Barnes & Noble

This made-for-cable miniseries starring Robert Duvall (who also produced) comprises the final installment of what the actor calls his "Western trilogy," that began with Lonesome Dove and continued with Open Range. Broken Trail is an eminently worthy successor, incorporating all the elements of classic westerns and expanding on one that typically gets short shrift: characterization. Duvall plays aging rancher Print Ritter, who recruits a long-estranged nephew (Thomas Haden Church) to help him drive a herd of horses to market. En route they encounter a drunken slave trader (James Russo) attempting to deliver five young Chinese girls he has sold into prostitution. The cowboys rescue the frightened young women and try to lead them to safety even as they are pursued relentlessly by the slaver's cronies and customers. Four hours in length, the film may proceed a tad too leisurely for some tastes, but much of the excess footage is allotted to the development of relationships: between rancher and nephew, between nephew and one of the Chinese girls (Gwendoline Yeo), between rancher and prostitute (Greta Scacchi), and so on. These occasionally long-winded scenes flesh out the characters and add texture to the narrative. At first glance Print and his nephew seem to be archetypal western heroes -- tough, taciturn, and governed by a code that entitles them to dispense justice where law isn't present. But they also share yearnings and disappointments which come out in scenes that would probably be jettisoned from a shorter theatrical film in the interest of maintaining a brisk pace. Director Walter Hill, an old hand whose previous forays into the genre have included the 1995 feature film Wild Billand the pilot for HBO's Deadwood, handles the complex story line with great skill, shooting gentle dialogue exchanges in an almost perfunctory fashion and reserving more vigorous staging for the periodic, explosive action sequences. The acting throughout is above criticism, with Church particularly impressive in a role that will surprise fans primarily familiar with his work in sitcoms and feature-length comedies. In our view Broken Trail merits inclusion in the pantheon of classic westerns, and it gets our unqualified recommendation. Ed Hulse

All Movie Guide

Sideways star Thomas Hayden Church appears alongside Academy Award-winner Robert Duvall in a dramatic mini-series shot in the classic western tradition. The year is 1897. As Print Ritter (Duvall) and his estranged nephew Tom Harte (Church) travel the slow road to reconciliation, they reluctantly find themselves forced to care for five abused and abandoned Chinese immigrants while simultaneously attempting to deliver a herd of horses across the plains. Soon confronted by a gang of malevolent kidnappers who intend to abduct the girls and use them for the own nefarious purposes, Print and Tom determine to keep their young charges out of harms way while ensuring that their valuable delivery reaches its intended destination. Jason Buchanan

Product Details

• UPC: 043396157170
• Source: SONY PICTURES
• Region Code: 1
• Presentation: Wide Screen
• Sound: Dolby AC-3 Surround Sound
• Editions: Subtitled
• Time: 3:04:00
• Sales Rank: 2,562

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