good options. Jack was a brave optimist, he was willing to try to make a life with Ennis, come what may. Poor Ennis was so terrorized by what he had seen happen to a gay couple as a kid that he couldn't even imagine such a life. Heartbreaking, as you called it, is the right word--I'm a 59 y.o. gay man and I am a complete mess every time I watch certain scenes (i.e. most of the movie). When you think about what people had to go through, and still have to go through in many places to this day, just to love someone, it is just awful. And the collateral damage which results from not letting people be who they are is nearly as devastating. Thank you for reacting to this, and for your respectful and sensitive insights. This film has been the butt of so many homophobic jokes since the day it came out, and it doesn't deserve that.
I just watched this movie for the first time yesterday, July 9th 2022....I'm 19.
This movie.... I never cried so much because of a movie. It made me realize how privileged I am to be able to be open about my sexuality, sure I faced homophobia before but I can't imagine how it was 40 or more years ago.... I can't imagine how bad it was.
The movie made me think of my grandpa's brother, I don't know much about him my family refuses to tell me anything about him except that he was queer and was in love with this guy, his childhood best friend... They were caught together, they were in love. .. They fled to Spain during the 60s after my uncles daughter was born. (my family is from Germany) Apparently my family doesn't know what happened to him after that..... I just wish that I could know if he was alright, if he had a happy life.
I just wish he had a happy life with his boyfriend, I will never know.
If I had the chance to meet him I would want him here in MY part of the family, consisting of my mum, my boyfriend, my brother and I, since the rest of our family hates him.
I wish I could've met him, but I never will.
I will never know what happened to him and his boyfriend. If he I still out there u hope he knows that a part of our family loves him.
Brokeback mountain made me realize how lucky I am to be born into a time where I can love my boyfriend openly almost without fear.
@@jasxnuwu4539 You sound like a sensitive, caring person. I've found that this movie is one that you either "get it" or you don't, and it doesn't necessarily matter what your sexuality is. I have some gay friends who thought it was boring, and some straight friends who found it as moving and haunting as I did. You are one of those who gets it.
Thank you for telling us about your grandfather's brother. Let's hope that he found a good life and happiness with his boyfriend. Although Spain under fascism wasn't exactly an ideal place for gays, maybe they were still able to make a good life together. What I know is, that your grandfather's brother would be proud of what a caring person you are, and would be very happy that you don't have to go through the same things that he did.
Take care and all the best to you and your boyfriend!
@@bluefriend62 haha thank u that's very nice of u to say.
I'm honestly very sure that he tried to reach out to my grandpa and his parents over the years but they don't talk about him so I'll never know. My grandfather doesn't talk to me either for obvious reasons 💀😂
It's better this way, this man causes a lot of anger in me, he'll have a heart attack when he finds out my little brother also seems to be into boys.
My boyfriend and I have been going strong for 4 years now and are planning to move in together in October for our next uni semester.
If I'm lucky I might be able to trank my uncle down some day or maybe if he had a sort of family there. Maybe some day I will even know his name, it would be a start.
When I watched Brokeback Mountain I got a feeling of what strongly internalized homophobia and strongly suppressed emotions can look like.
I can't imagine what it must feel like....
Ennis portrays exactly what I imagine a person to be like that grew up as a gay man in these times. The self hatred, the physical pain coming from this hate and letting your feelings happen as they are supposed to be...
His frustration and him blaming Jack for the way he feels.
@@bluefriend62 my uncle probably lived/lives his entire life thinking that his family hated him.
If he's still alive he is in his 70s now. I will probably never meet him but maybe, just maybe I'll be able to find out more about him hopefully in the near future
The very end of this movie, unexpectedly, made me cry my eyes out. I was invested all along, but the end just hit me hard out of nowhere about as soon as that music started playing.
The music was truly beautiful in this. Absolutely emotional and fitting. I loved it!
Yes. This movie DESTROYED me. But it is one of my favorites now.
I saw this film in first run, on a Friday afternoon (took some PTO and left the office early), and saw it in a theater in DC's very gay neighborhood of Dupont Circle. The film ended to the sounds of multiple people, myself include, just sobbing. We were a blubbering mess in the men's room afterwards. This reaction video gets a really vital point about the film, too - how damaging being in the closet is to the family members of those who are hiding. I'm sure there are film theory PhD theses about the damaged women of "Brokeback Mountain." My personal favorite is Cassie, played by Linda Cardellini, who just gets ghosted by Ennis after he has his huge psychological breakthrough in his last meeting with Jack, and accepts who he really is.
Same here. And I don't cry a lot when I watch movies. It just gotta listen to that song alone and I almost start tearing up.
Thanks for this heartfelt reaction. This movie is such a masterful tragedy, because all four main characters are suffering deeply from the situation, but you can sympathize with all of them, mistakes and all. The only true "villain" is the society that hates and fears what Jack and Ennis feel towards each other, and forces them to hide it, and punishes them for acting on it.
The ending always kills me to tears, all he has is Jack's shirt to remember his love.
This movie came out while i was working at a movie store in high school in Texas. Customers would hide the dvd cases (or just throw them in the trash), and it just pushed me further in the closet thinking of what kind of hate and ignorance I was living around.
Wow… that’s so upsetting :/
That is just sad.
I'm sorry. I hope you have support now.
I work in a library and similar things have happened where certain books are hidden or misplaced. If it's any consolation, it's usually just a few, sad people doing stuff like this.
Saw this in a small theater in a gay neighborhood in NYC by myself and was probably the only woman and heterosexual there. I was sobbing so hard at the end the guys sitting next to me asked me if I was ok. I was inconsolable for days. I interpreted the flashes of Jack’s death as Inis’ deep fear of their secret coming to fruition, not necessarily the truth of what happened. Still mad it was robbed of best picture to Crash.
Great comment and yes, I agree that what really happened to Jack will never be known but Ennius definitely imagined what could have happened because that childhood memory. This movie was definitely robbed of the Oscar.
23:32 I never suspected that Lureen had anything to do with Jack's death, but I think she knew exactly what really happened to him and what he was that may have brought on that violent end. I think she had that practiced speech about what happened to Jack as self preservation and protect their son as well. No woman in the 80's wants to tell people their husband was murdered because he was gay and she was basically a beard the whole time. He wasn't a bad husband. The Thanksgiving scene proved he was a good man to her, he stood up for her and demanded her their son and ~her~ father respect her.
Now at 17:10 we see Jack and Randall get to talking and it sounds like Randall is looking for a gay side 'relationship', if Jack pursued that, then there could have been someone related to Randall or his wife that murdered Jack. Or could have just been some random raging homophobes that figured him out. Like the two men that Ennis talks about.
That's how I saw it as well. I think she loved him, in all their scenes together that seems apparent.
I was scared it was gonna be Jack's Dad. I think the locals just figured him out because he kept going to Mexico.
When I saw the movie, it hit me like a ton of bricks. A simple, honest, tragic film. It's a work of art.
I were a young adult and out of the closet when this came out. And I remember it being revolutionary, especially over in America (I live in Sweden, which, at the time were more accepting of at least the gay part of LGBTQ than America seemed to be). It seems like this woke a lot of people up to the fact that being gay isn't just about sex, but actual love.
It's a very sad movie, but also beautiful and important. It is easy to point at the kill your gays trope, but yeah, deadly homophobia were very much a reality back in the day (and still is, of course, but not to the same extent) and I see this movie as basically teaching queers my age and younger about or collective history. And it's not a happy one.
Yes, many many people were killed for their sexuality. Not all that long ago either, and the fear of that kept many closeted for a long time. Thank you for bringing that point to the forefront.
Thank you for this.
Yeah, the loss of Best Picture at the Oscar's was seen as homophobic. And later in 2015 when the Academy was polled on their past decisions, most agreed this had been a mistake. And Anne Hathaway (who has always been an ally), loudly spoke out on the violent hate this movie got from the right. She later said her support of our community came from having a Gay brother, and loving him unconditionally.
I was in college when this came out, and my roommate and I were on a kick where we'd watch movies we normally wouldn't, and to watch movies that might challenge us. We were both pretty open-minded considering the small southern towns we grew up in. We were both pretty taken aback by the idea of homosexuals being homophobic, because neither of us had really ever heard of or considered such a thing. We had a really good and productive conversation after the movie ended about how the indoctrination of homophobia in a homosexual most certainly has to turn into denial, shame, and self-loathing...and is probably the source of latent homosexuality or worse...suicide. Now, as a 41 yr old man, it seems so obvious; but at the time, that was a new concept for both of us. We weren't homophobic before watching this movie, but it really raised our empathy for homosexual people after seeing it.
The music and the way Ang Lee shoots the landscape is just so beautiful. This movie ALWAYS makes me cry, throughout, but especially that last scene 😭😭😭
It's crazy to think how far we've come in less than 20 years. I remember going to see this in the theater with my friends (we were 14 at the time). Even though we went to a major movie theater, it was shown in the smallest room. I think there were like 6 rows of seats. And of course no advertising for it anywhere.
it wasn't even playing in any major theaters in my city and I'm from Philadelphia!
The fact that people make fun of this movie just shows how relevant it is, and how far we still have to go in this society. And you nailed the real message of the movie which is the collateral damage of sexual repression. I must confess, it gets me so pissed off to see Heath Ledger in this because he od'd died right afterwards. He played the Joker next (which is not nearly as great of a performance) and then he kicked the bucket. What a frickin' waste. I remember being shocked to discover he was Australian. Jake Gyllenhall is great in it, also. (All the actors are). Super depressing.
I saw this in high school in theaters with 3 other friends and 3 out of 4 of us ended coming out later that school year.
I only saw this film once and then never again. Just broke me completely 😢 What is wrong with people? And now that we've come this far, we're moving backwards again.... Live and let live - mankind will probably never fully understand this principle. But thank you for your reaction. Nice that you chose a film like this 🙂👍👍👍 Unfortunately, you probably don't react to series, but if you have time for yourself, I can heartily recommend Sense8. The series gets better with every episode and is so heartwarming 🙂
I absolutely LOVE Sense8. Such a shame it didn’t continue on. I also really want to start reacting to series, it’s just very hard for me since I do all my own editing!
@@OGBReacts Heyyyy. No one I ask knows the series. Cool that you like them too 🙂 I can imagine that it is an awful lot of work. No Problem, maybe someday 😉
Thank you for reacting to this movie.
When I watched this in 2005, I got angry at how it ended. I too had been closeted and in a secret relationship that withered in the shadows of deceit. I had wasted nearly 10 years of my life waiting for someone who couldn’t accept his sexuality and made me struggle with my own. We eventually went our separate ways. When I saw this film, I wanted Jack and Ennis to have the fairy tale ending that had escaped me but alas it was not so. It was a hard dose of reality for me and is something that I struggle with to this day.
I'm so sorry to hear that!
That ending gets me every time! The amount of grief, regret, sadness and rage he must have felt....it's gut-wrenching. Still, I come back to watch it over and over again!
All the comedy skits you might see before knowing anything about this movie don’t prepare you for the gut punches that just keep coming. Very heartfelt.
Hey Sam, Regarding Jack's death I always thought that Jack may have been making advances to someone where he lived and some people caught wind of it and they ambushed him. I think the wife may have just made up a story as to what happened to save face and keep the secrets in the family. I don't think her actions were nefarious on her part. Of course, I may be wrong. Growing up in days gone past I know when a person dies under weird circumstances (like dying on the toilet or at the house of the mistress). The family would make up a story to be told at the funeral and then that story just keeps being repeated. That's just my 2 cents.
It's pretty obviously David Harbour's character who Jack was making advances on. In the invitation he extends to Jack he says the do some fishing.
@@mkmcnicoll yea but that doesn’t really add up because it was David Harbours character that made the advances, NOT Jack
This movie just rips my heart out. It’s an important story to be told, to remember how dangerous it used to be, and maybe still is some places. It’s just tragic.
oh my god!! i’ve been wanting more reaction channels to watch this movie. i can’t wait to watch this later tonight ❤️ heath ledger gives an outstanding performance and understood ennis down to the bone. and he was only 25 when they filmed this!! he was beyond talented. he is one of my favorite actors to this day. i hope you enjoyed watching!! :)
This is what having to live in a closet does to people, it hurts everyone involved! So sad!
Then dont commit a blasphemous act and you wont have to deal with the mental aspects will ya!
@@WheresWaldo05 Nobody really cares what you think! Your God, Your bible, Your Problem! Not mine!
@@brian52763 I didnt bring up GOD. You did. Which means its on your mind. Which means in some subconscious you know there is one. You think all of this was so perfectly created yet randomly? What a joke. Also, what kind of dolt would risk an eternity in a hellish state by boycotting GOD. As an example, i would rather believe in GOD and die then nothing happens. Rather than not believe, die, then having that Oh $hyt moment once you die. Only a dum dum would take the latter approach. Lol.
Also if GOD isnt real then neither is love. I cant see or feel love. So you cannot prove it is real to me. Im not gonna take your word for it.
Get woke. Or keep getting clowned.
I squealed when I saw that you chose this today! Great film and so touching. RIP Heath Ledger. You are so right about it being better if it was played by gay actors, however, one good thing is these two were so famous that it may have drawn people to watch it who otherwise were too homophobic. It was a different time. Love to you from Seattle! Still hoping one day you will do Robin Williams and Jeff Daniels in The Fisher King. It’s just stellar. Love to you Sam! Happy Pride!
I still miss Heath so much ❤️
The thing is most gay or bisexual actors aren't open about it, so how do we know it wasn't played by actors who are part of the LGBT community? Straight people would be amazed at how many bisexual men there are, they're never open about it though, ever
Wow! Consistently with the quality, OGB.
Ang Lee's body of work makes it look so effortless.
Nothing more to add that other commenters haven't already said about you checking out this beauty. So... a simple 'thank you' as per usual.
Thank you for your kind comment!
I hardly ever comment on a video on TH-cam. However seeing your genuine reaction to what is in my opinion one of the most emotional movies ever made - made me smile and cry at the same time - thank you !
17:27 Jack says.. "How about tomorrow?" btw... I haven't watched this movie in a few years, but I am crying my eyes out right now just from your reaction video. it gets me every time.❤
I saw this movie once in the cinema and once at home with my mom. I've never been able to watch it again. It's terrific, but so heavy and emotionally draining, not to mention soul-crushingly depressing.
It's not definite Jack was murdered. What you saw was what Ennis imagined happened. It wasn't a flashback. It's up to the audience to decided what they think. Also, it shows where Ennis' mind automatically goes.
Ahhh okay. So it can honestly be interpreted as either that actually happening OR something he imagined. Got it.
@@OGBReacts Yes it can be interpreted either way. Also, the wife's delivery of the lines can be interpreted as she had him killed, knew why he was killed or was just over the marriage and didn't care that he died in an accident. The delivery was too odd to not have been on purpose. The director was too good for that.
This movie was so heartbreaking 🥺 They just wanted to love each other. They hurt everyone around them but those same people in a way hurt them to because they couldn't be together freely because of those people not accepting them and it threatening their lives.
COMPLETELY agreed, society is at fault for being incredibly homophobic, yes. That's why I kept saying it was such a tough situation because yes, they were basically forced to be in these heterosexual relationships, but you also can't help but feel badly for their wives because they're innocent in terms of that, yknow?
Truly such a tough situation.
@@OGBReacts Yes, it was not fair to the wives or their kids. 😢
This is the film that should have won the Oscar for Best Picture instead of the race related Oscar Bait Crash!
It definitely should’ve beaten Crash.
This is such a beautiful film, but so bleak & heartbreaking at the same time. I hate to see Jack & Ennis hurting their loved ones, but they should’ve never had to make that choice. I hope, sometime soon, that they could partner up & no one would bat an eye.
I finally was able to get my, "Jack, I Swear." tattoo last month. It reminds me of this beautiful masterpiece every time I look at my wrist
You just keep this old 66-year-old invalid laughing...what a joy you are - thanks for all your hard work!
Aww well I'm glad you enjoy my videos, thanks so much
I remember going to see this at the mall in here in Oxford, Alabama and it was only showing during the day. It was me and and 3 other people in the theater and 2 actually got up and left during the movie. By the end I was ugly crying, sobbing and had to collect myself so I could leave and walk back through the mall to be able to go home. Me being a straight ally since I was a teen and seeing so many of my closeted gay friends in these hidden relationships…. I had seen those hurts in real people around me. I mean it’s always been so bad especially here in the south (even still now sometimes sadly). Heath Ledger was such an amazing actor, I’m so sad we lost him so early in his career. This movie did bring him a legacy for the movie and his Daughter Matilda. He and Michelle (who played his wife) fell in love, married and had her. Even though their marriage didn’t last, they did produce a beautiful baby girl.
The audience gasped in the theater when we saw Anne's Princess Diaries.
HA 🤣
Perhaps what this film is best known for is its surprise Best Picture loss at the Oscars, where it was the heavy favorite, to the film Crash, in which middle-aged white guy Paul Haggis writes and directs a movie lecturing us all about how racism is bad. Even Jack Nicholson, who presented the award, was visibly shocked when he opened the envelope and let out a quiet "Whoa!" Unsurprisingly, there was immediately a huge wave of accusations of the Academy taking the coward's way out and awarding the comparatively "safe" message of racism being bad rather than homophobia being bad. Though if that really was the case, there was kind of a sweet footnote to the whole thing as a few years later, Paul Haggis left Scientology over their support of Proposition 8 (and then made the film The Next Three Days, which is about a prison break that he openly said was inspired by his experience trying to leave the cult).
That's... upsetting. Wow. Completely snubbed.
@@OGBReacts It did at least get three others, Director, Adapted Screenplay, and Score.
@@Rmlohner GOOD. I’m glad it especially got score. It’s beautiful.
That whole Best Picture line-up was killer except for Crash; I think people could have handled any of the others winning over Brokeback Mountain (although I've come to believe that it's the best of the lineup, even though Good Night and Good Luck was my pick at the time).
@@clarbri Paul Haggis himself has said it was the weakest of the nominees, and Good Night and Good Luck would have been his choice.
Loved your reaction, Sam and so glad you watched this! My husband watched it with me and even though a couple of scenes made him a tad uncomfortable, he also thought it was a fantastic movie. The oppressive time period of 1960 Wyoming when these two meet compared to how things are now is so huge. I cried buckets at the end of this. One of my all time favorites. ❤
This is such a ground breaking movie. Big hugs for you.
Odds are you've seen people talk about this movie on the Internet as being about "gay cowboys eating pudding," which is actually a reference to a South Park episode from a few years earlier with a running gag that all independent films are nothing but that. When Brokeback was first announced, the show's creators even joked that they'd sue if there was any pudding in it. This even overshadows that Jack and Ennis aren't actually cowboys, though all the marketing made it a very easy mistake.
Gay shepherds eating pudding. Totally different. :)
Admittedly, people have a tendency to call any Western character who wears a stetson and rides a horse a cowboy, regardless of their actual profession.
Fun fact Michelle Williams who plays his love interest was his wife in reality and they had a kid, she is the wife in greatest showman. Also the lovers…..they was close friends in this film and he became godfather to his daughter and another woman they was close with in film is godmother to daughter of heath. This film he gave it his all. I watched a documentary on it and he was like saying to his mate…just do it! He took his roles so serious. So sadly missed
Beautiful film. So damn moving. Both men were amazing in their roles. This film doesn't get the love that it should. Glad you watched this one.
I remember seeing this movie for the first time in the art house theater in my city because it wasn't even playing in the regular theaters at the time when it first came out (and I'm from a big city, Philadelphia). it just goes to show you what times were still like when this movie came out. by the end of the movie, I was a mess because I was bawling my eyes out. I remember reading somewhere that Annie Proulx regrets writing the short story that this movie is based on because so many people have focused on the "tragic love story" that the real message has gotten lost. it's a story about homophobia and its dangers, pure and simple. I like what you said Sam about how much the decisions they were making kept hurting everyone around them, yet it was really homophobia and the fear of literally being killed, that forced them into making those decisions in the first place. in the end, nobody won. thanks for reacting to this beautiful film ❤️
Love your reactions especially to the emotionally gut wrenching ones. I saw this movie in the theater once b/c I cried my eyes out. When this movie came out it brought to the forefront that any loving and complicated relationship is just that loving and complicated, no matter the gender. My cousin saw it and he told me you know it just showed me their relationship is like any other one. That just made my day!
I'm sure you've already chosen all your pride films, but a British movie called Pride (2014) is so worth your time - based on a true story about a group of gays/lesbians in the 80s deciding to raise money to support a tiny Welsh mining town when they go on strike.
This was the first LGBTQIA movie to be nominated for Best Picture but lost to Crash, a crime drama film about racism and bigotry in Los Angeles, involving several different people including a cop, a lawyer, a film producer and his wife.
One of the worst Oscar flubs to this day, and that's saying something.
Crash is a good movie too
@@jamalbryant8099 lol
I'm not sure if anyone else has done a reaction to this movie. It's a underrated movie in my opinion.
Thanks for doing this one! I know it's difficult to condense this great movie down to 30. min. so I hope anyone who has not seen it will view the entire movie. It's really an incredible film winning 3 academy awards and 8 nominations.
I'm binge watching people reacting to brokeback mountain because I can't move on from it 😭😭and my friends can't relate if I'm telling them this....but I still tell them... They'll be annoyed but still....
We absolutely need more reactions of this movie here on TH-cam. I saw this in theaters and was captivated beyond belief. I hold a lot of resentment for Crash winning Best Picture over this as Brokeback Mountain's overall quality was substantially better. There are persisting rumors that those who voted in this category were homophobic, hence why they voted on the more conservative film. I don't mean to entirely hate on Crash, though. It was very good, just not nearly as good. The director Paul Haggis even later admitted his movie didn't deserve the highest honor. And Ang Lee was allegedly devastated his film lost, from those who were present during the ceremony.
Beautiful movie.... Also, just thinking about the loss of Heath Ledger again too. He was an amazing actor.
This movie, much like Monster's Ball, has that surface reaction of "oh there's just that sex scene" but just like Monster's Ball it's the thing people focus on instead of the fact that it's all around this tragically real backdrop of "I found and fell in love with this person but there's so many other issues and problems tied to it"...and it's so sad because because love should never have to mean "watch your back because you are x or y".
Agreed. Like I said in the beginning, all I’ve heard about this movie is “haha two men have sex” but it’s so much deeper than that.
Great reaction. You’re definitely one of the best, handling what is a controversial film to some, in a sensitive and insightful way. 👍👍
Another movie that just reminds me how much we lost when Heath Ledger died.
I remember when this first came out I have never cried so hard at any other movie. It reminded me of the loss of my partner many years before and brought so many emotions back. For a week I was broken and kept hearing the music in my head and would just break down. I guess some movies can just do that. 😪
I don't think that Jack's wife plotted his death because she's crying while she was told Ennis her version of the story. Great movie in direction, everyone's acting, writing, cinematography, etc. Too tragic and sad for me when I first saw it when it first was released in theaters and it would still make me cry if I watched it again. Great reaction and sensitive analysis.
Great watching with you. Glad you realized it’s just a complicated situation where nobody Won
I went to see this movie right after I parted ways with an extremely good looking person 17 years my junior! I had to let him go because I knew it would not work but I was happy for awhile and proud I was his first! Now almost 20 years later we still keep in touch and I am happy he got married to a man he loves deeply. I will be turning 60 in September 2023 and we are planning a reunion to celebrate our long friendship and my birthday.
Jack's wife and her friends set him up starting with the guy with the beard and brown cowboy hat saying he had a cabin they could go to. Once Jack agreed to it that set things in motion that lead to him being beaten to death. As you can see she wasn't all too broken up about his death when she spoke with Ennis on the phone. But imagine finding out that the love of your life was dead by a DECEASED stamp on the last post card he got from Jack, that makes me wonder if she sent it and had them stamp it on it to tell him also so she wouldn't receive any mail etc from Ennis except the call to tell him what "happened."
I think the end is supposed to be ambiguous. I always had the impression she was angry and bitter about his death, not that she's been the cause of it, and that she lied to cover up the cause of his murder. If she blamed Ennis for his part in Jack's life and death that's reason enough to sound as terse on the phone as she does.
Annie Proulx left Jack's fate undecided. Lureen would have organised with the post office to return Jack's mail to sender.
Sometimes when I get sad, listen to this soundtrack.
People definitely were making fun of this movie maliciously, in a "harhar they gay" kinda way, for a large part because it was about gay men. :(
I love this movie, it always manages to make me cry.
Edit: While it's possible Jack's wife had something to do with his death, it's also quite possible she's covering it up to save face, both hers and Jack's reputations will suffer a lot if the truth came out, and she doesn't know Ennis, so she doesn't know she can tell him what really happened.
17:50 I love how much you can tell she's his daughter. They have the same silent type personalities!
FINALLY! I have been waiting for somebody to react to this movie.
I never watched this movie in full but omg your reactions make me want to watch it again. You are HILARIOUS
I commented too early. This is sad af omfg
LMFAOOOO omg. YES ITS SO SAD! 😭
I’m glad you’re liking the videos though! Thank you 🥺♥️
yes please watch the whole thing. it's sad, but worth it because it's a beautiful movie. ❤️
I have been waiting for this forever!!! welcome to the heartbreak!
Heath Ledger's performance is so quietly devastating in this film. I mean, people go on and on about his portrayal of The Joker being great, but I think this is one of the finest performances in any film I've ever seen. Love and identity are complicated especially in a time when men were strongly restricted by the expectations of their gender roles and socioeconomic positions. Jake Gyllenhaal did an interview last year where he talked about Heath's understanding of how to carry himself in discussing the movie and realizing the importance. I still sob for hours at the end of this movie every time.
Boys Don't Cry
It's quite interesting to see this movie in light of Tom Hanks' recent statement that a straight man like him wouldn't be cast in Philadelphia anymore, and that's a good thing. Just as that movie played a big role in making people aware of gay issues at all, Brokeback went further by showing its gay characters being just as quote-unquote masculine as anyone could possibly want, and as awkward as it may be now that they're both played by straight actors, it played a huge role in paving the way for the big push we have now for gay actors to be allowed to tell their own story.
Completely agreed. As much as I loved this movie and loved how the actors played the story, it wouldve been even better if they were actual gay actors.
@@OGBReacts I’m a gay man, and I respectfully do not agree with this. Are we to erase all the heterosexual parts played by gay actors in classic Hollywood. There goes Pillow Talk. The four main cast members of the 50s Witness for the Prosecution, a favorite, were all gay or bi. I’d much rather see the best actor get the role, whether they were gay or straight, male or female. (Have you seen Linda Hunt in the Year of Living Dangerously? She won an Oscar for her role.)
I appreciate your statement but as a gay man, I have to disagree. The point of acting is to be someone that your not. I could care less if a gay actor plays a gay role. The part should be given to the best actor. Does that mean that gay people cannot play straight roles anymore? The whole thing makes absolutely no sense to me. This movie never would’ve been the same without heath ledger and jake gylenhaal. They were so phenomenal that I couldn’t imagine any other two actors playing those roles.
I don't agree with that at all. Why shouldn't a straight actor have gay roles, or gay actors straight roles? For me that speaks more towards integration and gaining a deeper understanding of each other than putting up roadblocks for who gets to do what. Do gay actors want to be type-cast and restricted to gay roles? Do we want to give movie-viewers the idea that only gay people can "act" gay and it's somehow impossible for a straight actor to even imagine being gay?
@@vanyadolly I completely get everyone’s points here! I’m honestly a bit undecided, and a bit back and forth. I think if a straight person is willing to play gay characters, so be it, but I just always appreciate it even more and find it more impactful if gay actors play gay characters, that’s all. I’m not saying these roles should be so restricted, especially since both of these actors did an amazing job, but yeah I guess for me it depends. Though I will say, when it comes to actors playing trans folks in whatever it may be, I really think the actor should be trans thenself. Yknow what I mean?
And of course, watching the film these days you're seeing Mysterio cheating on Catwoman with the Joker.
Ohhhhh my god
@@OGBReacts By the director of the pre-MCU Hulk film (this was even his very next movie after that).
First off thank you for reacting to one of my favorite movies EVER! I'll just write here what I wrote on another reaction video because my thoughts are still the same, so I hope you don't mind. :)
This movie BROKE my heart when I first watched it. 💔 I felt so BAD for the guys. And their wives. It was just a all around shitty situation. Especially back in the 60's where you had to hide or risk being killed for just being yourself. :( I felt REALLY awful for Ennis specifically, being shown a dead body at such a young age is so traumatizing. For anyone really young or old. Fuck his dad for messing him up like that. 🖕
I miss Heath Ledger so much. 🥺😢 He was such an INCREDIBLE actor! Taken too soon. 💔
Jake Gyllenhal was AMAZING in this too. I also enjoyed Michelle Williams and Anne Hathaway's performance as well. A really solid sad but important film. I love it so much. ❤
I'm glad you reviewed this movie. To me it's a beautiful and tragic love story. Heath Ledger's Ennis broke my heart.
Awe Sam, I feel for you and this heartbreaker. This movie wrecks me every time. I'm not gay, but I think everyone should find that love and enjoy that love. I tell people today there have always been gay relationships just in the last 15 years or so people don't have to hide it. Jack's beating reminded me of Matthew Shepard of Laramie project play and movie infamy. So many lives are lost to the actions of ignorant folks out there.
one of the greatest and most depressing movies ever. its one of my faves but i could only watch it twice cuz its just SO MUCH
Gia would be an excellent movie to watch this month. I love that movie and of course this one as well. Keep up the good work!
Linda Cardelini, who plays the waitress Ennis was dating, was in the tragically short-lived show Freaks and Geeks. If you ever want to do reactions to TV, I would recommend this one.
And also My So-Called Life, which was also tragically short-lived, but broke a lot of boundaries for the time (early 90s). Both shows were ahead of their time.
Freaks and Geeks was my childhood, I freaking loved that show!! I enjoyed My So-Called Life as well lol You have great taste in shows =^_^=
Thank you for doing films for Pride month. This one is definitely one of my favorites.
Aside from being educative and eye-opening, I like to think of this movie as a Cautionary Tale more than anything.
i worked in a stock yard / livestock auction in montana. being a big guy, they of course usually put me in the alley where they sent the bulls. and most of these bulls were MEAN mofos. after the cattle were sold off, sometimes, there'd be a sheep auction. those wooly little bastards have springs for legs! they're damned hard to herd into a pen. i'll take mean, charging bulls over bouncy, fuzzball sheep ANY day of the week.
This movie is just painful. 😭
Precious Heath. So very sadly missed. Hope he's resting in peace now. 😞
At last someone reacts to this one! I'm dying to see this! But I'm out of town! Gaaaaaa! I don't want to wake anybody up! I'll be watching this definitely when I get back home next week!!
As far as Jacks death. The story she told was the practiced story both for herself and family but for others, the beating death was really what happened.. Ang Lee.. said there was a scene in a draft script that had the 3 garage mechanics witnessing Jack saying goodbye to Randall Malone (the one one that told jack they should go up to his cabin and go "fishing") the ranch forman....which lead to Jacks murder.. this scene was deleted very early on as Ang did not want to dwell on Jack's violent end.. and the only place he could have inserted the scene was when Ennis comes to vist Jacks parents.. Ang said he felt it was unecessary and would distract from the focus ...which of course is Ennis's grief .
I didn't want to know that. 😢 I had interpreted it so that the widow told what actually happened, but poor Ennis imagined in his head the worst possible, based on his youth experiences.
People make jokes about this movie? No one around me talks about this film and I only watched it yesterday. I like how this movie really lets shots linger
Great reaction to such a bittersweet love story.
Once i broke down the themes and naunaces of the story ive literally been crying rivers whenever i start thinking about it honestly people should avoid this film to not get emotionally damage 😭 but im gonna walk away knowing that lgbt love is just as powerful and serious as any other
Jack's death.... it may have been Ennis imagining the worst, he always suspected he/they may be beaten to death- his fears/trauma of seeing such a thing when young may have led him to think that and Jack may have died as his wife said.... the movie lets us draw our own conclusion... if anything nefarious happened, I'd suspect Jack's father-in-law of getting wind of Jack's hidden life and sending some boys out to get him (especially after the Thanksgiving blow up)- making it look like an accident/telling his daughter it was.
beautiful reaction thank you
That new sign is Awesome.
You're extremely lucky to live in a time and within a family where you can freely love who you love. My mother told me once that she'd be sad if one of her kids was gay and I'm only about ten years or so older than you. Not being honest is what ruined their lives, but you were right, they had to do it that way because it was legitimately dangerous for them to be honest. Yes, there's still terrible homophobia, but you're very lucky that you can be honest about who you love without dying for it being a near certainty. I'm not as lucky as you, but luckier than Ennis and Jack.
Ugh
I always ended up crying like a baby
This movie it's just soo sad and unfair for every character:/
...
I live in south Texas and I lost a cousin to something like this. He was a gay man, married to a woman and in love with a ranch hand he worked with a few years into his marriage. He knew he couldn’t be with him, even after he and his wife divorced, he ended up committing suicide. This was around 1985ish, with homophobia more rampant, plus the added machismo culture in the Latino community, it was just hard and he had no one to turn to. I wish life could have been different for him, I wish he could have lived his truth and be accepted by society and his culture.
That is so upsetting, I’m so sorry. I hope your cousin is resting well and I wish he also could’ve been around during a time where things were better.
I remember me and a few gay friends seeing this in theatre and giggling and wincing at the first sex scene, and then getting a total 180 thrown at us by the ending. Heath and the shirt WRECKED us. Things are better, but its sad as you mention, that people can still be killed for who they love.
Love Michelle Williams in "Wendy and. Lucy" and "Synechodoche NY"
“I did not anticipate seeing Anne Hathaway’s boobs in this movie”
Me 17 years ago watching this in the theater: “Neither did I OGB… neither did I…”
Your reaction to THAT scene... HAHAHAHA!
You should check out The miseducation of Cameron Post, Gia, The Danish Girl, Imagine Me and You, or Carol.
All great gay films
Portrait of a Lady on Fire is another film I highly recommend.