Broken Trail

Director Hill and Actor Robert Duvall collaborate to bring to the TV screen, an epic western. Duvall, no stranger to cattle/horse drives (Lonesome Dove) steals the show with his inherent ability to depict a turn of the century trail boss. We are treated to superior production values, great cinematography as Duvall and his cowboys move 500 head of beautiful horses northwest and encounter love, villainy and danger during their sojourn. Duvall's animated movements and true western rhetoric leave you anxiously waiting for the next scene. The entire cast works hard to bring realism and believability to an excellent script. Although "Lonesome Dove" has been the standard for TV westerns since the 80's, you will find this presentation at a level commensurate with top shelf western productions.

In the spirit of "Lonesome Dove", this movie portrays a variety of characters in realistic situations, not just a "shoot 'em up" Western. Beautifully filmed in outstanding locations. The Western gear and the handling of the horses in the movie is the best I have seen. I love the relationship between the character played by Duvall and his nephew, as it is not perfect, but it works. This movie would be enjoyable to everyone, even those who never were a "Western" fan. And, I enjoy the fact that it is based on true events in Western History. I feel it really sticks to the story line, the story is engaging, and is made quite believable by the excellent job done by the actors.

As a fan of modern as well as "oldies" style westerns, I was impressed with they layout of this mini-series. The trail drive was only a vehicle in which to tell the story, not hours of it to kill time. Excellent in my book, exquisite scenery, as well as keeps one attention so as not to miss a single scene. The previews drew my attention at first, but the lead actors convinced my wife and I to make plans to see this two-part miniseries. We wanted to see the first part to see if we would give up other interests, which we were glad we did. All in all this mini-series kept our attention focused, but was not without a bit of violence, and slight bit of adult subject matter. But no nudity, and little if any harsh language, which was a relief. Enjoy it I did.

When I first saw this advertised on AMC I knew I was going to watch because of Robert Duvall. While the character of Print Ritter was almost a carbon copy of Gus McCrea from Lonesome Dove, Duvall was still a thrill to watch. He reminds me of the old time movie cowboys although dressed more authentically then they ever did. But he stood for justice in Lonesome Dove and also in Broken Trail. And he did this while minding his own business - he never sought out the confrontations. These were men doing what men had to do and Duvall epitomizes that character. Thomas Haden Church was excellent as Tom Harte. I had never seen him in anything except "Wings" but he makes an excellent cowboy. And he and Duvall played well off each other. I also got the impression this story was based on real people and real events. The only thing that would have made this movie any better would have been including Tom Selleck, Sam Elliot and Keith Carradine in the cast. But Broken Trail was great as it was and I believe will become a classic.

A good Western is a treat, like comfort food for the soul. Robert Duvall is a favorite of mine, and he is wonderful in this movie, as always, but the surprise factor here is Thomas Haden Church, who I remember as a Mechanic in the sitcom, Wings. Watching him playing a 19th century cowboy in this project, well,- he seems made for the part: serious, soft-spoken, and a little too lean from trying to eke out a living in tough times. Wonderful! I hope to see more of him in the future. The scenery is as beautiful as I expected, and I don't care that it was shot in Canada instead of the U.S. I do wish there had been a little more emphasis on the horses, though. The promos advertised the movie as being about a horse drive, but that was only a premise for the other story lines. They were supposed to be herding 300 to 500 horses, but it sure didn't look like that many to me. But, I guess I'm getting pretty picky there. It was satisfying to watch, regardless of whether there were hundreds of horses, or only about 75, as it looked like to me. There is one scene in the movie that is almost a reverse "Man from Snowy River"-type scene, where they herd their horses UP a steep hill, and that was interesting. I'm not actually comparing the riding in this movie to the incomparable Charlie Lovick's downhill riding in the most famous scene from Snowy River, but it did bring that movie to mind. If you like western movies, you'll like this mini series, and it might spark an interest in a part of our American history that is not particularly well known,- the Chinese immigration during the gold rush of the 1800s.

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

If you're looking for a good view of the old West, this movie is well worth your time. Great storyline, great acting, and fantastic scenery. Duvall seems to be timeless, as always, this time in a story that's all about time. Thomas Haden Church adds his best performance ever, showing he's ready for more serious roles. The plot develops with a made-for-TV pace, which on occasion doesn't develop a scene as deeply as it could, but it does not fail to develop the characters to a fine pitch. On balance, it's the characters and the fantastic western setting which make this a western that should stand time. I'll enjoy watching it again in a few years.

source: Broken Trail

It's hard to not like anything Western that Duvall stars in, such as "Open Range" and "Lonesome Dove." But this one is maybe the best yet, since it's based on some good historical authenticity, such as the horse drive that was real, "Smallpox Bob," and the lives of many Chinese girls sold into prostitution and slavery back then. The scenery alone makes this one a must when the DVC becomes available. And the other actors all did great work in this. Let's hope AMC does more of these in the future. But now I have to keep adding to this just in order to qualify for a comment to be submitted. So that is done now. Dave

Director Hill and Actor Robert Duvall collaborate to bring to the TV screen, an epic western. Duvall, no stranger to cattle/horse drives (Lonesome Dove) steals the show with his inherent ability to depict a turn of the century trail boss. We are treated to superior production values, great cinematography as Duvall and his cowboys move 500 head of beautiful horses northwest and encounter love, villainy and danger during their sojourn. Duvall's animated movements and true western rhetoric leave you anxiously waiting for the next scene. The entire cast works hard to bring realism and believability to an excellent script. Although "Lonesome Dove" has been the standard for TV westerns since the 80's, you will find this presentation at a level commensurate with top shelf western productions.