Broken Trail

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 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 down. I only know what I saw, and I liked about everything I saw.

Looking at the IMDb reviews here before making a rental helped me out a lot. It prepared me for a slower film. In other words, I 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.

There has to be some villains in a western and we have them here with "Big Rump Kate" and others but they are not overblown and we don't see so much of them they they get annoying. For a Walter Hill film, this was astonishing in how low-key it was told.

We also get a bit of a romance, just a glimpse between Duvall's character and one played by Greta Scacchi ("Nola Johns"). It has a different kind of ending to it, one I didn't expect and one that will emotionally affect you.

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.

The film opens in Chinatown San Francisco, 1898 where we five exotic virgins from the Celestial Empire are bought by Captain Billy Fender (James Russo) to be sold as slaves and introduced into the brief and violent life of prostitution…

Robert Duvall stars as "Print" Ritter, an old cowhand whose sister left a will inheriting all to him rather than to her own son, Tom Harte (Thomas Haden Church) who lives in John Day Country Oregon...

Print ignores why she has done it, or why was crossed between the two, but his sister done it…

Print got the idea to buy a team of tough, high-desert mustangs—three to eight years of age—to take them to Sheridan, Wyoming to sell to the British Empire; the money they'll earn will be to increase their capital… And on the shares, Print figures a 25-75 split on profits after expenses and loan repayment to the bank…

From this point, Hill's Western becomes a road movie, with all kinds of odd characters, from ugly villains to a friendly musician, but the key to "Broken Trail" is that through a series of circumstances, fate has placed the five Chinese innocent girls in the hands of Tom and his uncle… But the reality is another… Their families sold them to that rat captain heading out to the mining camp, where Kate, an odious saloon owner, bought them from an associate in San Francisco…

Our two cowboys save the girls' lives from rape and take them along on their journey…

With great photography, gorgeous vistas, perilous ground, sensible brave girls, good and decidedly courageous men, great action when it is necessary, and a big confrontation at the climax of the movie, Hill's Western is a must see film for the fans of the genre

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.

"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!

I gave this 10 stars.

Both parts of this 2 part mini series deserve 10 stars. It was an extremely well done film.

I got the impression at the end of the film that this was based on real people and their experiences, which I had no idea was the case when I began watching it.

Robert Duval as Print Ritter carries the film, although all of the performers did good jobs.

The storyline was fresh, original and interesting, something I see so seldom these days, it really made it stand out. Another thing that made this stand out from the usual garbage that passes for entertainment in film these days - was the heroes really were heroes. These men were brave and did the right thing. They had values and ethics.

The story revolves around Print Ritter (Robert Duval) and his nephew Will, I think was his name, (and sorry but I didn't know who any of the actors were except for Duval)driving a herd of horses north to sell.

They end up with people they didn't count on being along for the trip--4 or 5 young Chinese girls, who do not speak a word of English, a fiddle player, and a couple of other people who join the group later in the story.

The Chinese girls are very young, the oldest might be 18. They have been sold by their parents and sent to America where they will be forced into prostitution.

None of the 4 men who eventually travel with the girls and protect them, try to take advantage of them, and the two romances in the story, are kept low-key.

The bad guys in the film are just that - they're wicked through and through. No explanation or psycho-analysis given or needed. This picture is getting back to the basics of the American western, good vs. evil.

There's gunfire when needed, confrontations when needed, and great characterizations, as our group journeys along and encounters various people and adventures.

And yes, there's even a plot! Another element I've discovering missing all too often in films of late.