DVD Reviews

Dallas: The Movie Collection – DVD Review

By Patrick Luce May 5, 2011, 23:15 GMT

Big D gets even bigger with three movies and a cast reunion! From 1978 to 1991, the TV series Dallas grew legions of fans with compulsively watchable tales of greed, sexy and schemes - most masterminded by smilin\' J.R. Ewing (Larry Hagman), the double-dealing oilman folks love to hate. Dallas was so popular is also spawned the four exciting pieces in this special collection, starting with a prequel (The Early ...more

With all of the Dallas seasons now on DVD, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has given fans another reason to take a trip down Southfork’s long driveway with the release of Dallas: The Movie Collection.

The two-disc set features the made for television movies The Early Years, J. R. Returns, and War of the Ewings. The set also features Dallas Reunion: Return to Southfork – which is probably the best reason to watch it.

The reunion is an entertaining watch thanks to Larry Hagman taking on the hosting duties, and feeling more like he has stepped back into his signature J.R. Ewing role. The reunion features clips from the show; stories from behind the scenes; and a countdown of the series’ greatest moments (bet you can’t guess which moment ends up as number one).

The Early Years: More interesting than entertaining, The Early Years is a fun prequel for diehard fans of Dallas, and focuses on the birth of the famous Barnes/Ewing feud. The show aired in 1986, and saw Dale Midkiff (Love Comes Softly) taking on the role of John Ross "Jock" Ewing, Molly Hagan (Herman's Head) as Miss Ellie, and David Marshall Grant (thirtysomething) as Willard "Digger" Barnes.

All of the actors are good in their roles, but no one can replace the gruff performance of Jim Davis as Jock or the sweetness of Barbara Bel Geddes as Miss Ellie.

The Early Years drags from time to time, but it is entertaining to see how Dallas began and I would have enjoyed a follow-up to the story.

J.R. Returns hit television in 1996 and saw Larry Hagman quickly up to his old tricks. He also proves you can’t keep a television villain down, and that age hasn’t slowed him down a bit.

Along with Hagman, the show featured the return of Patrick Duffy as Bobby (who has spent the past few years caring for Southfork and Christopher), Linda Gray as Sue Ellen Ewing (who has been taking care of John Ross in Europe), and Ken Kercheval as Cliff Barnes (who is tired of his battle with J.R. and the oil business). George Kennedy returns as Carter McKay - who is as shifty as ever.

The plot sees lots of back dealing, backstabbing, and J.R. doing his best to do what is right for the Ewing family and Ewing Oil (or at least his version of what is right). Of course to accomplish this, J.R. has to come up with a scheme to get his son’s shares in a computer corporation so he can get the cash he needs to take out rival oil company Weststar.

To accomplish his goal, J.R. has to die – which will also give him the opportunity to return in style at Bobby’s memorial for his brother at Southfork – a classic television moment for fans of Dallas.

J.R. Returns is the best of the television movies, and demonstrates that the actors may have aged, but they still had the chops to entertain. Hagman is in top form as J.R., and his type of iconic character is missed today.

War of the Ewings aired in 1998 and finds J.R.'s worse nightmare come true as Bobby and Sue Ellen now run Ewing Oil together. Naturally, this won’t stand so J.R. sets in motion a scheme to get control back.

At first, J.R. tries to get the cash to take back control of the company (even trying to get his hands on his half-brother Ray Krebbs’ land), but eventually returns to his old tricks of turning Bobby and Sue Ellen against each other.

The film is not as good as J.R. Returns and shows some of the wear that dragged down later seasons of the series. Still, it is fun to see the actors return to their signature roles, and Hagman always manages to entertain as the man you love to hate.

Dallas: The Movie Collection is a solid way to wrap up Dallas (or at least keep you entertained until it makes its rumored return). If you have collected the series’ run on DVD, the movie collection is a must have. The television movies might have some of the rust the show was sporting by the fourteenth season, but it is still fun to see J.R. take one more run to rule Ewing Oil.

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