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The details of this trip through Irish's beautiful country castles and houses has the possibility of being truly beautiful. But the quality of the 1993 Videotape (and whatever production techniques they used to make the video) makes it not so enjoyable. It is flat, unable to capture color or dimension, leaving everything unidimensional and greyish. What is left is not able to capture Ireland's incredible vibrancy and shimmering color. It is actually depressing to see. The highlight is Angelica Huston's narration. She's one of the best and most intelligent readers in the business (from one of the most gifted families in America--or in her case, from Ireland). You end up wishing she could have done some of the narration on your audio books.

The cast listing on this picture is incorrect. Peter Thomas is not Worldly Wiseman, he is Pilgrim/Christian. Liam Neeson is both Jesus Christ and Evangelist (his first film experience, and Ken & Max Anderson were a geniuses at talent-scouting). Liam was also in "Christiana", the sequel ("Christiana's Progress" was also Bunyan's sequel to "Pilgrim's Progress"). I believe Maurice O'Callaghan was Worldly Wiseman, who was also Apollyon in Christiana, where Peter Thomas was Pilgrim again and Liam Neeson was Greatheart. Peter is the son of the great Christian preacher/teacher Major Ian Thomas, who wrote "The Indwelling Life of Christ", and founded the Capernwray Schools and Lodges, and began the Torchbearer ministry in churches. Peter is now the National Director and Principal of Capernwray New Zealand (http://www.capernwray.org.nz/AnnouncementRetrieve.aspx?ID=38817) which is a great school, and an all-around great guy, just like his father was.

This is one of the best "true Westerns" ever, a tribute to the faithfulness of the makers to the book, and the labor of love done by the makers (Sam Elliott and Catherine Ross themselves). Sam and Catherine stuck to the text for the script, despite PC pressures to change some scenes.

The depth of love and respect for the original is also conveyed by the gracious touch of having Louis L'Amour's daughter portraying the starting-over former saloon girl stuck in the Indian battle at the stage station. The casting is near-perfect, even if most of them were the Elliott's good friends (and several were in Sam's other films).

The realistic look at ranch hand life strikes chords of memory with Monty Walsh. The action scenes were more reality-based than the 50's through 70's Westerns, such as the primitive look of the final saloon fight scene. And the costumes look straight out of a Matthew Brady photo book of a Western settlement, with the characters showing the dirt and grit which true pioneers experienced.

The developing love story between Con and Evie is beautifully captured by the camera, often without a word, as "the eyes tell the story". Ross plays the part perfectly of the dutiful, faithful frontier wife. And you "feel her pain" as she struggles with loneliness, and his as he struggles with an identity crisis and feelings of inadequacy to be the husband of a woman so noble. Sam deserved the Golden Globe for Best Actor he won, with a quietly powerful portrayal of the honest cowpoke.

All in all, a delightful and classically beautiful story of the Old West. I grew up in one of the last Western towns to "go modern", a real cow town which experienced some of the last (and biggest) gun battles in US history. This movie made me proud to be from my home area.