Crossfire Trail

This was a surprise gem that we rented on dvd. The directing and cinematography are excellent. Mark Harmon is wonderfully evil. Tom Selleck the hero....but with support of friends. Great cast all around. Beautiful scenery. A very enjoyable movie.

As an enthusiastic 'Western watcher' for over sixty years, I think that this one stands comparison with some of the great ones. Good acting by a strong cast, attention to detail and authenticity and the superb photography (ably enhanced by the scenery !!) make this a 'must-see '

Yes, the story isn't exactly original, but so what ? Tom Selleck fits the scene like a character from a Remington painting and what superbly crafted gems of villainy are portrayed without resort to excessive brutality or foul language. This how they should be made.

That Homer of the American Western, Louis L'Amour, has always been good to actor-producer Tom Selleck. CROSSFIRE TRAIL is a well produced motion picture that in another era would have been a well-received theatrical motion picture release. Regrettably, the climate at movie box office doesn't support westerners of such classic pedigree, and it is to TNT Original Productions credit that they have allowed this film to find its venue and audience.

The production is impeccable, as is the cast, with special attention given to the lead actor Tom Selleck. While success on the silver screen eluded him, Selleck still shows why he continues to be the best actor working in traditional Westerners and the natural successor to such screen legends as Joel McCrea, Randolph Scott, Gary Cooper, and John Wayne. Any of those actors would have felt quite at home with the hero of this film, Rafael Covington, a man of few word and an unbending code of honor.

Supporting Selleck are the vibrant Virginia Masden, Mark Harmon, Brad Johnson, David O'Hara, Patrick Kilpatrick as well as the always welcomed presence of those two ever-reliable veteran actors, Wilford Brimley and Barry Corben.

For Australian director Simon Wincer and star Tom Selleck, CROSSFIRE TRAIL is a re-union since they collaborated in the highly entertaining and grossly neglected QUIGLEY DOWN UNDER. Wincer brings his typically excellent eye to period detail and visual meise en scene that he used so successfully in his groundbreaking epic LONESOME DOVE.

Again, if you haven't seen this film, then by all means, do so. If you have, then go back a savor of well-done effort. You will be well rewarded in either case.

If it wasn't for QUIGLEY, DOWN UNDER, CROSSFIRE TRAIL would be my favorite western. Tom Selleck easily slips into the type of role he seems born to play. Not many current actors look right at home in a western, but Selleck is one who does. He looks like he stepped right out of the 1800s. Mark Harmon makes an appropriate ass as the bad guy, and the beautiful Virginia Madsen is gorgeous as the school teacher Harmon plans to marry and Selleck has vowed (to her dead husband) to protect. The talented and underused Brad Johnson is a good villain as well, a hired gun Harmon brings in to kill Selleck. Good performances from all, and excellent score as well, by Eric Colvin, that deserves a soundtrack release. The Vancouver locations are a surprisingly-good stand-in for Wyoming, and director Simon Wincer (who should be the person to call when a western needs to be made) gives the film a nice pace with an exciting climax, intercutting between two shootouts. Seeing as how this was the highest-rated original cable movie in history when it debuted, I hope to see more Selleck/Wincer team-ups in the future.

This was an excellent western that was beautifully photographed. This looks absolutely stunning on DVD and provides some of the prettiest scenery I've ever viewed on film.

With Tom Selleck in the lead and supporting help from Virginia Madsen, Wilfred Brimley, Mark Harmon and others, this is a good cast for this made-for-cable TV movie. There wasn't much action in here but a lot of tension as Selleck fights off bad-guy Harmon, who is trying to marry Madsen because of the oil-rich property she owns (and is unaware how valuable it is).

My only complaint is that this is a frustrating story to watch at many intervals because for most of the film Madsen does not believe Selleck, who is just trying to help. Selleck does his normal excellent portrayal of a rugged cowboy.

Overall, a good movie and highly-recommended for western fans.