Broken Trail/2006/***
By Eric Staab/ June 26, 2006
Main Stars: Robert Duvall Thomas Haden Church Greta Scacchi Scott Cooper The Chinese Girls
Although Walter Hill's Broken Trail was not a theatrical release but an AMC two night original movie event, it was probably the most talked about movie for months! All you saw on AMC were previews of the film during the commercial breaks which are every five minutes. "Academy Award Winner Robert Duvall and Academy Award Nominee Thomas Haden Church star in Broken Trail, an AMC two night original movie event. Catch it on Sunday, June 25 and Monday, June 26 at 8/7c only on AMC." I practically had the whole preview memorized (clips and all) after seeing it five dozen times. Everyone should notice that the narrator of the previews that speaks that quote I just typed above ^ is the same narrator that narrates every movie clip on the planet except for the little kiddy movies or comedies. He narrates all the dramas and horror films and the rest. They probably have the same guy traveling over to the foreign countries and having him speak in a different language for the previews there. Then he has to travel over to America and do every film and then has to travel all the way over to the foreign countries. He just doesn't rest! So finally on the night of June 25, 2006 the premiere of the most talked about movie in America was shown at 8:00/7:00c. I had to see it, just had to! It's like the previews made me. But I didn't regret it. The first part of the film was impressive and the second was just about the same in impressiveness. The movie started out in 1898 in China in a room full of innocent Chinese female prostitutes who were being checked to see just how beautiful they were. The master of this madness was a drunk and abusive man by the name of Captain Billy Fender (James Russo) who finally decided on what prostitute he should take. Actually there were five that went with him on his trip to get sold to a nasty, old, ugly plump woman who really deserved what she got at the end of part I. Two westerners, Print Ritter (Robert Duvall) and Tom Harte (Thomas Haden Church), however, got stuck in this madness also and decided to stick to it. The westerners' REAL journey was actually to get from their original destination, Oregon, and arrive in their final destination, Wyoming, to sell horses for money and this journey was tied up with family matters. Print and Tom meet up with a few other westerners, a sheriff and his comrades, some Indians, and the people that have been trying to find them who were ordered by the ugly plump woman. So that was part I with some scenes from part II. But most of part II is the rest of the journey to where Print and Tom gotta reach. The intensity gets higher when they move faster to get to their final destination. In between the actual journey, all of them (including the fiddler named Gilpin (Scott Cooper) which Print and Tom picked up in part I fiddling in a bar. Also including a Chinese man and a woman named Nola (who also was picked up in part I along with the Chinese man) camp out in random places and rest. They also talk about unnecessary random things. The main story is what you hang on to and what is very intense at the very end of part II. The film was not the ordinary western but a western filled with more imagination and not just shootings and more shootings. Yes the film had many shootings in it, but the good news was it was mostly from the good guys. You feel good at the end because the story ends joyfully instead of sadly. The story is good (violent but still good) and well thought out and is definitely worth watching especially after seeing all those previews. Who knows? It may come out on DVD sometime. Movie directed by Walter Hill.
By Eric Staab/ June 26, 2006
Main Stars: Robert Duvall Thomas Haden Church Greta Scacchi Scott Cooper The Chinese Girls
Although Walter Hill's Broken Trail was not a theatrical release but an AMC two night original movie event, it was probably the most talked about movie for months! All you saw on AMC were previews of the film during the commercial breaks which are every five minutes. "Academy Award Winner Robert Duvall and Academy Award Nominee Thomas Haden Church star in Broken Trail, an AMC two night original movie event. Catch it on Sunday, June 25 and Monday, June 26 at 8/7c only on AMC." I practically had the whole preview memorized (clips and all) after seeing it five dozen times. Everyone should notice that the narrator of the previews that speaks that quote I just typed above ^ is the same narrator that narrates every movie clip on the planet except for the little kiddy movies or comedies. He narrates all the dramas and horror films and the rest. They probably have the same guy traveling over to the foreign countries and having him speak in a different language for the previews there. Then he has to travel over to America and do every film and then has to travel all the way over to the foreign countries. He just doesn't rest! So finally on the night of June 25, 2006 the premiere of the most talked about movie in America was shown at 8:00/7:00c. I had to see it, just had to! It's like the previews made me. But I didn't regret it. The first part of the film was impressive and the second was just about the same in impressiveness. The movie started out in 1898 in China in a room full of innocent Chinese female prostitutes who were being checked to see just how beautiful they were. The master of this madness was a drunk and abusive man by the name of Captain Billy Fender (James Russo) who finally decided on what prostitute he should take. Actually there were five that went with him on his trip to get sold to a nasty, old, ugly plump woman who really deserved what she got at the end of part I. Two westerners, Print Ritter (Robert Duvall) and Tom Harte (Thomas Haden Church), however, got stuck in this madness also and decided to stick to it. The westerners' REAL journey was actually to get from their original destination, Oregon, and arrive in their final destination, Wyoming, to sell horses for money and this journey was tied up with family matters. Print and Tom meet up with a few other westerners, a sheriff and his comrades, some Indians, and the people that have been trying to find them who were ordered by the ugly plump woman. So that was part I with some scenes from part II. But most of part II is the rest of the journey to where Print and Tom gotta reach. The intensity gets higher when they move faster to get to their final destination. In between the actual journey, all of them (including the fiddler named Gilpin (Scott Cooper) which Print and Tom picked up in part I fiddling in a bar. Also including a Chinese man and a woman named Nola (who also was picked up in part I along with the Chinese man) camp out in random places and rest. They also talk about unnecessary random things. The main story is what you hang on to and what is very intense at the very end of part II. The film was not the ordinary western but a western filled with more imagination and not just shootings and more shootings. Yes the film had many shootings in it, but the good news was it was mostly from the good guys. You feel good at the end because the story ends joyfully instead of sadly. The story is good (violent but still good) and well thought out and is definitely worth watching especially after seeing all those previews. Who knows? It may come out on DVD sometime. Movie directed by Walter Hill.