Review of Broken Trail: The Making of a Legendary Western (2006) by Daniel B — 25 Jul 2008

The lack of cinematic flourishes, relatively simple camerawork, excellent characters, simple story, and minimal score create the impression of a far older film than it is at times. It is certainly one of the best new Westernâ??s around.

There is relatively little dialogue and relatively large sections of calm, which is always good. Itâ??s a unique story that Iâ??ve never quite seen before. Walter Hill does a good job, but I think itâ??s likely a better novel and may be a slightly better script than film.

Duvall and much of the cast are good, but Haden Church for some reason seems a bit too stiff and out of place. His persona seems to work better in modern-day California or NYC. The outlaw could have been cast better as well; heâ??s not quite dark enough.

However, the wide open rolling prairies and absolutely beautiful landscape sunrise/sunset scenes create just the right atmosphere. There are numerous simple, but very interesting lighting techniques as well.

The nighttime scene between Print and Nola with the flickering light off the water and the golden prairies with horseâ??s breath and dust rising are just two fine examples. Itâ??s a great story, but it perhaps needs a slightly larger canvas to be told properly (i.

E. a mini-series instead of two films). I do wish there were far more films around like this though.