Click Here For Our Interview with Pierce Brosnan
Click Here For Our Interview with Liam Neeson

Click Here to Read the Theatrical Review!

Seraphim Falls

Review By: Rocco Passafuime
RoccoPassafuime@TheCinemaSource.com

The western is one of the most classic genres in Hollywood film. Its tales of grit and revenge, in its day, grew to influence filmmakers as diverse as the “spaghetti western” pioneer Sergio Leone and the legendary Akira Kurosawa.

Nowadays, very few Westerns are made, as the genre’s film output over the past several decades have gone to seemingly burn it out creatively. However, Irish actors Pierce Brosnan and Liam Neeson prove themselves quite adept to the classic genre with the new western Seraphim Falls, now available on DVD.

In 1868, three years after the end of the Civil War, ex-Union Army captain Gideon (Pierce Brosnan) is being chased through the Ruby Mountains in Nevada. Continuously hunting him down is Carver (Liam Neeson), a former Confederate Army colonel.

Assisting Carver are hired guns Parsons (Ed Lauter), Hayes (Michael Wincott), Pope (Robert Baker) and The Kid (John Robinson). Carver’s motive for hunting Gideon is revenge, after the Union soldier destroys his home in Seraphim Falls.

The five of them continuously chase Gideon through perilous mountain terrain. Each hired gun is picked off by their prey one by one until it’s only Gideon and Carver left, pitted against each other for a final showdown.

Seraphim Falls is a well-made Western that harks back to the glorious Italian “spaghetti westerns” of the 1960’s. It has fantastic set pieces and both Pierce Brosnan and Liam Neeson really get to show their stuff, delivering great, ubiquitous performances of classic Western archetype characters.

Unfortunately, the movie itself lacks anything distinctive that hasn’t already been seen in so many Westerns of the past. However, David Von Ancken and Abby Everett Jaques’ formulaic story is efficiently put together, albeit a bit sluggishly, and Brosnan and Neeson’s gritty, full-bodied performances really drive the film’s power.

The DVD’s picture quality is in the 2:40:1 anamorphic widescreen aspect ratio, with the sound quality in Dolby Digital Surround 5.1. The DVD is also packed with a pair of special features.

The first is audio commentary with director/co-writer David Von Ancken, production designer Michael Haman, and Pierce Brosnan. The three of them have a good rapport together and provide a great rapport together.

Rounding out the special features is the featurette Behind The Scenes Of Seraphim Falls. It has great behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with Brosnan, Neeson, and the rest of the cast and crew.

All in all, while Seraphim Falls, as a film, doesn’t transcend itself well beyond the level of a throwback genre exercise and suffers from a slow pace, the tale is aptly written and directed. But