Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5280 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-06-18
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Dubbed, PAL
• Original language: English
• Dubbed in: Italian
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 177 minutes

Amazon.com

The lives of two stoic cowboys and five abused Chinese women become intertwined in Walter Hill's sprawling mini-series Broken Trail. Print Ritter (Academy Award winner Robert Duvall) and his nephew Tom Harte (Thomas Haden Church, Sideways) agree to deliver a herd of 500 horses from Oregon to Wyoming. Along the way, they rescue the young women--most of them still just girls--who're being transported to a brothel to have their virginity auctioned off. When the madam sees she is about to lose the girls, she screams at Tom, "What about my property?" He shouts back, "That's the price of being a capitalist, lady." Unable to overcome the language barrier, Print assigns numbers to the girls. Number Three, Sun Foy (Gwendoline Yeo, Desperate Housewives) is the most fearless and perceptive of them. Though the others don't want to be called Number Four--an unlucky numeral in their homeland--Ye Fung (Olivia Cheng), the most tragic of the group, doesn't care. Targeted for her beauty, she finds herself unable to overcome the trauma. The number suits her, in her mind. Along the way, Print and Tom rescue Nola Johns (Greta Scacchi), the proverbial hooker with the heart of gold, who was forced into prostitution after her husband died.

The cinematography is gorgeous as the camera sweeps over the lush landscape (the Canadian Rockies subbing in for Wild West of the late 1800s) and Hill does a formidable job of pacing this three-hour drama with just the right balance of dialogue and action. For Duvall, Broken Trail is the last piece to his Western trilogy, which started with the mini-series Lonesome Dove followed by the feature film Open Range. He is instantly likeable as a father figure and the viewer never doubts that his intention for the girls is honourable. As for Haden Church, he has never been as appealing as he is in this role. Gruff and flawed, he softens when he exchanges shy glances with Sun Foy. The trek is long and hard and the unlikely band of travellers will face much hardship. If not as satisfying as the rich, detailed Lonesome Dove, Broken Trail makes up for it with a wonderful storyline and some fine acting by all involved. As for the conclusion, it may surprise some viewers who are expecting a more traditional version of the happy ending.--Jae-Ha Kim, Amazon.com

Synopsis
This epic western mini series, directed by Walter Hill (DEADWOOD), stars Robert Duvall (LONESOME DOVE, THANK YOU FOR SMOKING) and Thomas Haden Church (SIDEWAYS) as an uncle-and-nephew team of cowboys, charged with running a herd of horses through the Wild West. The pair encounter a group of Chinese girls who are being sold into prostitution, and after saving them from that bitter fate, they find themselves charged with their care.

Customer Reviews

Memorable Return To Form For Walter Hill
Magnificent Emmy Award Winner bears comparison with the epic Lonesome Dove- it is a good deal tighter than Dove but without losing it's sense of scale and no skimping on the depth of the main characters.
Robert Duvall plays Print Ritter who together with his estranged nephew Tom Harte(Thomas Haden Church)set out to transport 500 mustang to Wyoming.
However on the way they pick up a group of chinese women bound for a life of prostitution in a mining town,a down on her luck whore(Greta Scacchi) and the attentions of a recently released killer who has a score to settle with the whore.
Stunningly shot on incredibly beautiful locations,this is a wonderful piece of work.Duvall and Church are exceptional,Scacchi does well in a slightly underwritten role and Hill's direction is both fluid and delicate with the characters being well served by Alan Geoffrion's subtle and observant screenplay.Naturally the action is handled superbly,terse and violent as befits its landscape, by a master and sequences of the horses are amazing especially when one falls over in shot.
Essential Viewing

Broken Trail
I stumbled upon this two part television western while looking at other modern westerns on Amazon and noticing the low price and positive reviews, i decided to take a chance. Unlike the other reviewers, i had not seen Lonesome Dove and was not familiar with Walter Hill, but i am very glad that i took the chance on this.
The story of Uncle and Nephew travelling across the old west while taking care of five Chinese girls who would be sold into prostitution is exceptionally well told. Other characters that they interact with along the way such as a caring prostitute and a vicious ex-convict out for revenge enrich the story. The two main characters in particular though are tremendous. Robert Duvall and Thomas Haden Church both give great career performances, one as the wise and caring old man and the other as the flawed but ultimately well-meaning individual who will come good in the end.
Other reviewers have commented on the cinematography, and i would have to agree that it looks goregeous. The landsacpes add so much to the mood of film and show what can be achieved when you use a setting like that right.
If like me you had never heard of Broken Trail before, i would stongly reccomend that you give it a try, especially if you can get it at a low price.

TV movie
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...
Robert Duvall continues proving that he is a great Western actor who can handle mature and complex characters. He is not the Duke or Clint, but has a style all his own. Thomas Haden Church provides a surprisingly strong performance as the reluctant nephew. He has come a long way from his "Wings" days. Many other reviews detail the plot, so no reason for me to rehash it.

I think the two things I enjoyed most about the film are the scenery (stunning) and the harsh depiction of the West. I always imaginged the West to be a dirty, harsh, tough and dangerous setting. The movie does an excellent job of depicting this reality. If you like other Westerns like Open Range, or Lonesome Dove, then you will enjoy this one as well.