MOVIES - Meek's Cutoff

[gamekeeper]

I've just watched the DVD "Meek's Cutoff" (2010) a true story based on a wagon train to Oregon in 1845, it is a strange slow movie with little dialog but shows the real hardship faced by these brave pioneers. Not much shooting or violence but I found it well worth watching.

[Hobie]

Meek's Cutoff link has the trailers...

[harry]

There are still quite a few Meeks around the SW part of Wyoming, one of my hunting buddies is a Meeks.
Harry

[wecsoger]

Several of the critics said "Open Range" was too slow. Kevin Costner (director) spoke to that, saying in so many words, if you invite friends over for dinner you don't sit them at the table immediately when they first walked in. No, you have conversation, appetizers, and make an evening of it.

Not all movies have to have an explosion, fight or make-out scene every minute and a half.

[earlmck]

Kind of a strange movie but the wife and I enjoyed it. A plus for you folks interested in such things is that it had to be very close to filmed on the correct location. I kept expecting to see a butte I would recognize but never did, even though I'm somewhat familiar with the area the real Meeks train came through. The alkaline lake would be good for Harney/Malheur lakes (south of present Burns, Oregon) where they came by, the sagebrush and lava rocks were right for that area. A botanist would see a few plants that weren't around in 1845 because settlers brought them in later, but those plants are numerous enough now that you couldn't avoid them even if you tried.

[dkmlever]

Verbal dialog was minimul but there was a lot of unspoken communication going on. A well done movie without chests exploding in red gore. It really made you think, especially at the end.

[C. Cash]

A bit too existential in where they chose to end the movie, for me personally. Except for the women, no one seem to grow or learn from anything that happened. (maybe that too is more like real life?) Still, it holds your attention though and I couldn't stop watching.

[Carlsen Highway]

I second what C.Cash said - no characters seem to develop at all and the film basically didn't have an ending...seems like they just ran out of film! I was very disapointed because right up until the cameras stopped rolling I enjoyed it. I keep looking in the video shop for "The Other Half of Meeks Cutoff"...

[C. Cash]

I second what C.Cash said - no characters seem to develop at all and the film basically didn't have an ending...seems like they just ran out of film! I was very disapointed because right up until the cameras stopped rolling I enjoyed it. I keep looking in the video shop for "The Other Half of Meeks Cutoff"...

Me too!!!