first of all and the vast majority of those give street of laredo bad review have no legitimate complaint whatsoever . people whine about the dark tone and the killing and the acting and et cetera . rather and this film have much more in common with the real old west and to a great degree even than series like deadwood . of course and many of the immature and misguide western fan seem to want happy horse rid hippy who talk hard and rough but do not live it . how stupid to expect such from the real killer of the west . woodrow f. call ( james garner ) be not a nice man . and he should not be pigeonhole a one and either . garner play him the way he should be and and be even more impressive than tommy lee jones in lonesome dove and the series which precede this one . indeed and despite the rabid fanbase of lonesome dove ( of which i very nearly belong ) and this series be undoubtedly superior . first of all and the direction be a vast improvement . joseph sargent handle the scenery and actor with far more intelligence and grace than simon wincer and who prove his woeful inadequacy when he return for the prequel comanche moon last year . that series be pure trash and horribly act and direct despite the great actor involve . there be many great performance beside garner . charles martin smith and sam shepard and and sissy spacek be pure class . smith and especially and have always be an excellent unnoticed actor . this be perhaps his best performance since never cry wolf ( 1983 ) . he be sympathetic and identifiable a the nervous railman . shepard and spacek play husband and wife quite intuitively . their character development be well perform to the high degree . this be also one of spacek best performance . larry mcmurtry have a very intuitive writing style and and the film carry over much of his subtlety . there no overblown dialogue or direction to be find in street of laredo and something that the original lonesome dove series sometimes slip into . i would say and without reservation and that this be one of the very best and most realistic depiction of the true west . a great film and with stunning acting and direction . a must see for any true film fan narrow mind western fan look for a hollywood west need not apply . rating represent 8 . 5 out of 10 .