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Crossfire Trail
List Price: Unknown [Buy now and save at Amazon]
Crossfire Trail, based on the novel by Louis L'Amour, tells the story of Rafe Covington, a gun-toting man of few words who is determined to keep a promise made to a dying man. This promise takes Covington and his faithful companions from a storm-tossed vessel off the coast of California to the Crazy Woman Ranch in Wyoming. It's 1880, and as the town's justice of the peace drily comments, both justice and peace are in short supply, making it a life-and-death struggle for Covington to keep his word.
Unfortunately, good screenwriters and good directors must have been in short supply as well when Crossfire Trail was filmed, since the plot has more holes than a piece of swiss cheese, and the directing is consistently clumsy. To begin with, the film suffers from a truly terrible beginning. It opens with a drawn-out scene of brutality made completely pointless by the fact that we are given no reason for the scene, and we neither know nor care about the characters at this early point in the film. Then, for the next twenty minutes or so, it's unclear exactly what the characters are doing, and we're left in the dark as to their motivations.
It's amazing that the movie ever recovers from this beginning, but it actually does get better. Motivations are revealed bit by bit, some suspicious characters are uncovered in town, and a moderately interesting plot develops. If you turn off your critical faculty, Crossfire Trail is definitely watchable as a fluffy, moderately entertaining movie.
It is admittedly necessary to not think too much about the plot, however, and best not to delve too deeply into the inner motivations of the characters, as director Simon Wincer never seems to get the hang of showing the character development in this movie. The relationships among the characters, particularly the romantic interest, feel forced. Crossfire Trail runs only 95 minutes long, which may be a good thing; any longer, and it would really have started to drag. As is, there are several scenes that seem like pointless padding (though in retrospect, they may have been attempts at character development). On the other hand, what Crossfire Trail may have really needed was a much longer running time, allowing for a more gradual unfolding of the plot and more natural character development.
The actors are all more or less adequate. Nobody stands out as being particularly good, but there are no terrible performances either. Tom Selleck isn't bad as Rafe, but his performance of a "man of few words" makes his character bland rather than enigmatic.
The costuming, props, and set work are all very authentic-looking, and the on-location shots provide some truly impressive scenery, evoking the beauty of the Wyoming landscape with its rugged mountains. The script should have been more closely vetted for authenticity, however, as there's one anachronism that made me actually laugh out loud: one of the characters refers to one of his enemies as "a dinosaur" whom he's going to "make extinct." It's a common enough turn of phrase in the present day, but it certainly wouldn't have been on the lips of uneducated gunfighters on the fringe of civilization at the end of the nineteenth century. The "horse casting," for lack of a better phrase, is superb, much above the level of many Westerns. In Crossfire Trail, the cowboys use short-legged, muscular horses for the ranch work such as cutting and roping cattle and pulling loads, while they use longer-legged, more slender horses for riding into town, as they would in reality. It's a nice touch.
Picture
The anamorphic 1.85:1 transfer is of a high quality. There are a few flaws that pop up in the image, but overall it's very good. The image is clear, with a minimal amount of noise. The contrast is good, even in most of the dark scenes, and in challenging scenes with people foregrounded against a very bright sky.
Sound
The Dolby 2.0 soundtrack is adequate but not inspiring. The music (somehow instantly recognizable as the "standard Western theme") plays strongly in scenes where action is being shown, but doesn't intrude on dialogue scenes. However, the dialogue is not always entirely clear, and I found myself frequently missing snatches of conversation, particularly when the actors tossed a line off quickly at the end of a scene.
Extras
The special features on Crossfire Trail are minimal, featuring a section with cast and crew information. The menu screen is attractive and it's easy to make selections.
Final thoughts
Crossfire Trail is worth seeing if you're in the mood for a fluffy, not very demanding Western. Visually, it's appealing, and apart from the lousy beginning, it's mildly entertaining. On the other hand, if you're looking for something more substantial that will really engage you, or you have other, better movies to choose from, then skip Crossfire Trail.
Unfortunately, good screenwriters and good directors must have been in short supply as well when Crossfire Trail was filmed, since the plot has more holes than a piece of swiss cheese, and the directing is consistently clumsy. To begin with, the film suffers from a truly terrible beginning. It opens with a drawn-out scene of brutality made completely pointless by the fact that we are given no reason for the scene, and we neither know nor care about the characters at this early point in the film. Then, for the next twenty minutes or so, it's unclear exactly what the characters are doing, and we're left in the dark as to their motivations.
It's amazing that the movie ever recovers from this beginning, but it actually does get better. Motivations are revealed bit by bit, some suspicious characters are uncovered in town, and a moderately interesting plot develops. If you turn off your critical faculty, Crossfire Trail is definitely watchable as a fluffy, moderately entertaining movie.
It is admittedly necessary to not think too much about the plot, however, and best not to delve too deeply into the inner motivations of the characters, as director Simon Wincer never seems to get the hang of showing the character development in this movie. The relationships among the characters, particularly the romantic interest, feel forced. Crossfire Trail runs only 95 minutes long, which may be a good thing; any longer, and it would really have started to drag. As is, there are several scenes that seem like pointless padding (though in retrospect, they may have been attempts at character development). On the other hand, what Crossfire Trail may have really needed was a much longer running time, allowing for a more gradual unfolding of the plot and more natural character development.
The actors are all more or less adequate. Nobody stands out as being particularly good, but there are no terrible performances either. Tom Selleck isn't bad as Rafe, but his performance of a "man of few words" makes his character bland rather than enigmatic.
The costuming, props, and set work are all very authentic-looking, and the on-location shots provide some truly impressive scenery, evoking the beauty of the Wyoming landscape with its rugged mountains. The script should have been more closely vetted for authenticity, however, as there's one anachronism that made me actually laugh out loud: one of the characters refers to one of his enemies as "a dinosaur" whom he's going to "make extinct." It's a common enough turn of phrase in the present day, but it certainly wouldn't have been on the lips of uneducated gunfighters on the fringe of civilization at the end of the nineteenth century. The "horse casting," for lack of a better phrase, is superb, much above the level of many Westerns. In Crossfire Trail, the cowboys use short-legged, muscular horses for the ranch work such as cutting and roping cattle and pulling loads, while they use longer-legged, more slender horses for riding into town, as they would in reality. It's a nice touch.
Picture
The anamorphic 1.85:1 transfer is of a high quality. There are a few flaws that pop up in the image, but overall it's very good. The image is clear, with a minimal amount of noise. The contrast is good, even in most of the dark scenes, and in challenging scenes with people foregrounded against a very bright sky.
Sound
The Dolby 2.0 soundtrack is adequate but not inspiring. The music (somehow instantly recognizable as the "standard Western theme") plays strongly in scenes where action is being shown, but doesn't intrude on dialogue scenes. However, the dialogue is not always entirely clear, and I found myself frequently missing snatches of conversation, particularly when the actors tossed a line off quickly at the end of a scene.
Extras
The special features on Crossfire Trail are minimal, featuring a section with cast and crew information. The menu screen is attractive and it's easy to make selections.
Final thoughts
Crossfire Trail is worth seeing if you're in the mood for a fluffy, not very demanding Western. Visually, it's appealing, and apart from the lousy beginning, it's mildly entertaining. On the other hand, if you're looking for something more substantial that will really engage you, or you have other, better movies to choose from, then skip Crossfire Trail.
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