Seraphim Falls... a western you may have missed

[George Bellefontaine]

Seraphim Falls is a taut psychological western drama set just after the civil war. It stars Liam Neeson and Pierce Brosnan. Neeson, from the opening, is dead set on hunting down Brosnan and killing him. We don't find out why until a brief flashback to a place called Seraphim Falls. This film has gorgeous cinematography with exceptional use of light and shade. It is taut and moves quickly as Brosnan uses some deadly cunning to survive. There is a stupid , sort of a fantasy scene, near the end with a cameo by Angelica Huston, and I felt it ruined things a bit and should have been left on the cutting room floor. But once you get by that, you are taken to an amazing climax between the hunter and the hunted.

I got a feeling this didn't do too well in the theaters. Heck, westerns rarely do these days, but it would have likely been well received sometime back in the early to mid 80s. In fact its style reminded me somewhat of some of those Eastwood westerns. There is some darn good acting here by two heavyweights so I'm glad I bought it and will watch it frequently.

:T

[David Meek]

I missed this one Sir George. Thanks for the heads-up. It's in my Netflix queue and at the top. Here's a review from another Netflix'er:

Seraphim Falls is the breathtakingly exciting kind of film we don't see much of anymore. Stark and lean, Pierce Brosnan and Liam Neeson convey taut drama amid breathtaking scenery. Hope to see more from this innovative -young director. Highly recommended to all western, civil war and high drama fans.

[George Bellefontaine]

I missed this one Sir George. Thanks for the heads-up. It's in my Netflix queue and at the top. Here's a review from another Netflix'er:

That review is right on, Tex. BTW, the sound of gunfire in this one reminded me of Open Range. When those guns go off they scare the hell out of you.

[Paul H]

Keep those reviews coming George - I'm keeping a list .. now I just need some time to do some watching

[Danbry39]

What the hay is a Western?

Never seen one before. Suppose I'll give one a try. It's not one of those ones with subtitles, is it? :B


Thanks, George. Wasn't it you who recommended Warlock to me? I think it was. That is truly a Western to my liking. I'd heard of it, but had missed it in my rebellious days.

[George Bellefontaine]

What the hay is a Western?

Never seen one before. Suppose I'll give one a try. It's not one of those ones with subtitles, is it? :B

Heh, heh.


Thanks, George. Wasn't it you who recommended Warlock to me? I think it was. That is truly a Western to my liking. I'd heard of it, but had missed it in my rebellious days.

Yep, that was me, Keith. Warlock is one of my favorite Henry Fonda westerns.

[George Bellefontaine]

Keep those reviews coming George - I'm keeping a list .. now I just need some time to do some watching

Will do, Paul.

[Danbry39]

Watched it last night, George, and was captivated the whole way through. I can see your comparisons to Eastwood's films, especially the desert and scenes like the railroad camp and religious group they run across, as well as the sparse, direct dialogue. I know it's a completely different premise, but it also reminded me of The Fugitive. Did you notice the unusual pacing of the film, where it moves from fast and explosive to slower and slower, almost like the fatigue that would result from a chase like that? Anyway, you know how schools always preach having a hook to get the reader's interest, this film's beginning is one great cinematic hook.

Neeson's acting I always love, but want to especially echo your sentiments regarding Brosnan. He seems to get better and better, but I've never seen him reach these heights. He was absolutely convincing in an extremely demanding role.

It also helped me discover something was wrong with my HT in that the sky on my plasma was green during the film. How odd thought I. Well, when blue jeans in Flags of Our Fathers (I'm watching the two Eastwood films for Memorial Day) were also green, I knew I needed to either reconnect or replace my DVD to TV video cables.

[David Meek]

I received my Netflix copy Friday and just now finished up this fine film.

I'll mostly echo what has already been said. The cinematography is fabulous. The settings are breathtaking. The acting is top-notch across the board, but with special kudos to Pierce Brosnan. The man has some serious acting chops. The story itself is spare, captivating, and moves from stateliness to frantic action from moment to moment - albiet with a couple of strange allegorical moments towards the end (more on those in a moment). It keeps you guessing as to the motivations behind the characters' actions, and even wondering just who is the good guy and who is the villain in this piece.

George noted something that, being a long-time shooter, is of importance to me. The gunfire has an immediacy, impact and volume much more like a real firearm. And, yes it is similar to Open Range.

Keith, that's an excellent point about the pacing.

Hehe, one thing to note is that Liam Neeson is 6'-4" or so and Pierce Brosnan is under 6' and the poster shows them being the same height.

I give Seraphim Falls a strong :4: out of :5:. I'd rate it even higher but the allegorical meetings with Wes Studi at the waterhole and Angelica Huston in the desert don't fit smoothly into the spare, existential feeling of this film. They do underline the way the protagonists look at the world, but I wish they'd been blended a little more smoothly into the storyline.

[George Bellefontaine]

Great comments, Keith and Tex. As for the odd stuff, Wes Studi and Huston part belonged on the cutting room floor IMHO, but I suppose we have to give a little leeway to the director for what was mostly an excellent film.

[David Meek]

Dang it, I want to order this one but I don't want to order it on standard-def DVD and then turn around and buy it again on high-def! This may be the one that forces my hand into getting into HD or BluRay. :nonod: Oh my. I guess it had to happen. . . .

[Ovation]

Seems like a great film. I'll have to check if our local video store has it. I'm a big fan of Eastwood westerns, so if this is in any way close to that in quality, I'm sure I'll enjoy it.

[Burke Strickland]

When I saw "Seraphim Falls" in the headline, at first I assumed it was a news report of the budget classical label, Seraphim, going bankrupt.

Seraphim Falls... a western you may have missed

George, we can count on you to know about quite a few Westerns that the rest of us have most assuredly missed. :>) Although I've enjoyed most Westerns that I've seen, I'm not a "fan" of the genre, so I appreciate your letting us in on the ones you particularly liked. (Kind of like letting the wine steward help select the right vintage to go along with the chef's special at an upscale restaurant -- I enjoy the good stuff, but can't make a career out of keeping up with what's on the "A" list.)

I'll have to check this one out. Obviously acting in this one gave Pierce Brosnan a lift. ;>)

[saurabh]

Saw it yesterday and liked it but like the other I too felt that the pace was going slower and slower, I was getting bored eventually

I also felt that the end had a hidden meaning to it(desert scene), revenge has no end and is a dangerous thing to keep, give away your horse for a bullet (horse can be life those days and that too when you are stuck in a desert), similarly giving away water for a gun.

[Ovation]

Finally got this from zip.ca a few days ago and I watched it last night. A beautifully shot film (the cinematographer, John Toll, has won Oscars for his work) with great performances. I will definitely add this to the collection. :T :T




As for the ending I rewatched a bit of it with the commentary and Brosnan points out that some people believe that the two characters are already dead by the time they encounter "Louise C. Fair" (Angelica Huston)--the director basically says that he understood that interpretation and liked it, though it was not his intent. I like endings that leave things open to multiple interpretations, though I do agree it wasn't as smoothly integrated (actually, perhaps too smoothly, as I think of it) as it could have been. I will definitely watch it again to assess it further. By the way, this was the director's first feature film (though he has done a number of TV productions) as well as his first feature script (he co-wrote it).

saurabh, I find your view of the ending pretty good and I had a similar reaction.

George, thanks for the recommendation for this film. While it took me a while to get to it since I read your OP, it did plant the idea to start examining westerns again (it had been a while but since your OP, I've probably watched six or seven--more than in the past five years).

[George Bellefontaine]

George, thanks for the recommendation for this film. While it took me a while to get to it since I read your OP, it did plant the idea to start examining westerns again (it had been a while but since your OP, I've probably watched six or seven--more than in the past five years).

Glad you liked Seraphim Falls and glad you are watching westerns. I'm hoping more will come now that 3:10 To Yuma was such a great boxoffice success.

[Ovation]

Next up is a classic that I've never managed to see--Red River. I had it two weeks ago from zip.ca but it was scratched all to hell and it was unplayable. The new one should arrive tomorrow.

[greenhorn]

:later: I watched this one a few weeks ago. It was ok, actual while I seem to remember being fairly entertained, I'm having trouble coming up with the key element of the movie. I remember most of the significant parts, but don't recall how they all came together, the significance of it all? That I guess sums it up, it was ok.

[George Bellefontaine]

Next up is a classic that I've never managed to see--Red River.

You're in for a huge treat. Red River is not only one of John Wayne's greatest flicks, Montgomery Clift is fantastic to boot. This gets a lot of play in my theater, even though it isn't widescreen and is in black and white.

[David Meek]

by the time they encounter "Louise C. Fair" (Angelica Huston)

I just noticed that her name could be roughly pronounced as laissez-faire, which means, "leave alone, let it be" if my French is correct. Any French-speaking members out there?

[George Bellefontaine]

I just noticed that her name could be roughly pronounced as laissez-faire, which means, "leave alone, let it be" if my French is correct. Any French-speaking members out there?

If you go by my name I should be French speaking Anyway, one of those things is correct, Tex.

[Ovation]

I just noticed that her name could be roughly pronounced as laissez-faire, which means, "leave alone, let it be" if my French is correct. Any French-speaking members out there?

It could be interpreted that way, but given the situation, I believe LOUise C. FaiR (say it out loud) is a more accurate representation of the symbolism.

[Ovation]

You're in for a huge treat. Red River is not only one of John Wayne's greatest flicks, Montgomery Clift is fantastic to boot. This gets a lot of play in my theater, even though it isn't widescreen and is in black and white.

I hope to get to it by Sunday (but there is a lot of playoff hockey on--including my Habs; I scored some tickets to the game tomorrow night, seven rows up from the ice. GO, HABS, GO!!!)

I liked Clift a lot in I, Confess and I've read this is one of his finest performances. I'm looking forward to it.

[George Bellefontaine]

I hope to get to it by Sunday (but there is a lot of playoff hockey on--including my Habs;

I know this is off topic, but the Habs was my best friend's team. Good, bad, or indifferent, he always stuck with them. He passed away in 1998 and I took up where he left off and have been pulling for them ever since. This could be the year Montreal will hoist the cup again. And my dear friend would be so very happy. :T

Back on topic, Montgomery Clift was one of the finest actors out there. Shame so many personaly problems shortened his life .

[Chris D]

Yeah, Montreal is looking really strong this year! (and yeah... maybe we should make a separate Stanley Cup thread...)

[Ovation]

I don't often resurrect old threads, but I just thought I'd mention I saw this film for sale as a BD---in Italy. I was in Rome last week and I happened upon this title in a store. It was all-region but I gave it a pass for two reasons. One--at 34.99 euros, it came to over 50$ CDN. I liked it, but I can wait for a local BD release at a lower price. Two--the extras are in PAL. While I have a PAL player, it doesn't play BDs and my PS3 is not a PAL capable player. Was surprised to see it as a BD. Wonder how long it will take for a NA release.

[Alaric]

Glad you resurrected! I may have to see this one. Shades of Josey Wales?

[David Meek]

Shades of Josey Wales?

Sort of? Maybe a little? Josey Wales was a straightforward horse opera (murder, betrayal, revenge, on the run, climactic last battle, closure ) whereas Seraphim Falls has some twists and turns that separate it (maybe good, maybe not) from a more traditional western. It is well done, regardless.

[wkhanna]

I liked it alot. Nontraditional is my preference. :T

[Bob]

Thanks for the heads up, George. I watched it last night and enjoyed it. Could have done without the gypsy woman at the end though.