tieman64 Ted Kotcheff directs "Winter People". Set during the Great Depression, it stars Kurt Russell as Wayland Jackson, a clockmaker who enters a small, Appalachian community. Here Jackson falls in love with Collie Wright (Kelly McGillis), a single mother whose child was fathered by a violent clansman."Winter People's" first act is interesting, well shot and boasts impressive location photography. By its third act, however, the film has morphed into a pretentious Shakespearean drama. Derivative of "Broken Lance" and "The Big Country", it sees stubborn, warring clans reconciling over the birth of a child. By the time a needlessly long last-act home invasion takes place, Kotcheff's script has both degenerated into clichés and entirely lost its shape. Lloyd Bridges co-stars.7/10 - Worth one viewing.

Sax After 1:07, to be exact, and all that time, the story was weak, the lines were unrealistic, accents poor, characters unestablished buy two great actors, at that, finding it very hard to make some good out of what they had to work with, misc. were bad, it finally started getting interesting. Not a complete waste of time, but I almost killed it at 25 minutes, then started skipping till it got half way descent. I would not recommend this movie for 2 hrs of your life, unless it's all you got to watch up in a cabin; Snowed in. It's been done before. Same story at least a dozon times. I see a lot of people wrote good things about it, so don't take my opinion too seriously. It might have something I missed, that made it good. I just couldn't take anymore of the what the first 25 min. had to offer.

skeeter70 I live here where they filmed the movie and I thought it was wonderful, the story was a wonderful setting for a romance and I thought the way they met and grew to love one another was outstanding. Even though the murder took place it showed what all they were willing to sacrifice for love. The way the family takes him in as a part of them at the beginning except for one brother and the way he begins to trust him is even as touching. The bear hut I thought was true to life as everyone here has mostly been and the producers and directors kept it true to life. We had a couple of our own hometown folks in the movie, the older men on the porch of the store, added more depth and made us proud. I guess in some ways we are portrayed as "bumpkins" still but I guess in a lot of ways we are and it shows how we live here... or families are all close and loving, never turn our back on our loved ones and I like how the movie shows us.

fertilecelluloid Deceptively marketed as a "Deliverance" retread, it has, in fact, more in common with Peter Weir's "Witness" and Richard Pearce's "Heartland". Kurt Russell plays Wayland Jackson, a humble widower who begins a new life with his daughter in North Carolina. When he meets and falls in love with Collie Wright (Kelly McGilis), he must prove his mettle to her father (Lloyd Bridges) and deal with local animosity towards him.Director Ted Kotcheff, who also made "First Blood", "Uncommon Valor" and the brilliant "Split Image", a scathing look at a religious sect, brings his considerable experience with personal politics to this well made, beautifully acted, snow-bound drama.The film's last act is where the violence flares and the stage is set for several bloody, taut altercations. The film, however, never loses sight of its personal story and focuses closely on the courage and resilience of good, honest folk.John Scott's score is hypnotic.