Just out on DVD .
The film takes place on the 11th September 1857 when 120 men, women and children were massacred at Mountain Meadow.
The film takes a gentle tone from the start with the settlers travelling from Arkansas to California seeking a place to rest at Mountain Meadows. They seek permission to stay for a couple of weeks and is, readily, given.
What follows is a portrayal of the life of the Christian settlers set against that of the Mormons.
Against this background is a Romeo and Juliet tale of a settler girl and a Mormon boy played by Trent Ford and Tamara Hope.
There are one or two gruesome moments that occur on the Mormon side - like how an adulterer is punished.
To a degree it is that just hints at what is to come and the massacre itself is not for the sqeamish.
Jon Voight is brilliant as the Mormon leader - a very convincing performance. Probably one of his best.
Terence Stamp portrays Brigham Young and his dismissal of the massacre and his deniability came across like a war criminal.
For those that like a good piece of historical westerns - then it's money well spent.
The only thing that bothered me was the disappearance of one of the female characters after the first fifteen minutes. That she wore pants and carried a gun bothered the Mormons and with that point made the woman in question vanished.
1 comment:
I'll be getting this film - thanks for bringing it to my attention. I recently read up on the mountain meadows incident and would like to see the movie.
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