Broken Trail (Two-disc)
|
List Price: Our Price: $6.24 You Save: $8.75 (58%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $5.89 (click here) Category: DVD See more DVD releases |
|---|
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
Movie Reviews of Broken Trail (Two-disc)
Movie Review: A WESTERN THAT EASILY STANDS UP WITH ANY IN THE GENRE
Summary: 5 Stars
What is it that makes a good Western? Most people who hate Westerns will tell you that they're all the same and, in many cases such is true. Accordingly, I could go on and on about the elements of this movie that are characteristic of all good Westerns. But then I would likely be parroting the excellent points made in most of the previous reviews here.
But for the purposes of my review, I choose to talk about the things that make BROKEN TRAIL special.
First, the characters and the way they are portrayed is extremely compelling. I like how Print Ritter, played masterfully by Robert Duvall, is an "equal-to-life" hero. He's not set here as a Western giant, the likes of John Wayne, who can do no wrong and who has complete confidence in everything that he sets his mind to. Instead, Ritter is a man of doubts, strengths, concerns and confidences who approaches life as any one of us might. He chooses some things right and in other things he fall short. Wonderful "every man" mentality. But then this is becoming a refreshingly consistent story for Western characters played by Robert Duvall.
Such is also true of Ritter's nephew, Thomas Harte played by Thomas Haden Church. There's friction between Harte and his uncle but then there's an abiding respect that helps form the foundation of one of the finest relationships ever to grace the Western screen. In its own way it's right up there with Gus and Call. Church's deliberate, plodding style creates a confidence in viewers that is nothing short of wonderful. One seems to feel that, come what may, Harte may very well be the last man standing and in the end he doesn't disappoint.
And then there's Big Ears Bywater played about as coldly (and wonderfully, I might add) as imaginable by Chris Mulkey. Without expression, even when Ritter defiantly smashes his face with a butt of his head, Big Ears is reminiscent in numerous ways of the demoniacal Blue Duck of LONESOME DOVE fame. He's the sort of villain that keeps the audience wondering whether this is a story that, in the end, goes to the bad guy. But then I'll leave you to watch and see for yourself.
Gwendoline Yeo, Olivia Cheng, Caroline Chan, Jadyn Wong and Valerie Tian are wonderful in their portrayals of five young unfortunate Chinese woman, sold into prostitution and without any apparent hope. Interestingly, they project an air of vulnerable strength that wins the hearts of Ritter and Harte, as well as the viewer. No condescension, racism or the pathetic stereotype that might have emerged. You pull for these girls, not because they are helpless, but because their personalities shine clearly through.
Add supporting performances by Donald Fong as Lung Hay, Greta Scacchi as Nola, Scott Cooper as Heck Gilpin, James Russo as Captain Billy Fender and Rusty Schwimmer as Big Rump Kate and the spectacular, breathtaking cinematography and what emerges in BROKEN TRAIL is a Western drama that quite easily stands up with some of the best in the genre.
THE HORSEMAN
Movie Review: Intimate story on a sweeping canvas
Summary: 5 Stars
Robert Duvall rounds off his Western trilogy (Lonesome Dove, Open Range) in much the same way he started it... laidback on the outside and full of homespun wisdom, (Don't measure your wealth by how much money you have, son) but tough as nails when you get him riled. However, Broken Trail should not be considered as an also-ran, coasting in the coattails of its obvious and considerable predecessor. It certainly does owe much to Lonesome Dove, as the two men seek to herd 500 horses across the country to earn enough money to own their own land, all the while learning more about themselves and each other along the way. However, this certainly has enough of its own style with Walter Hill back on great form (welcome back, Walter, it's been a while...), and the two leads Duvall and Thomas Hayden Church simply outstanding, to make this solid, entertaining, educational and moving in it's own right.
The twist in this movie, is that along the way, they take in 5 innocent but abused Chinese women who have been at the mercy of a low life trafficker (yes, it's actually a chattel drive), thus reflecting the actual historical problem of the time, whereby Chinese daughters were sold into slavery and prostitution in the US. Their new wards bring the two upright but gritty men into contact with horse thieves, gunslingers, brothel keepers and even the proverbial hooker with a heart of gold as their horse drive becomes altogether more dangerous and eventful than they had anticipated. And yet, while including all these mores of the genre the movie has such an intenseness and realism, that the characters never feel like story conveniences or clichés. Hill directed the pilot episode of Deadwood, which shows here in the gritty style, the unflinching look at the griminess and harshness of the time, and the harshness of the language, and yes, even the sparseness of the scenery. The violence is not dwelt on however - indeed, in many cases the coup de grāce is delivered off screen, and by the end of the movie you have actually seen a lot less violence than you might expect. In fact, the very sparseness of the script and the corollary of this seen in the seemingly endless fields, with breathtaking mountains of the Rockies in the background (it was shot in Canada) and often photographed through a snowy haze as the cowboys hunker down for the long slog, actually make the movie all the more memorable and yes, beautiful in its own way.
Bleak and harsh, and yet full of warmth and humanity, and a story where people matter in an era when there was plenty of hard times and hard people to dehumanize life, make this a quietly enthralling movie, full of unexpected moments. Criticized by some for its running time, I reveled in the leisurely pace which allowed time to relish the scenery and enjoy the pauses in the conversation. Highly recommended: it's easy to see why it won all the Emmys.
Movie Review: Lyrical, Sweeping Western a Triumph...
Summary: 5 Stars
"Broken Trail", a dream project for producer/star Robert Duvall, and AMC's first original film, is the spiritual heir to Kevin Costner's 2003 "Open Range" (also starring Duvall), and one of the most moving, involving Westerns of recent years.
With a charismatic, extremely effective performance by Thomas Haden Church, as Duvall's long-estranged nephew, the film is one of only a handful of Westerns that combine epic sweep, superb characterization, and an understanding of the 'Real West', without shortchanging decency, or respect of an individual's worth. The era was hard, justice could be swift and brutal, and Duvall, as aging but upright Prentice Ritter, lives by his own rules; to protect the helpless in his care, to respect others, and to be unafraid to resort to violence, if necessary. Tom Harte (Church), despite some family history problems with his uncle, lives by the same code, and the two men, driving a herd of horses from Oregon to Wyoming to raise cash for a ranch, become the 'saviors' of five young Chinese women, sold into prostitution, who inadvertently fall into their hands.
These are good men, in a jaded world, and their journey picks up other 'strays', as well as the women; young Virginian fiddler Heck Gilpin (an engaging Scott Cooper), is rescued by Tom in a saloon; aging Chinese laborer Lung Hay (Donald Fong), and careworn prostitute Nola John (the wonderful Greta Scacchi) join the group after Tom saves the Chinese women from rapists, in a boarding house/bordello. While neither Ritter and Harte were overjoyed at the strange direction the drive was taking, they would not allow harm to fall on 'innocents', and the group bonds into a warm 'family', with Nola and Ritter finding a mature attraction between each other, and Tom and Sun Foy/#3 (Gwendoline Yeo, who speaks only Mandarin, in the film), gently falling in love.
Danger is never far behind them, however, as brutal ex-con 'Big Ears' (Chris Mulkey), with a score to settle with Nola, and a 'contract' to return the Chinese women to whorehouse owner Kate 'Big Rump' Becker (Rusty Schwimmer), trails them, leading a gang of killers...
While the film is long (240 minutes), director Walter Hill, an old hand at Westerns (his "The Long Riders" is one of my favorites), keeps the story constantly engrossing, and Duvall and Church have a warmth and authenticity as the characters that will stay with you, long after the movie ends.
Shot in the Canadian Rockies, "Broken Trail" combines grandeur and intimacy seamlessly, has moments of great humor to lighten the drama, explosive action, and a bittersweet sense of nostalgia...
It is, simply, superb!
Movie Review: A western for those who loved Lonesome Dove and Open Range!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
For those of you who are big fans of the TV mini-series, Lonesome Dove, and the Kevin Costner movie, Open Range, here's another one to wet your appetite with--Broken Trail, starring the great Robert Duvall and Thomas Haden Church. It was only by accident (I was watching the Hollywood Foreign Press Awards show a few months ago and Duvall was nominated for his role in Broken Trail) that I found out about this three-hour mini-series made specifically for the American Movie Channel in 2006. And, once I found out about it, I discovered that the mini-series was already out on DVD. Miracles do occasionally happen! Anyway, Broken Trail is the story of Print Ritter (played by Duvall) who inherits his sister's farm after she dies. Her son, Tom Harte (played by Church), is left nothing because he took it upon himself to strike out on his own years earlier. Ritter meets with Harte and explains what has happen, suggesting that maybe the both of them could join together and lead a herd of 500 horses from Oregon to Wyoming. Since Harte has nothing to lose, he agrees to help his uncle for twenty-five percent of the profits. In their journey across the north-western part of the country, they pick-up a Virginian gentleman/fiddler named Heck Gilpin (played by Scott Cooper), five abused and abandoned Chinese women who'd been sold into a life of slavery, a prostitute with a broken nose who's played by Greta Scacchi, and an old Chinese man played by Donald Wong. To make matters even more complicated, they're being followed by a group of killers, led by Big Ears (played by Chris Mulkey), and there will be a final showdown. Broken Trail delivers in full force with the majestic scenery of the northwest, a story of goodness battling evil with the killing fast and violent, the superb acting of both Robert Duvall and Thomas Hayden Church (not to mention the rest of the cast, especially Chris Mulkey as the villain who never raises his voice, yet manages to project a true sense of evil), the eye for detail and accuracy about the Old West, and the excellent direction of Walter Hill. This is the kind of Western that you'll want to watch over and over again with Robert Duvall playing the type of role that he was born for. The DVD extras include a twenty-minute featurette on the Making of Broken Trail. Thank God for DVDs. Now, when a truly excellent movie like Broken Trail appears on a TV station that you don't get, all you have to do is wait for the DVD to come out. Highly recommended!Movie Review: Very Impressive, Realistic & Involving Western
Summary: 5 Stars
I can only hope they someone keeps making Westerns because the few that have been made the last few years have been outstanding. This one, a TV miniseries, is just great. I can't say enough good things about it. I saw it recently on DVD. It was a three-hour film. I thought I read somewhere that it was four hours, so I don't know if this version has been cut down. I only know what I saw, and I liked about everything I saw.
I also knew what to expect.....and that helped. I didn't expect a rough film with a ton of violence and nasty characters, language, etc. What surprised me was just how interesting a film this was for being three hours long and not having a lot of action. I attribute this to the dialog, the acting, characters you care about and the wonderful cinematography. It's hard to beat the scenery in a nicely-filmed western.
The words coming out of the two stars of the picture, Robert Duvall and Thomas Haden Church were extremely believable material. These guys were tough, but not abrasively- macho, compassionate but not sappy. As "Prentice Ritter" and "Tom Harte," respectively, they fascinating to watch. I liked what they said throughout the movie and they were extremely believable characters. They looked and talked the part.
This story is different because it's mainly about helping five young Chinese women, who are destined for prostitution, slavery and who knows what else. Ritter and Harte didn't volunteer for the job; it accidentally came upon them as they were escorting horses North for a nice payday. The two men showed wonderful compassion for these girls, despite the fact they slowed their mission down and had a problem with communication.
It simple terms: this is a nice movie, a good story about good guys doing a good deed for the right reasons. Watching them do it, under adverse conditions, was almost a privilege. A big thank you to all involved with this movie and giving us fans of this genre hope that it isn't completely dead.