Movie Review # 1004 - 1883
I recently watched 1883 which was a western series that was the prequal to Yellowstone and both shows are amazing. I love westerns and a season long show with Tim McGraw, Tom Hanks, Sam Elliot, Faith Hill, Billy Bob Thorton and more was outstanding. The cinematography was amazing.
I give this show 5 out of 5 stars.
In 1883, Elsa Dutton watches as a group of pioneers are slaughtered by a band of Native Americans on the Great Plains. She kills one, before being surrounded. Months earlier, former Union Army captain Shea Brennan cremates his wife and daughter after they die of smallpox. His partner Thomas arrives and prevents him from committing suicide when he informs him of a Pinkerton job in Fort Worth, Texas. Shea and Thomas depart for Fort Worth and observe James Dutton kill thieves who attempt to rob his covered wagon. Meanwhile, James' family (his wife, Margaret; 17-year-old daughter, Elsa; 5-year-old son, John; sister-in-law, Claire; and her teenage daughter, Mary Abel) travels to Fort Worth from Tennessee via train. James continues to encounter antagonistic criminals in town, while Shea and Thomas meet with a group of inexperienced German and Slavic immigrants who pay them for an escort to Oregon. After the Duttons arrive, the family stays at a hotel, and a drunken man enters Elsa's room and attempts to rape her before being killed by James. Realizing a partnership would be advantageous, Shea convinces James to accompany the wagon train to Oregon.
In a flashback to 1862, James is comforted by General George Meade following the Confederate loss at the Battle of Antietam. In the present, Shea, James, and Thomas prepare for the journey west. Shea hires two cowboys, Wade and Ennis, to help catch and escort feral cattle. As the wagon train departs, tensions rise between the Americans and the immigrants, as interpreter Josef struggles to keep his group in line with Shea's perceived harsh decisions. A group of riders approach the wagon train, resulting in a confrontation caused by Claire throwing a rock at the leader. A shootout ensues, leaving Mary Abel and some immigrants dead. Shea, Thomas, James, and Josef team up with Jim Courtright to track down the killers to a crowded saloon. Claire commits suicide and the group continues west.
The inexperienced immigrants find themselves at the nature's mercy; namely dysentery and fatal rattlesnake bites. Approaching the Brazos River, Shea and James disagree on how to best cross; Shea opts for caution while James wants to cross quickly. Shea learns two of the immigrants have been stealing food and forces them out of the group. Shea rebuffs the advances of a newly-widowed Romani woman named Noemi. Elsa begins assisting the cowboys with the cattle and begins a flirtatious relationship with Ennis. A frustrated immigrant challenges and fails to overcome Shea. James takes John hunting and gives Ennis permission to court Elsa.
Elsa embraces the cowgirl lifestyle and becomes smitten with Ennis. Thomas offers Noemi help and protection, but refuses her offer of marriage. James and his family opt to cross the river during the night and attempt to help the immigrants cross the following day. However, the crossing proves fatal for many of the immigrants who lack swimming experience. Once across, the group continues west.
With supplies short after a food wagon is lost in the river crossing, Josef reveals that a thief is hoarding the settlers' remaining stores. Shea, Thomas and James confront the thieves, take back the supplies, and banish them from the group. Wade informs Shea and Thomas that bandits are active in the region. Elsa and Ennis grow closer and the pair have sex, which Margaret witnesses from afar. Elsa receives harsh words from her mother about her decisions, and James confronts Ennis, who proclaims his love for Elsa. Meanwhile, a group of bandits ambush and kills the banished settlers, and the remaining settler group prepare for a fight. In the ensuing battle, Elsa is saved by Ennis, who in turn is shot and dies. Elsa kills Ennis' shooter.
Shea attempts to sympathize with the mourning Elsa. The group stop at Doan's Crossing, on the border of Indian Territory. There, Shea employs Colton, a cowboy to replace Ennis, and Cookie, a camp cook. Thomas buys a mirror for Noemi, who professes that she loves him and his gift means he loves her back. Elsa confronts a pair of catcalling men and turns her gun on them, causing a standoff which James defuses. Margaret gets drunk with Carolyn, a local shopkeeper, and argues with James about how the journey is changing Elsa.
In Comancheria, the settlers pay a tax to the Comanche to cross their land. One of the Comanche introduces himself to Elsa as Sam, a name he took from the man who killed his wife. The two race their horses; Elsa wins and Sam nicknames her "Lightning With The Yellow Hair". A storm approaches and tornadoes threaten the group; Sam and Elsa take shelter together and embrace. The tornado devastates the group's wagons and scatters their livestock. The cattle are spotted with a group of rustlers, so Shea, Thomas, James and Elsa confront them. Separated from her father, Elsa is attacked by the rustlers until Sam and his partner save her. The rustlers are killed with assistance from cattleman Charles Goodnight.
With most of the settlers' wagons destroyed and their supplies dangerously low, Shea recommends they cut short their journey and find land to settle near Denver, Colorado. James insists to Shea that he will continue on to Oregon, and openly challenges Shea's leadership, inviting the remaining settlers to follow him onto the Oregon Trail. Meanwhile, Elsa bonds with Sam; she kills a bison and is introduced to Comanche culture. They declare their love for each other, and decide to marry. Though Margaret expresses her growing concern for her daughter, Elsa remains defiant. She announces she will escort her family to Oregon, then ride back to Comanche territory to be with Sam. The betrothed pair part as the wagon train continues west.
In Lakota territory, the dwindling group is beset by further tragedy when Josef is bitten by a rattlesnake and his wife is thrown from her horse, leaving her comatose and eventually proves fatal. Shea, Thomas and James come across a group of murdered Lakota women and children. Realizing they will be blamed for the massacre and hunted by Lakota warriors, they attempt to track and capture the culprits, while the remainder of the group are told to stay and explain the situation to any returning Lakota. However, at Cookie's insistence, many of the settlers choose instead to flee to a nearby U.S. Army fort, leaving Elsa and Margaret behind. Shea, Thomas and James find and kill the culprits, members of the Wyoming Stock Growers Association. The scattered settlers are attacked and many are killed by the Lakota. Elsa shoots a Lakota warrior, who in turn fires an arrow into her torso. After Elsa defuses the fight by speaking a few words taught to her by Sam, the Lakota leave. Colton is forced to kill a crazed, partially-scalped arrow-impaled Alina. Elsa receives rudimentary treatment for her wound. James quietly tells Margaret that Elsa is going to die.
The wagon train arrives at Fort Caspar in the Wyoming Territory to find it in possession of Joseph Maull Carey, the leader of the Wyoming Stock Growers Association. There is no surgeon to help Elsa, though a doctor confirms her wound is life-threatening and advises taking her to Fort Laramie. Meanwhile, Josef's leg turns gangrenous and it is amputated by James, Shea and Thomas. Later, Elsa is treated by a local Crow tribe. Elsa realizes she is going to die, and asks to choose her burial spot. The Crow leader recommends a valley called 'Paradise' in the Montana Territory for the Duttons to settle, but promises that his people will reclaim the land in seven generations. Forced to leave his wife and son behind to find the spot before Elsa succumbs to her wound, James and Elsa ride to Paradise. Beneath a tree, Elsa dies in her father's arms. A year later, Shea arrives at the Pacific Ocean; his promise to his late-wife fulfilled, he shoots himself on the beach. Josef, alone and on crutches, begins building his home; Thomas and Noemi arrive in Oregon where they find a location near a river to build their home.
I give this show 5 out of 5 stars.
In 1883, Elsa Dutton watches as a group of pioneers are slaughtered by a band of Native Americans on the Great Plains. She kills one, before being surrounded. Months earlier, former Union Army captain Shea Brennan cremates his wife and daughter after they die of smallpox. His partner Thomas arrives and prevents him from committing suicide when he informs him of a Pinkerton job in Fort Worth, Texas. Shea and Thomas depart for Fort Worth and observe James Dutton kill thieves who attempt to rob his covered wagon. Meanwhile, James' family (his wife, Margaret; 17-year-old daughter, Elsa; 5-year-old son, John; sister-in-law, Claire; and her teenage daughter, Mary Abel) travels to Fort Worth from Tennessee via train. James continues to encounter antagonistic criminals in town, while Shea and Thomas meet with a group of inexperienced German and Slavic immigrants who pay them for an escort to Oregon. After the Duttons arrive, the family stays at a hotel, and a drunken man enters Elsa's room and attempts to rape her before being killed by James. Realizing a partnership would be advantageous, Shea convinces James to accompany the wagon train to Oregon.
In a flashback to 1862, James is comforted by General George Meade following the Confederate loss at the Battle of Antietam. In the present, Shea, James, and Thomas prepare for the journey west. Shea hires two cowboys, Wade and Ennis, to help catch and escort feral cattle. As the wagon train departs, tensions rise between the Americans and the immigrants, as interpreter Josef struggles to keep his group in line with Shea's perceived harsh decisions. A group of riders approach the wagon train, resulting in a confrontation caused by Claire throwing a rock at the leader. A shootout ensues, leaving Mary Abel and some immigrants dead. Shea, Thomas, James, and Josef team up with Jim Courtright to track down the killers to a crowded saloon. Claire commits suicide and the group continues west.
The inexperienced immigrants find themselves at the nature's mercy; namely dysentery and fatal rattlesnake bites. Approaching the Brazos River, Shea and James disagree on how to best cross; Shea opts for caution while James wants to cross quickly. Shea learns two of the immigrants have been stealing food and forces them out of the group. Shea rebuffs the advances of a newly-widowed Romani woman named Noemi. Elsa begins assisting the cowboys with the cattle and begins a flirtatious relationship with Ennis. A frustrated immigrant challenges and fails to overcome Shea. James takes John hunting and gives Ennis permission to court Elsa.
Elsa embraces the cowgirl lifestyle and becomes smitten with Ennis. Thomas offers Noemi help and protection, but refuses her offer of marriage. James and his family opt to cross the river during the night and attempt to help the immigrants cross the following day. However, the crossing proves fatal for many of the immigrants who lack swimming experience. Once across, the group continues west.
With supplies short after a food wagon is lost in the river crossing, Josef reveals that a thief is hoarding the settlers' remaining stores. Shea, Thomas and James confront the thieves, take back the supplies, and banish them from the group. Wade informs Shea and Thomas that bandits are active in the region. Elsa and Ennis grow closer and the pair have sex, which Margaret witnesses from afar. Elsa receives harsh words from her mother about her decisions, and James confronts Ennis, who proclaims his love for Elsa. Meanwhile, a group of bandits ambush and kills the banished settlers, and the remaining settler group prepare for a fight. In the ensuing battle, Elsa is saved by Ennis, who in turn is shot and dies. Elsa kills Ennis' shooter.
Shea attempts to sympathize with the mourning Elsa. The group stop at Doan's Crossing, on the border of Indian Territory. There, Shea employs Colton, a cowboy to replace Ennis, and Cookie, a camp cook. Thomas buys a mirror for Noemi, who professes that she loves him and his gift means he loves her back. Elsa confronts a pair of catcalling men and turns her gun on them, causing a standoff which James defuses. Margaret gets drunk with Carolyn, a local shopkeeper, and argues with James about how the journey is changing Elsa.
In Comancheria, the settlers pay a tax to the Comanche to cross their land. One of the Comanche introduces himself to Elsa as Sam, a name he took from the man who killed his wife. The two race their horses; Elsa wins and Sam nicknames her "Lightning With The Yellow Hair". A storm approaches and tornadoes threaten the group; Sam and Elsa take shelter together and embrace. The tornado devastates the group's wagons and scatters their livestock. The cattle are spotted with a group of rustlers, so Shea, Thomas, James and Elsa confront them. Separated from her father, Elsa is attacked by the rustlers until Sam and his partner save her. The rustlers are killed with assistance from cattleman Charles Goodnight.
With most of the settlers' wagons destroyed and their supplies dangerously low, Shea recommends they cut short their journey and find land to settle near Denver, Colorado. James insists to Shea that he will continue on to Oregon, and openly challenges Shea's leadership, inviting the remaining settlers to follow him onto the Oregon Trail. Meanwhile, Elsa bonds with Sam; she kills a bison and is introduced to Comanche culture. They declare their love for each other, and decide to marry. Though Margaret expresses her growing concern for her daughter, Elsa remains defiant. She announces she will escort her family to Oregon, then ride back to Comanche territory to be with Sam. The betrothed pair part as the wagon train continues west.
In Lakota territory, the dwindling group is beset by further tragedy when Josef is bitten by a rattlesnake and his wife is thrown from her horse, leaving her comatose and eventually proves fatal. Shea, Thomas and James come across a group of murdered Lakota women and children. Realizing they will be blamed for the massacre and hunted by Lakota warriors, they attempt to track and capture the culprits, while the remainder of the group are told to stay and explain the situation to any returning Lakota. However, at Cookie's insistence, many of the settlers choose instead to flee to a nearby U.S. Army fort, leaving Elsa and Margaret behind. Shea, Thomas and James find and kill the culprits, members of the Wyoming Stock Growers Association. The scattered settlers are attacked and many are killed by the Lakota. Elsa shoots a Lakota warrior, who in turn fires an arrow into her torso. After Elsa defuses the fight by speaking a few words taught to her by Sam, the Lakota leave. Colton is forced to kill a crazed, partially-scalped arrow-impaled Alina. Elsa receives rudimentary treatment for her wound. James quietly tells Margaret that Elsa is going to die.
The wagon train arrives at Fort Caspar in the Wyoming Territory to find it in possession of Joseph Maull Carey, the leader of the Wyoming Stock Growers Association. There is no surgeon to help Elsa, though a doctor confirms her wound is life-threatening and advises taking her to Fort Laramie. Meanwhile, Josef's leg turns gangrenous and it is amputated by James, Shea and Thomas. Later, Elsa is treated by a local Crow tribe. Elsa realizes she is going to die, and asks to choose her burial spot. The Crow leader recommends a valley called 'Paradise' in the Montana Territory for the Duttons to settle, but promises that his people will reclaim the land in seven generations. Forced to leave his wife and son behind to find the spot before Elsa succumbs to her wound, James and Elsa ride to Paradise. Beneath a tree, Elsa dies in her father's arms. A year later, Shea arrives at the Pacific Ocean; his promise to his late-wife fulfilled, he shoots himself on the beach. Josef, alone and on crutches, begins building his home; Thomas and Noemi arrive in Oregon where they find a location near a river to build their home.