Blackthorn [Blu-ray]

sam

BLACKTHORN is exactly the type of film that the big cinema screen is made for. That this film was so underseen in 2011 is heartbreakingly sad and makes a good case for everything that’s wrong with Hollywood and film distributors in the US; a position I don’t always hold - I’m not an anti-Hollywood type. 
 
A South American western that continues the myth of Butch Cassidy in his waning years, it was filmed on location in the mountains and plateaus of Bolivia. The stunning cinematography would have been enough to keep me watching in itself, but here we’re blessed a great script and perfect cast as well. 
 
Sam Shepard an aging Butch Cassidy living in the mountains of Bolivia under the name of James Blackthorn discovers that his long ago lover Etta Place has passed and yearns to visit their child whom he’s never met and who knows him only as Uncle James through letters. 
 
As he sets off on his journey trouble befalls him when he runs into Eduardo Apodaca (Eduardo Noriega) a Spanish engineer, on the run for stealing money from a Bolivian mining company he was working for. Blackthorn at first recognizes in Apogado the same altruistic ethics he had in his younger years - only stealing money from greedy corporations, never from the workers, never harming anyone in the process, and this is the basis that forms an uneasy friendship as they help each other escape both the ex-Pinkerton (Stephan Rea) who never believed Cassidy was dead as had been reported years ago and Apodaca’s pursuers. Noriega was an excellent choice to portray the engineer, due to his ability to be both charming and duplicitous, almost sinister, a common character motif in his films. 
 
The film is intercut with flashbacks to a younger Cassidy (played by Nicolaj Coster-Waldau), Sundance and Etta Place which work well to clarify Blackthorns current predicament. 
 
This is a gorgeous, well made film. I didn’t like the ambiguous ending at first, (which I feel is safe to say without giving away in details), but came to realize it was the only way to end a tale of Butch Cassidy

The director did a great compilation putting this together,with Shepard,Rea and Noreiga plus Yana ,they did an excpetional experience ,bringing the ''real story'' about Cassidy .Through Historical Americana Research and Indendent studies of putting aide the Hollywood Myth and ''official story ''of that legendary shoot-out in Bolivia and rendering it to the ashheap,'' 'Hey it was a Movie !. .The research that has came back in the last 100 years ,mention that Butch according to those ''family letters'' made it back to his home town and probably died between 1935-1945 ? . Yes Legends are really Legends and the his Family probably knew what the Guy looked like . A guy who waded into the Andes on his way back to El Norte had to have a certain moxie .These guys as Parker? Cassidy etc. had that stamina ,and endurance to complete their stories right. The movie is a great way to look at Legends through the landscape they covered .One of my Top 5 Westerns ( whew) As the Commander said '' this area of the Andes at 20,000 feet ? one could guess as the ""Lost'',those who are used to being ''lost'' know how it is to be lost!. ( or to paraphrase ). One of Sam's best roles ,Rea is fantastic and Noriega, who I appreciated from ""Thesis'' and ''Open Your Eyes '' performed his first Western very well.

I liked it. And I don't often like westerns. All that horse riding is almost as bad as car chases. But the scenery in this is gorgeous and it's a pretty heartfelt movie.

Good acting, great scenery. Didn't like the story's concept of horses in the desert, but it was well made. It is just boring. We watched half and couldn't take the rest.

I was quite surprised to see a decent Western done by Hollyweird. I was born and raised on a Horse Ranch during the late 50s and 60s, and one mistake I did not like , was when they jumped over a Barbed Wire Fence with the Horses. THAT should NEVER be done, but what does Hollyweird know. If they did not make it over, you could cripple a horse. I am talking REAL life. I am sure, at least I hope, that was not real wire. Other wise, this is a well done movie, more real like than most.

Was suggested to me when I said I liked the movie Old Henry and while ti's a different movie, it's quite well done. Usual western with the slow pace but in Boliva scenery (which is quite amazing) and a good twist near the end. The pains of getting old. Worth your time.

I am not quite sure why this movie has such a bad viewer rating. I looked at the poor reviews for this film and they are all written by people who lack any kind of film sense, because all they could say about it is that it was "boring". Let me apologize for the film makers for the lack of gratuitous violence, explosions, chase scenes, sex scenes, and all other kinds of plot fillers that in the end really do make an "Awesome" movie (that was major sarcasm for those of you who didn't smell what I was stepping in). This movie is NON-FICTION so for those complaining about its lack of historical accuracy need to learn to read a little about a film before watching. The plot was great, but like many have said it is a sobering, medium pace film. The acting was great, and so was the scenery. I truly do appreciate a film that makes it difficult for me to predict the plot or outcomes during the film, and this is one of those. It also does a fantastic job of provoking emotional attachment and sympathy/hatred for many of the characters.

Blackthorn is directed by Mateo Gil and written by Miguel Barros. It stars Sam Shepard, Eduardo Noriega, Stephen Rea, Magaly Solier, Nikolaj Costsr-Waldau, Padraic Delaney and Dominique McElligott. Music is by Lucio Godoy and cinematography by Juan Ruiz Anchia.It was believed that Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid both perished at the hands of the Bolivian army in 1908. Not so, for here is Butch Cassidy 20 years after the supposed event, alive and well and living in a secluded Bolivian village under the name James Blackthorn...What a lovely idea, that of one of history's most famous outlaws actually living longer than history led us to believe. Ok, it's a scratchy premise but it allows for a quite elegiac film as we follow an older and grizzled Cassidy on another adventure. That adventure sees him team up with mischievous Spaniard Eduardo Apodaca, the latter of which tries to rob Blackthorn/Cassidy and then offers to repay the old outlaw with the proceeds from some hidden loot stashed away from a robbery. They set off and sure enough there is a posse on their tail, meaning the pair have to stay one step ahead of their pursuers, something which puts the twinkle back in Cassidy's eyes. But not all is as it seems and with flash backs showing Butch and Sundance in their prime (Waldau as the young Cassidy is an inspired choice as per likeness to Shepard), aided by the feisty Etta Place, this is a fully rounded tale.The film quite simply is unhurried and respectful to the art of story telling and is rich with a lead characterisation of considerable substance (Shepard is wonderful, really gets to the soul of the character). Oh it is punctured by the odd action scene, even some humour is in the mix, there's even time for machismo and romantic threads of worth, but this beats a melancholy heart and is All the better for it. It also happens to be one of the most gorgeously photographed Westerns of the modern era. Filmed primarily on location in Bolivia, the landscapes - be it the mountainous ranges or pin sharp salt flats - are sublime, God's wonderful Earth in all its glory expertly realised by Anchia, marking this out as an absolute Blu-ray essential for Western fans big into location photography. While Godoy's musical score is pitch perfect for the tonal flows in the narrative.There's the odd cliché, Rea is a touch wasted and some may decry the simplicity of plot, but this is thoughtful and awash with the love of the Western genre. If only for Shepard and the photography then this is worth it for Western fans, as it is it also calls out to those who like some emotional reflection in their Oaters. 8/10

Proving that very good westerns can still be made (the best of all 21st century ones has to be Meek's Cutoff).Magnificent landscapes have always been a major part of westerns and Blackthorn is no exception. The Bolivian setting gives an extra twist.Sam Shepard is excellent and the story delivers a nice turn-around at the end.A lot is made of the Butch Cassidy backstory, but personally I could have done without all that, the main narrative is good enough as it is.

Given the premise [and it being a sequel], I didn't think this was going to amount to much...it was on TV one night and I liked it so much I bought this DVD - a simple story, well told and acted, as well as beautifully shot.

A hugely enjoyable film for anyone interested in the story of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and for the scenery and culture of Bolivia. Excellent scenes filmed in the old mining town of Pulacayo and on the Salar de Uyuni.Steve Mead

Good film of what may have happened to Butch Cassidyi