When would be the first time I saw this movie? Well, it came out in 1999; I would be potentially doing document retrieval at Schering Plough for Iron Mountain. Way before everything was entered directly into computers, let’s just say I moved a few tons of document boxes and moved a few hundred pallets of paper. Anyway, 1999, I am probably filling my free time with anything and everything that I can see. This is before I started working at the comic book shop, and way after I am in the video store in NJ. Tough to nail it down, but let’s just say the first time I saw this flick I was, like… what is this? Anyway, let me give you the rundown of this hidden gem.
This film takes place during the mid 1800s during what I think is the Mexican-American war. It follows Captain John Boyd, an officer stationed at a remote outpost/camp in the Sierra Nevada mountains with his men. And then, a mysterious man named Colqhoun shows up at the camp. He tells a crazy story about a bunch of settlers lost in the wilderness. What happens next is pretty awesome, and not expected. But that is where I will leave you with the plot, because anything more will give away the big reveal. But let’s jump into the other pieces of this flick.
The cast is amazing. And normally I list who is playing who when I start with the plot but this one deserves a bit of a change. Let’s start with the actor playing Captain John Boyd. Well, that would be the insanely awesome Guy Pearce. And this is right after his amazing performance in L. A. Confidential. But this is before Memento, The Count of Monte Cristo, The Time Machine, Traitor, Prometheus, Iron Man 3, Lockout (MY FAV!!) or his nominated role in The Brutalist. The guy is awesome and I still think a bit under-rated. Okay, the next actor in this flick. The guy who plays the nutso Colqhoun is Robert Carlyle. At this time, it is 1999, and you only have seen him absolutely kill it in Trainspotting and The Full Monty. Which I think he wins a BAFTA for. Anyway, he of course stars in The World is not Enough, The Beach, The 51st State, and 28 Weeks Later. The guy is a force. I also love that he voices Belmont and Dracula in a few Castlevania video games. There is some random trivia for you. Those two actors alone are enough to get you to watch, but let me add a few more. David Arquette is one of the privates, best known as Mister Courtney Cox, but also for the Scream movies and of course being from the Arquette Family. Another private is played by Jeremy Davies. Not a name most people recognize, but once you see his face you know his acting credits. Such as Twister, Saving Private Ryan, and Solaris. Recently I liked him in The Black Phone. Pretty good flick. Okay, who else. One of the Colonels is played by Jefferey Jones. Yeah, I know not a good guy, but always solid on the screen. Ed Rooney, Mayor Lepescu, Dr. Walter Jennings, Charles Deetz, Elliot Draison, Dick Nelson, Spike. I will stop there. He is in a ton of movies I watch. Three more thats it . The General is played by the late John Spencer. Who Mark would tell me won an Emmy for playing Leo McGarry on The West Wing. I know him as the Captain in Black Rain. Another random private is played by Neil McDonough. I loved as Dum Dum Duggan in the first Captain America movie. Last cast member I swear, but a cool one. A character in the film called Mr. Janus is played by David Heyman. The thing is he is not a very big actor, so you probably would not recognize the name with acting credits. The thing is, he is probably one of the biggest producers ever in Hollywood. He produced all the Harry Potter films, The first two Paddingtons, Barbie, Wonka, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Kind of a lot of stuff. Consider my shock as I am watching the flick and waiting till the credits to see who the guy was. Nutso. Alright, I rambled enough about the cast, but as you can see a solid group.
Let’s talk about the crew for a bit. The film is directed by Antonia Bird. She passed away back in 2013 from cancer, I believe. But this is a weird film for her to be attached to considering her other films are like Mad Love with Drew Barrymore and the guy who played Robin. A bit of a different flick. Oh, I guess she did make Face with Carlyle and Ray Winstone, so that makes a bit more sense. Anyway, she never makes anything like this again and what a great job making this. The writer of this film is Ted Griffin. I love this guy since he and Shawn Ryan created a super under rated TV show called Terriers. That show should honestly still be on, but it came out at the wrong time. Anyway, Ted also wrote Ocean’s Eleven, Matchstick Men, The Shield. I love this guy. Here is a little nugget. The Cinematographer is Anthony B Richmond. Again, not a name that rolls off the tongue. But here are a bunch of cool facts about him. He was married to Jaclyn Smith for 10 years, right after she was on Charlie’s Angels. Solid pull. He worked with Godard, John Sturges, Blake Edwards, Abel Ferrara, Sean Penn, JOhn Milius and even Peter Jackson. The guy worked. Lastly also won a BAFTA.
You know my favorite part. The quotes. Lets see what I wrote down since I watched this at 1 AM.
- “ He was licking me!” – Toffler
- “ It’s Lonely being a Cannibal, tough to make friends” – Hart
- “ I said no food. I didn’t say there was nothing to eat. “ – Colqhoun
- “If you die first, I am definitely going to eat you, but the question is, if I die, what are you going to do? Bon appétit… Eat or die.” – Ives
There are a few other great ones, but I will let you find those yourself. And I hope the quotes don’t give away too much. Hahahahahaha. Looks like it is available on Amazon Prime and Apple Tv for the normal 4 bucks. I am thinking I just need to add an envelope in the back of the book in case one of these movies I recommend just doesn’t do it for you. But I assure you this is a unique one and fun. The film is loosely based on the “ Donner Party” event from 1847, hence the time period lining up pretty well. That is about as close to the spoiler as I am going to get.
