QUITE LITERALLY, A CONFUSING MINDSORE.
Added 1/15/2007
This mess is the remainder from a cobbled miniseries of which most, thankfully, has been left in the can, as is apparent by the billing: Jurgen Prochnow (1st) has a half-dozen or so short lines and nearly no screen time, Martin Sheen (2nd) disappears completely early on, Corbin Bernsen (3rd) does not appear at all. The screenplay is based upon the novel "The Ysabel Kid" by a popular English novelist writing as J. T. Edson (whose historically inaccurate depictions of Western Americana were researched for the most part in his favourite pub), and is replete with incongruity of dialogue, often lapsing into late 20th century American urban slang, only one element that is in the molding of this grotesque item. After studying its first half, a viewer will feel completely befogged after the plentiful activity involving frantic gunplay, fist fighting, rape, illy-advised nudity, and gore galore, since there are few, if any, clues given as to what may be transpiring, eased but mildly by an action halting soliloquy delivered by the female lead that tugs from the proceedings some vague concept of the story's direction. The plot engages a group of Confederate soldiers, shortly after the end of the War Between The States, that is attempting to smuggle new Winchester rifles, bestowed by the United States government upon Mexican rebels warring against Emperor Maximilian's French troops, and additionally involves another set of ex-Confederates that is bent upon delivering documents of amnesty from Washington to the other Southerners so that all may return to the reunited Union and prepare to wage war with French invaders into Texas (a fantasy of novelist Edson). This is one of those films wherein every scene provides something to laugh at, groan over, or pity since even a script doctor might do little for a work that demands hospitalization, suffering from such maladies as erratic sound mixing, ragged stunt work, commercial fadeouts arranged for its television release, fragmented storylines, an energetic rescue from drowning in a turgid waist deep river, frequent silly twirling of pistols and inefficiently fanning of their hammers during gun battles, shifts in relationships without ostensible cause, an intense young Indian (Todd Jensen) swearing totemic reprisal for the murder of his father (quaint casting here with Jensen having the same degree of believability as a vengeful Indian as would Tab Hunter), foolish historic implausibilities, and a slew of other factors that insult the Western film genre.
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Adequate - just
Added 2/13/2005
As a great fan of JT Edson's scrupulously well-researched, intelligent Westerns, I purchased this eagerly. It does have the ever watcheable Martin Sheen and the excellent but underrated Chris Atkins as a very good "Dusty Fog". Unfortunately "based on" should come with the qualifier "just barely". It follows every Western cliche known to man and the plot is wafer-thin. On top of this there are two extremely unpleasant and gratuitous scenes - one of rape - that were clearly included for no better reason than to give male viewers a close up look of the actresses jiggling bare breasts; the rape scene is thus particularly offensive. The Edson books are wonderful, I just wish someone would come along and film them properly as they deserve to be done. Final nitpick - Mark Counter is blond-haired and he and the Ysabel Kid get along with each other fine!
1 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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Guns of Honour
Added 10/2/2001
I recently bought this video and its follow up. I am a JT Edson fan and looked forward to watching them brought to the screen. Whilst they follow the books in some way there are a number of minor discrepancies which can grate. However they are well worth watching especially for the Ysabel Kids humour. The two movies follow on from one another which is not like the books. There is also the problems that the enemy is the northern states despite the American Civil war being over. I am sure they could not kill that many cavalry and get away with it. Still as a shoot them up they are very good and I recommend them.
2 out of 3 people found this helpful.
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Great Movie
Added 9/15/1999
This is a great movie. It shows the dark side of war and the always grey zone that separates the winners from the losers. I loved that an Indian was a hero in the movie. There are disappointingly few Indian heroes in American movies. The story is wonderful with danger, friendship, revenge, honour and even a little romance. The actors play very good and the movie is very believable. The scenes in the movie are beautiful. The movie is very realistic about the war and the civil casualties that are in every war so this movie is definitely NOT for children but for adults who wants to see a good movie which tells a frightening real story of war.
5 out of 7 people found this helpful.
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