User Reviews

1883 felt magnificent to me. It works very well as a prequel to Yellowstone, but the best thing about it is that it does not depend on that connection alone. It stands perfectly well on its own as a great story of travel, survival, loss, and the birth of both a family and a mythology. It has harshness, beauty, tragedy, and a constant sense that every step costs blood, mud, fear, and pain. It does not romanticize the journey, and that is exactly why it hits so hard.What affected me most was Elsa Dutton. Isabel May carries the emotional weight of the story in an extraordinary way. Her voice-over never sounds fake or artificially literary, but alive, deeply felt, almost as if she were discovering the world and saying goodbye to it at the same time. You watch her move from girlhood to womanhood, learn, love, break, and transform, and all of that is told with an intensity that absolutely wrecked me. Every time she appeared on screen, I got **** series works so well because it finds its true heart in her. Beyond the epic scope, the landscapes, or the link to Yellowstone, what truly holds 1883 together is that point of view. Isabel May is not just very good here: she is extraordinary. She has sensitivity, presence, light, sadness, and a rare emotional truth. If she continues like this, then yes, she deserves awards and a major career, because what she does here is not something you see every day.I also loved the way Sheridan turns the West into something physical and brutal. There is no clean myth or comfortable adventure here. There is hunger, illness, exhaustion, violence, fear, and an indifferent nature that can crush you at any moment. The series conveys very well the idea that moving toward a promise also meant leaving behind humanity, innocence, and part of yourself. That is why it is so moving: it is not only about arriving somewhere, but about everything that gets lost along the **** then there is the surrounding cast, which helps enormously. Sam Elliott brings tremendous gravity, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill work very well, and together they give the journey real weight. The cinematography is also beautiful, but not as empty postcard beauty. It works as a brutal contrast to what the characters are going through. My only real issue is the score: to me, it sounds too close to The Happening by Pixies, to the point that the series’ main melody seems built out of those chords, and that pulled me out of it a little at **** me, 1883 is not just a great prequel, but a magnificent series in its own right. It has soul, landscape, tragedy, and Isabel May doing something truly special. It had been a long time since a series moved me like this. It made me cry a lot, and when a story touches you that deeply, it has already gone much farther than most.

The only truly authentic (in every way) western pioneering epic series. The casting, plot and story, character development - are all absolutely phenomenal! I am absolutely beyond words at how good this show really is, and at the same time absolutely heartbroken it is only one season of ten episodes. See you in the valley . . .

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

1883 é cheio de emoções e reviravoltas impressionantes , a profundidade da realidade que essa série tem é algo que vai ao âmago do ser humano, sei que nao e uma série para todas as pessoas, mas ela e incrivel visualmente e que faz jus ao legado de yellowstone, se alguém me perguntasse qual e a minha série favorita com certeza 1883 estaria nos meus top 10

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

Started out great, but what an awful slow drawn out terrible ending. The last hour ruins the show. Don’t waste your time.

started really good and then just got worst espically this female character and her stupid romantic relationship ahh....i also fell this type of western shows are over done now they need to come up with something new i will just copy/pasta another reviewer who explained how I felt about it "I lowered my rating because I've got tired from all the romantic cheesiness. The main female character constantly falls in love and daydreams all the time. A young white woman falling in love with an Indian guy? And her parents just let it happen? Not very likely in those days. Plus, she dresses like it was the 1990s, not 1883. Her love stories kinda ruined the show."

Yellowstone, the show, didn't resonate with me due to the unlikable characters. And while this prequel shares some of those characteristics (James Dutton being unrealistically stoic, competent and masculine) it is compensated by a range of more nunanced and realistic characters that struggle on their journey west. And the journey is remorsless, unforgiving and arbitrary to an almost depressing extent. You leave the show pretty soul-crushed, but also in awe of the open range. And the fact that you felt anything at all, makes this a good show.

If I were to break it down into a scale some episodes are 9/10 quality others are more like 5/10. Half of it is sort of romanticizing the concept of being a cowboy and the other half explores the world of a post civil war America following a group of immigrants as they journey across the lethal landscape. I would say you could probably shave at least 3 episodes worth of content and tell a better story instead. Things drag their heels with an inconsistent pacing that never quite steadies itself. Part of me feels like the production may have been somewhat improvised and stretched too far.

This was such an excellent Western, a kind of Neo-western, totally unromantisised, set in the late 1880s (although the naming of this show is a bit obvious, in my opnion). It follows the Dutton family, and although the cast is big and varied, we get to know Else, the Dutton's eldest child, the most. She has some beautiful narration throughout, some of it was genuinely moving. I haven't watched Yellowstone, and after being put off by the first episode, but the way Sheridan wrote this tragic family ensemble story, with sensitivity and truth, makes me want to give it another go... maybe.

A poor mans lonsome dove that is made with a good craftmanship... The problem is that the direction has the same tune all over....Depressing and it repeats itself all the **** makes it a bit of a difficult watch cause it never brakes out of its shell..

Show has great production values but is terribly slowly paced, could have been multiple episodes shorter, every episode is like a rerun of the previous with a few changes, travel on the prairie, reach a deadly river, ranch cattle, fight a few bandits etc... Wagon train moves like 10% of the journey in the first 7 episodes... Also not really historically accurate, more like 1853 than 1883.

Tragic yet so beautiful, 1883 is a better-written show (than Yellowstone) with a clear focus on its themes without taking any side turns along the way.

Good single season show. Can get overly melodramatic at times and dropping non-historical F bombs every sentence gets old. Did pull a Clint Eastwood and white-washed the Plains Indians so they only responded to settlers' aggression. Also, not accurate. But minor gripes to an overall good show.

I started watching Yellowstone a few months ago, and while it's not what I would consider a great series, it entertains me. Still, I wasn't too sure about watching this spin-off. Eventually I did and have been watching it throughout this month because I'm interested in seeing 1923. Mostly because of Helen Mirren and Harrison Ford, although apparently it's not necessarily mandatory to see this or Yellowstone to understand the plots. This project itself like the one that spawned it has no elements that can advocate for plot depth, but it achieves what it sets out to do in terms of entertainment. It's one of those cases where you can say there was no need for this spin-off to exist beyond continuing to exploit the franchise, but considering I didn't have a bad time watching it, also the good reviews 1923 is getting and that I like Yellowstone even with its bloated soup operish tone, it definitely wasn't a waste of time. 1883 it's a slow series, but if you like westerns, you should check it out.

Aspirational, with glorious photography, it failed me due to what seemed to be multiple goofs and idealizations and poor execution. More a cartoon than a drama, it was pretty dramatic at times, but like a Wagner opera, the tension was continuous and never resolved, leading to adrenal overstimulation and ultimately less impact. Elsa was really cute, but her dress never got dirty. Really? Also, the first case I've seen of vomiting towards the camera.

Very authentic take on the Oregon trail, with a tragic, dramatized tale on top though with a bit less dysentery than would be required.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

Far exaggerated situations and events; like everyone is out to kill each other at all times, with melodramatic poems in-between.

Stunningly beautiful yet heartbreaking show, a must watch really. I **** after the 10th episode, its a well built drama with very nice visuals and soundtrack, very engaging. Do yourself a favor and start it now, then write a comment for others so they will watch too and more people will know this, pity to miss really. Masterpiece!

This is a great show, and the storytelling finesse of Taylor Sheridan is remarkable. I found myself glued and **** into the world of the Dutton family and the beauty of Elsa's narration through to the end made it easy to relate to with a unique and young strong female perspective I really appreciated.

Quite an epic journey to the mountains of prestige TV, and you have to love our protagonist, the Lightning with Yellow Hair girl who "outsmiled, outloved, outfought and outlived me" (in the words of Sam Elliot's character) at the age of 18. People who call it "woke" are primitive trolls. It's not woke and it's not soapy, but it is tissue-worthy and unforgettable. A small quibble: the term "cowboy" was not used in the 1880s to refer to herders and ranchers. In the Tombstone era, "Cowboys" were the pejorative term for the worst kind of thugs, so noted by the San Francisco Chronicle at the time.

Connecting the dots to the Dutton clan can be fun and brutal, but WORTH IT MY DOGS.

"1883" (single season, 10 eps, 1-hr, Param+) is really better titled as "The Life and Times of Elsa Dutton" or "Elsa Dutton's Journey" since this short mini-series is most definitely focused on the Elsa character even as a wagon train makes its way from Texas to Montana and Oregon. This is an origin story of the "Yellowstone" series' Dutton family and how they came to settle in Montana instead of their Oregon destination. At times, it's poignant, beautiful, emotional, etc. Yet, at times throughout its run, it's also idealized to the point of implausibility which is why I dock it points down to 7.

Yellowstone is a hard act to follow, but my faith in Taylor Sheridan increases. In 1883 he catapults us back in time to the final days of the wild west, at the cusp of the great industrialization of the United States. In this chaotic time, native tribes still held fast to vast swathes of territory in the dim hope of maintaining their ancestral rights, and pioneers traversed deadly plains and landscapes beset with dangers from nature and the evil of humankind. Sheridan consistently casts in a perfect pitch. Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, Sam Eliot and the entire cast carry this show tremendously well, but it would take a blind person to ignore the sun in the sky, the brilliant beam of light played by Isabel May - the heart of this journey - Elsa Dutton. Such passionate and fiery souls tend to eat themselves and burn out, as though they are too pure or intense for this cruel, dirty world. The story of a father’s love for his daughter is at the heart of this painful journey. The way James respects the spirit of Elsa, while still trying to protect and guide her, and in turn, her ability to read him like a book is really moving. The raw untamed landscape of the Oregon Trail is beautifully depicted. The terror of crossing the river shows just how hard the pioneers struggled, whereas today we zip over these vast bodies of water in steel carriages. The scene with the tornado was epic, watching wagons tossed around like matchsticks, people screaming into the unconquerable winds. As in all Sheridan's works, he hearkens back to simpler times before the great spoiling of the land, when humans were truly free to roam without the corruption of cities. When Sheridan himself appears and delivers the lines about the disappearance of trails and the parcelling of lands, it sent a sad chill my way. Brian Tyler outdoes himself with an outstanding soundtrack that is worth listening to standalone. The opening theme of 1883 is haunting and sweeping, a perfect match to the series itself.

Absolutely one of the best TV shows that I have seen this decade. Is it perfect? No, but name a drama on TV that is. It's entertainment that emotionally draws you into the story and the characters. Everything from the writing, the scenery/photography, and the fantastic episode to episode performance by actress Isabel May. Loved each and every soliloquy provided by the protagonist. Many were truly thought provoking, and put you immediately into the character's frame of mind. I can't see how season 2 can be anywhere near as good, but I truly hope that it will be.

This is the best western Series I have seen and I try to watch them all Tim McGraw and Faith Hills acting is superb the young actress Isabel May is stunning and looks like she was born on that horse ,LaMonica Garrett is a perfect match up to play alongside Sam Elliot which is one of the greatest western Actors of all time, the script is written Exquisitely , all The costumes and props are time period correct as far as I can see. BRAVO! BRAVO! A MUST SEE.

Woke western that has Taylor Sheridan writing dialogue straight out of a bad Mills & Boon romance novel. With the exception of Sam Elliot, nothing in this progressive pile of horse dung rings true or feels authentic to the time - 1 star for the Billy Bob cameo.

It's a little slow at times, but if you are into westerns in general give this a try. The acting is superb, the cinematography is excellent and the score adds to it. I loved every second of it!

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

Bonne série western à l'ancienne, avec des acteurs, des costumes et des décors convaincaints. Les trois premiers épisodes sont plaisants et nous mettent dans l'ambiance avec de beaux panoramas. C'est ma bonne surprise de l'année 2021, avec en plus Sam Elliot dans un rôle taillé sur mesure ! Si vous avez apprecié Hells on Wheel, vous apprecierez 1883.