“Seven
young men from West Texas
set out to Richmond, Virginia, to join the
Confederate army during the American
Civil War, but find trouble and tragedy
on the way even before they become
fully-fledged soldiers in the compelling
Western adventure Journey To Shiloh...”
DETERMINED TO FIGHT FOR THE SOUTH in the American Civil War of the mid-1800s,
seven naïve and inexperienced youngsters with an average age of nineteen and
calling themselves the Concho County Comanches travel across the country to
join the cavalry. But the unworldly boys with the unshakable belief in their
mission will discover in the Deep South that the world beyond the safety of
their home town in West Texas holds hidden dangers and tragedy.
Brave and steadfast Buck Burnett (the now deservedly high-profile James Caan:
The Godfather) tries to keep the boys out of trouble and will find love
on the way, but the touchy, reckless and stubborn quick-draw J C Sutton (Paul
Peterson) soon gets himself into a crooked card game and tragedy strikes.
“Journey
To Shiloh
is a gripping Western
with an anti-war message
and is a fine movie
in its own right.
Love Westerns?
Love this!”
Easy-going
Miller Nalls (good to see the lovely Michael Sarazzin whose talent should have
ensured more prominence in movies: They Shoot Horses, Don't They; A Man Called
Gannon) backs up Buck and tries to keep the others on the straight and narrow.
Together with Willie Bill Bearden (Harrison Ford in one of his earliest roles:
Indiana Jones; Star Wars), Todo McLean (Don Stroud: Django Unchained),
Eubie Bell (Michael Burns: 40 Guns to Apache Pass) and the youngest,
Little Bit Lucket (Michael Vincent: The Mechanic; The Winds of War),
Buck and Miller are about to experience the terrible reality of war and they
will have their eyes opened to the sadistic and merciless side of slavery.
As they are tricked into signing up to join the foot soldiers and their dreams
of the cavalry turn to dust, more tragedy is to befall the friends; so will
any of them survive the war and make it back to Texas?
This heartfelt film from 1968 is a coming-of-age story of brotherhood, loyalty
and allegiance to a cause that could well be misplaced. In the midst of death
and shocking events, the Concho County Comanches are to understand the terrible
cost of human life in a war that was one of the most bloodiest of all.
The movie reflects the era in which it was made, when the sense of the Vietnam
war was in doubt; spawning the burning of call-up cards in the United States
and Ban the Bomb marches. With strong parallels to the anti-war sentiment of
the Sixties and Seventies, Journey To Shiloh is a gripping Western with
an anti-war message and is a fine movie in its own right. Love Westerns? Love
this!
Journey To Shiloh also features: Brenda Scott as Gabrielle DuPrey; John Doucette
as General Braxton Briggs; Noah Beery as Sgt Mercer Barnes; Tisha Sterling as
Airybelle Sumner; James Gammon as Tellis Yeager; Brian Avery as Carter Claiborne;
Clarke Gordon as Colonel Mirabeau Cooney; and Sean Kennedy as Custis Claiborne.
Music is by David Gates; Director of Photography is Enzo A Martinelli; Screenplay
is by Gene Coon, based on a novel by Will Henry; Produced by Howard Christie;
and Directed by William Hale.
*Journey
To Shiloh is released on DVD in the UK on 6 June 2016. Certificate: 12 |
Catalogue Number: 164465 | Running Time: 96 Minutes | RRP: £12.99.
"Journey To Shiloh is a gripping Western with an anti-war message and
is a fine movie in its own right. Love Westerns? Love this!" ~ Maggie Woods
“Seven
young men from West Texas