<img src="http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=110450&d=1210878756"hspace="12"align="left">
<b>The Review at a Glance: </b> (max score: 5 )

<b>Film:</b> <img src="http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=109946&d=1210373692">

<b>Extras:</b> <img src="http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=109942&d=1210373647">

<b> Audio/Video total rating:</b>
<p> ( Max score: 100 )
<font color=teal><b><h2>88</h2></b></font>
<br><br><br>
<b>Studio and Year:</b> Sony Pictures - 2006
<b>MPAA Rating:</b> Unrated
<b>Feature running time:</b> 184
<b>Genre:</b> Western Drama/Miniseries

<b>Disc Format:</b> BD-50
<b>Encoding:</b> MPEG-4 (AVC)
<b>Video Aspect:</b> 1.78:1
<b>Resolution:</b> 1080p/24
<br>
<b>Audio Format(s):</b> English/French Dolby TrueHD 5.1, Portuguese/Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1
<b>Subtitles:</b> French, Arabic, Dutch, English, English SDH, Bahasa, Chinese, Portuguese, Spanish
<b>Starring:</b> Robert Duvall, Thomas Haden Church, Greta Scacchi, Chris Mulkey, Rusty Schwimmer, Gwendoline Yeo, Scott Cooper, James Russo
<b>Directed by:</b> Walter Hill
<b>Written by:</b> Alan Geoffrion
<b>Region Code:</b> A,B,C

<b>Blu-ray Disc release Date:</b> June 10, 2008

<br><BR><BR><BR><BR>
<center><font color=Green><b><h2>"Don’t mistake compassion for weakness"</h2></b></font></center>

<h4>Film Synopsis:</h4></b></font>
<p> Top-rated miniseries! Academy Award(r) winner Robert Duvall (1983 Best Actor in a Leading Role, Tender Mercies) and Academy Award(r) nominee Thomas Hayden Church (2004 Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role, Sideways) star in this moving Western drama. Set in 1897, Print Ritter (Duvall) and his estranged nephew Tom Harte (Hayden Church) become the reluctant guardians of five abused and abandoned Chinese girls. Ritter and Harte's attempts to care for the girls are complicated by their responsibility to deliver a herd of horses while avoiding a group of bitter rivals, intent on kidnapping the girls for their own purposes. Classic Western action takes center stage in this dramatic miniseries! </p>

<h4>My Take:</h4></b></font><p>I missed this miniseries when it aired originally on American Movie Classics (AMC). I remember hearing good things about it during the Emmy Awards the year it was nominated (16 nomination!). Being a fan of both Duvall and Haden Church I anticipated a positive reaction to this and after watching it my expectations were met and exceeded. I love westerns and this one tells a powerful story. What starts out as a relatively simple horse drive is complicated when Print and Tom encounter a man hired by whorehouse madam, Big Rump Kate, to transport five Chinese women she bought. They are enroute to a lawless mining town, where they will face a life of prostitution and servitude. Print and Tom end up rescuing the women with intentions of bringing them to the next town and finding someone to properly turn them over to. Things turn out differently as they encounter the Kate who wants them turned over to her. That would not do and they take the women along with two others from the town who have run afoul of Big Rump Kate and continue their perilous trek across the frontier. They are dogged (tracked) by a vicious gang of outlaws hire by Kate which leads to a vicious showdown.</p><p>Obviously there is more to the story and these are wonderfully complicated characters. Duvall and Haden Church are at their absolute best and deliver superb performances. This was definitely a group effort as every actor involved had a hand in the bringing believability and strength to the characters portrayed here. The film was divided up into two 1.5 hour segments on this single Blu-ray. I enjoyed every minute of it.</p>



<h4>Parental Guide:</h4></b></font><p>This disc is unrated. I would say that a PG-13 rating would be appropriate. There is some language, violence, and sexual references. This would not be recommended for young viewers.</p>



<br><b>AUDIO/VIDEO - By The Numbers:
</b><font color=DarkOrange><b>REFERENCE</b></font> = 92-100 / </b><font color=teal><b>EXCELLENT</b></font> = 83-91 / </b><font color=green><b>GOOD</b></font> = 74-82 / </b><font color=yellowgreen><b>AVERAGE</b></font> = 65-73 / </b><font color=red><b>BELOW AVERAGE</b></font> = under 65 </b>

<em>**My audio/video ratings are based upon a comparative made against other high definition media/blu-ray disc.**</em>


<b>(Each rating is worth 4 points with a max of 5 per category)</b>

<font color=teal><b><h4>Audio: 86</h4></b></font>
<b><ul>
<li>Dynamics: <img src="http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=109945&d=1210373692"></li>
<li>Low frequency extension: <img src="http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=109946&d=1210373692"></li>
<li>Surround Sound presentation: <img src="http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=109946&d=1210373692"></li>
<li>Clarity/Detail: <img src="http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=109948&d=1210373699"></li>
<li>Dialogue Reproduction: <img src="http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=109948&d=1210373699">
</b></li></ul>


<font color=teal><b><h4>Video: 90</h4></b></font>
<b>(Each rating is worth 4 points with a max of 5 per category)</b>

<b><ul>
<li>Resolution/Clarity: <img src="http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=109947&d=1210373699"></li>
<li>Black level/Shadow detail: <img src="http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=109948&d=1210373699"></li>
<li>Color reproduction: <img src="http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=109946&d=1210373692"></li>
<li>Fleshtones: <img src="http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=109947&d=1210373699"></li>
<li>Compression: <img src="http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=109947&d=1210373699"</b></li></ul><p><i><b>Broken Trail</i> comes to Blu-ray from Sony featuring 1080p AVC encoded video with an average bitrate of 22 mbps and lossless Dolby TrueHD 5.1 audio with an average bitrate of 1.6 mbps.</b></p><p>This film features beautiful cinematography. There are breathtaking vista views of mountainous regions, lush vegetation covered valleys and running creeks and streams. This looked absolutely stunning in high definition. Detail was characterized by intricate and beautiful images that had three dimensionality and definitive resolve. This was the case in all but a few instances where definition softened and didn’t retain the feeling of crystal clarity. The color palette was not particularly diverse but it maintained perfect balance with the source material and looked great. The various shades of green, brown, gray, and golden hues present were rendered with aplomb. Primary colors such as the red robes worn by the Chinese women were well saturated and stood out among the others. Shadow detail was as good as I have seen. There are many scenes that are shot at night using either the moon or campfire for lighting. I could easily make out shapes, structure and detail within the foreground and background. Check out Chapter 4 at the 28:54. It is dusk and the sun has set but the clouds are still glowing orange against the blue sky. There are trees that are set against that background with a large creek full of rippling water in the foreground. This low light sequence looks amazing. Flesh tones are naturally rendered with distinctive tonal variance. I didn’t see any signs of video noise or compression related artifacts.</p><p> Here is another solid Dolby TrueHD audio presentation from Sony on Blu-ray. Dialogue was crystal clear with superb tonal intonation and texture. Detail and clarity were first rate as well which brought forth subtle nuance contained within the mix. The crackling of embers in a fire, the clicking of a tumbler in a revolver as it turns, or the cracking of peanut shells are just a few examples that come to mind. Needless to say that the more dynamic elements contained with in the mix such as thundering horse hoofs, rifle/gun blasts, and the kicking in of doors benefited from this as well. This soundtrack relied more on the front three channels but did use the surrounds to good effect for background ambience with occasional discrete detail. The score was fairly simple and mostly stuck to guitar and piano. It sounded nicely detailed with good separation across the front sound stage. I thought this track sounded great.</p>

<h4><b>Bonus Features:</b></h4></font>

<p>The only bonus supplement offered was a 23 minute Making Of documentary. It was quite good and featured interviews with the Director and cast as well as some background on the production.</p>
<ul>
<li>Broken Trail: The making of a legendary western </li></ul>



<h4>Final Thoughts:</h4></b></font>

<p><i>Broken Trail</i> is a compelling film about compassion, honesty, trust and courage. During a time when those values were perhaps not always the norm there came a few men who abided by them. This presentation from Sony on Blu-ray Disc is a good one and easily worthy of a place in your collection. <b>Recommended.</b> </p>





<img src="http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=109949&d=1210373731" align=left>
<br><br><br><br>
<br><b>Ralph Potts</b>
<em>AVS Forum Blu-ray Reviews</em>



<br><br><b>Reference Review System:</b>

<strong>
Sony VPL-VW50 SXRD 1080p High Definition Front Projector
Carada Precision Brilliant White 96" Screen
Oppo 970HD universal disc DVD Player (480i HDMI)
Toshiba HD-XA2 HD DVD Player (HDMI Audio/Video)
Panasonic DMP-BD30 Blu-ray disc Player (HDMI Audio/Video)
Sony Playstation 3 Blu-ray disc Player (HDMI Audio/Video)
Marantz DV7001 Universal Disc Player
Denon AVR 5308CI THX Ultra 2 Preamp/Video Processor
Outlaw Audio Model 7700 seven channel amplifier
B&K Reference 200.7 Series 2 seven Channel amplifier
Canton "Ergo" Series speakers
Axiom Audio QS8 Quadpolar speakers
SV Sound PB-13 Ultra (Rosenut finish)
APC AV S15BLK Power Conditioner/Surge Protector
Wireworld, VizionWare, Audioquest, Best Deal Cables - Audio/Video/Speaker Cabling
Cool Components - CP-CP102 cooling package
</strong>

I have this on pre-order as a blind buy. Robert Duvall can play this kind of role in his sleep, but he was great in 'Lonesome Dove' as well, which I've seen and I'm hoping 'Broken Trail' is like it. At least in fully realized characters and storytelling.

A good western, 184 minutes, $19.95 at amazon pre-order, and what I was waiting for was the quality of the BD. Thanks Ralph! My order is in.

I think this review is spot on as the guys at dvdbeaver share similar opinion.

Ok Ralph, I did the Narnia and Treasure adventures. So I ordered the Broken Trail yesterday per your review. So far you are batting 1000, I already have the SD movie and with the scenery shot and my liking of westerns this is should be a win-win situation.

Ok Ralph, I did the Narnia and Treasure adventures. So I ordered the Broken Trail yesterday per your review. So far you are batting 1000, I already have the SD movie and with the scenery shot and my liking of westerns this is should be a win-win situation.

Greetings,

I am sure you won't be disappointed wvasko.;)


Cheers,

Slow but still an enjoyable western. I didn't realize that it was a true story until the end. I think knowing this info before I watched would have made it even more compelling. Nice transfer but I could have done without the edge enhancement. Thanks for reccomendation Ralph.:)

Tom

Slow but still an enjoyable western. I didn't realize that it was a true story until the end. I think knowing this info before I watched would have made it even more compelling. Nice transfer but I could have done without the edge enhancement. Thanks for reccomendation Ralph.:)

Tom

Greetings,

Sorry about that Tom. I thought about mentioning it in the review because like you I didn't find out until the end. I found that interesting and decided to leave it out because it added to the experience for me to find out later.

Cheers,

Watched the first part last night and I fully agree with a 90 PQ score so far. I really like westerns and outdoor settings really appeal to me especially when captured like it was in this movie.

This isn't a movie with lots of rip roaring action and those looking for a fast pace may want to steer clear. Mostly dialogue driven but the story is really good IMHO. To each their own and I cannot wait to finish this tonight.

Update: Run, don't walk if it is the quality in question and not the content. Finished watching it last night and this BD is quite good!

Way to go Ralph. There is a scene with the herd on a chilly morning with all clouds of horses breath/steam blowing on the wind that blew my mind. Another winner.

Way to go Ralph. There is a scene with the herd on a chilly morning with all clouds of horses breath/steam blowing on the wind that blew my mind. Another winner.


Greetings,

wvasko, I am glad to hear that you enjoyed Broken Trail and thanks for sharing your impressions.

Regards,

Beautiful scenery, but slow story,and to many lulls. Movie was good ,but not great in my opinion.

Thanks for the review Ralph. You've convinced me to buy it and since it was in my Gold Box today I added it to my Batman Begins/etc. order which should ship tomorrow. I'm really liking all the westerns I've seen on Blu-ray so far and the prices on the catalog ones isn't too bad for someone like me who owns almost zero movies on DVD.

I got this today in the mail and I watched part of it tonight. It looks great!! I'm very happy with this purchase.

So which is the best western since Unforgiven? That slot had been given to 3:10 to Yuma which many may not agree with versus this film.

3:10 is good but I think I like Broken Trail better.

We should start watching this one tonight. I just played the making of the film (about 21 min or so?), and a few of the previews. Then started the first 15 min of the film.

This one has the sound on Dolby HD, at first I did not think the rear speakers were playing; but the ambiance seems to be "right on".

The photogrophy is excellent. This will be a good movie I think. We will just have to break it up into two nights.

I finally got a copy of the BD version of this wonderful miniseries from BB on Saturday and watched it yesterday. I was simply blown away. Both the PQ and the audio were stunning. I recently upgraded my HT system with a PS3 and a 60 inch Kuro plasma, so I was able to see Broken Trail in all its glory.

This is a great story that is well told. Its three hours seemed to pass in the twinkling of an eye. Robert Duvall and Thomas Haden Church were as terrific as I had expected them to be. I had never seen any of the young Asian actresses who played the Chinese girls sold into prostitution but they were both beautiful and convincing. The rest of the large ensemble case was equally effective. Highly recommended.

Greetings,

Glad you enjoyed it and thanks for sharing your impressions.


Cheers,

This is one of the post that was lost with the database breakdown.

Yep you should watch this film. It' s a long one. To truely understand what is going on, I recommend you watch the 21 min lead in - How they made the film, actors, etc. Without that first, it may be a little hard to follow.

A Great Film!