Broken Trail (2006– )

After Print Miller feels guilty about inheriting his nephew's mother's house and partners up with him to drive horses for for sale in an eventful journey.

Stars:

Robert Duvall, Thomas Haden Church, Greta Scacchi

Nominated for 3 Golden Globes. Another 12 wins & 23 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Robert Duvall	...	Prentice Ritter (2 episodes, 2006)
Thomas Haden Church	...	Tom Harte (2 episodes, 2006)
Greta Scacchi	...	Nola Johns (2 episodes, 2006)
Gwendoline Yeo	...	Sun Foy 'aka' #3 (2 episodes, 2006)
Chris Mulkey	...	Big Ears (2 episodes, 2006)
Rusty Schwimmer	...	Big Rump Kate (2 episodes, 2006)
Gwendolyn Yen	...	Sun Foy aka #3 (2 episodes, 2006)
Scott Cooper	...	Gilpin (2 episodes, 2006)
Valerie Tian	...	Ging Wa 'aka' #5 (2 episodes, 2006)
Caroline Chan	...	Mai Ling 'aka' #2 (2 episodes, 2006)
Olivia Cheng	...	Ye Fung 'aka' #4 (2 episodes, 2006)
Jadyn Wong	...	Ghee Moon 'aka' #1 (2 episodes, 2006)
Donald Fong	...	Lung Hay (2 episodes, 2006)
Peter Skagen	...	Bartender (2 episodes, 2006)
James Russo	...	'Capt' Billy Fender (2 episodes, 2006)

Storyline

Set in 1898, Print Ritter and his estranged nephew Tom Harte become the reluctant guardians of five abused and abandoned Chinese girls. Ritter and Harte's attempts to care for the girls are complicated by their responsibility to deliver a herd of horses while avoiding a group of bitter rivals intent on kidnapping the girls for their own purposes.

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Plot Keywords:

nephew | chinese girl | shepherd | horse killed | flock of sheep | 

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Genres:

Western

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Canada USA

Language:

English Mandarin Crow

Release Date:

25 June 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

A szabadság útján

Filming Locations:

Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Company Credits

Production Co:

Butcher's Run Films, Once Upon a Time Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

184 min 184 min (2 parts)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

During the last fight, when Print head butts Big Ears Bywater, Big Ears hat flies off of his head, when the camera angle changes it is back on his head.

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Quotes

Prentice Ritter: I get rousted out of my sleep sometimes when Nature calls. I find there's something frightening 'bout that hour of the night 'cause there ain't no foolin' yourself 'bout what you done or what you hadn't done with your life.

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Connections

Featured in The 59th Primetime Emmy Awards (2007)

User Reviews

Never doubt a Western that Duvall is attached to

Watching AMC's Western miniseries Broken Trail is similar to reading a compelling novel - the beauty's in the details. Rather than rushing story and character development in order to get to the next action scene (so as to appease those with Attention Span Deficit Syndrome), Broken Trail understands that the mark of a really good Western lies with interesting, colorful characters and a storytelling style that convinces you to keep watching.

I've always been a fan of Westerns and always will be; that's why it's so disappointing that today's movie/TV landscape doesn't seem to have the time, money, or patience to do the genre right. Hopefully, Broken Trail is just the beginning of a reversal to this trend.

If you're a fan of Western epics in the vein of Lonesome Dove then I strongly suggest you check out Broken Trail. The story is a little unconventional as far as Westerns go, but you know what? It works. And it works well.

I was initially curious how captivated I would be by watching two men accompany five Chinese girls across the Western wilderness, but rather than focusing on the concept, this is all about the journey and the adventures and characters that are encountered along the way. Church proves himself quite a versatile actor (how far has he come since Wings?), and Duvall puts in the type of effortless performance that I could watch him deliver every week. He's not unlike Augustus McCrae, but what does it matter? He plays the character flawlessly. Here's a tip - never doubt a Western that Duvall is attached to.

Moving at a smooth, campfire pace, Broken Trail presents characters you'll care about, conflicts you'll want to see resolved, cinematography that will convince you to take a trip out West, and enough Western justice to keep the die-hard fans of action content. Just keep in mind that the shootouts aren't thrown in for the mere sake of satisfying those who demand violence in their Westerns. All the gunplay comes as a necessity to the story and is allowed to happen exactly when it needs to. It's never forced for the sake of hurrying things along.

This is a miniseries that is reason enough alone to justify your cable or satellite bill, and we can only hope that enough viewers tune in to influence more quality programming like this in the future.