statia13 This film does not receive the recognition that it deserves. The cinematography is beyond excellent! The cast is great, the story line and script are superb, not to mention that this is a true story. I ask you, what's better than true history? I could watch this movie over and over again, and that's a rare thing for me. I could even watch it with no sound, because the scenery is so breathtaking, and the filming is the best I've seen.The story begins around the turn of the century, late 1800s. Things were coming to a change, but this is a story of a real horse drive. Along the way, many challenges arise that make this movie a gripping surprise that keeps your interest along the way. You can almost feel the cool water of the Snake River when the travelers dip their feet, or feel their anxiety when they run across foes on the trail. For anyone who is hungry for a good western, and has not yet seen this production, I highly recommend it. It doesn't get any better!

SimonJack "Broken Trail" is among the very best open range Western films ever made. The scenery always recommends such films for audience enjoyment, and this wonderful TV series is no exception. The filming was in Alberta, Canada, near Calgary. Canada and parts of the Great Plains states still have some expanses where such movies can be made without modern obstructions in view. The cast for this mini-series film is excellent. I know it's not accurate to say so, but it seems as though Robert Duvall couldn't make a bad movie if he wanted to. Surely, not a Western. Duvall's realistic portrayal of cattle drive owner and foreman, Prentice Ritter, is splendid. This is the best role I've seen Thomas Church play. He's excellent in his quiet role as Ritter's top hand, trusty friend and long-time associate.The rest of the case are all very good in their roles. The cinematography, scenery, and technical aspects of this two-part film help make it a very enjoyable movie. It's a very good look at what the West must surely have been like.

kwindage I started watching this miniseries while channel surfing, missing a good portion of the first part. I was instantly absorbed in the story, and had to get the DVD to see the whole thing.Besides the well written story line, the casting was excellent, giving us characters that created a great chemistry together (and some great bad guys, as well).The storyline may have more realistic if it was set a few years earlier: in 1898, you didn't go around hanging thieves or getting into too many gunfights! Also, the reason for going to the trouble of having virgin sex slaves wasn't explained; even the (somewhat creepy) character of Capt. Billy Fender said that he didn't know why some people preferred virgins, and that he liked women who knew what they were doing. The real reason that men would pay a great deal of money to have sex with virgins back then is that it was thought to be a cure for sexually transmitted diseases (especially syphilis). Before antibiotics, syphilis was no joke: about two years after contact (in the third stage) syphilis begins to attack the heart, brain, and nerves, slowly killing those who suffer from the disease. This may have been too much information to add to the story line, but would have definitely added to the horror of what was in store for the girls if they had been delivered to a brothel.Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed "Broken Trail". I give it a rating of 9/10, and would definitely recommend it to others.

ccthemovieman-1 I can only hope they someone keeps making Westerns because the few that have been made the last few years have been outstanding. This one, a TV miniseries, is just great. I can't enough good things about it. I saw it recently on DVD. It was a three-hour film. I thought I read somewhere that it was four hours, so I don't know if this version has been down. I only know what I saw, and I liked about everything I saw.Looking at the IMDb reviews here before making a rental helped me out a lot. It prepared me for a slower film. In other words, I knew what to expect.....and that helped. I didn't expect a rough film with a ton of violence and nasty characters, language, etc.What surprised me was just how interesting a film this was for being three hours long and not having a lot of action. I attribute this to the dialog, the acting, characters you care about and the wonderful cinematography. It's hard to beat the scenery in a nicely-filmed western.The words coming out of the two stars of the picture, Robert Duvall and Thomas Haden Church were extremely believable material. These guys were tough, but not abrasively- macho, compassionate but not sappy. As "Prentice Ritter" and "Tom Harte," respectively, they fascinating to watch. I liked what they said throughout the movie and they were extremely believable characters. They looked and talked the part.This story is different because it's mainly about helping five young Chinese women, who are destined for prostitution, slavery and who knows what else. Ritter and Harte didn't volunteer for the job; it accidentally came upon them as they were escorting horses North for a nice payday. The two men showed wonderful compassion for these girls, despite the fact they slowed their mission down and had a problem with communication.There has to be some villains in a western and we have them here with "Big Rump Kate" and others but they are not overblown and we don't see so much of them they they get annoying. For a Walter Hill film, this was astonishing in how low-key it was told.We also get a bit of a romance, just a glimpse between Duvall's character and one played by Greta Scacchi ("Nola Johns"). It has a different kind of ending to it, one I didn't expect and one that will emotionally affect you.It simple terms: this is a nice movie, a good story about good guys doing a good deed for the right reasons. Watching them do it, under adverse conditions, was almost a privilege. A big thank you to all involved with this movie and giving us fans of this genre hope that it isn't completely dead.