Tall Tale (1995)

Pretty Good

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

Written by Steve Bloom and Robert Rodat, and directed by Ornie Orsatti, Tall Tale stars Nick Stahl, Patrick Swayze, and Scott Glenn. Released in 1995 this Action/Adventure film takes place in an old western town at the start of the twentieth century and focuses on the modernization of America.In 1905, Daniel Hackett (Nick Stahl) lives with his mother and father on the farmlands of Paradise Valley. As the film progresses the audience learns that Daniel is growing sick of his life on the farm and expresses his bitterness to his father, Jonas. Daniel's father tells him repetitive stories of folk heroes, Pecos Bill, Paul Bunyan, and John Henry, in whom Daniel no longer believes. Meanwhile, J.P. Stiles (Scott Glen) enters town with his gang of wealthy men and his modern machinery with intent of buying the land in order to develop it. When Jonas stands up to stiles and refuses to sell his land he ends up being shot, but not before he hands the deed to his land to Daniel. Jonas survives but is badly injured, Daniel meanwhile runs and hides in his boat, where he falls asleep. When he wakes he finds himself in a dried up lake bed in Texas, where two men try to rob and kill him, only to be rescued by legendary cowboy Pecos Bill (Patrick Swayze). The two of them later meet up with famous lumberjack Paul Bunyan and ex-slave John Henry. The team gets into a tough battle with Stiles, whose greediness threatens the strength of the folk tales and the livelihood of the farmers.The acting by the Stahl, Swayze, and Glen was very impressive. They were able to capture the feel of the early Midwest and made the audience feel as if they were part of the story. The compelling acting brought out the excitement of the folk lures that every child reads when growing up. Gender clearly played a large part in casting actors for the film because men play all of the dominant roles. This can be attributed to the fact that women didn't have a large role outside of the home during this time period and unfortunately there are not many women folk heroes.The costume design and set design also played large roles in creating a convincing story. The costumes were dead on for what viewers would imagine Pecos Bill, Paul Bunyan, and John Henry to look and dress like. The costumes really brought out the feeling that this film was based in the early Midwest and the set was designed perfectly to give the feeling that the audience is involved in a folk story. For example Paul Bunyan's log home was exactly what you would imagine it to be, along with his blue ox, Babe.I would highly recommend this film, as I have loved it since I was a child. It is a great movie for children and for families, and should be watched by anyone who enjoys adventure films.

First of all, the casting is perfect. That's the one good thing I can say about this movie. Patrick Swayze, Oliver Platt, and Roger Aaron Brown make the most of their characters and have great chemistry together. Swayze is particularly hilarious as a tough-as-nails Pecos Bill. But the rest of this movie is a disaster. It has almost NO plot, and what little shreds of a plot it has are ridden with holes. I'll explain.You see, there's this guy Stiles who wants to buy up all the land in a community. So he holds a town meeting promising to give people vast sums of money in return for their land. Everyone is positively giddy about it, until this guy Jonas stands up and makes a touching speech about how the land is their heritage and it would be a sin to sell. Everyone gets on his case about it, and he concludes with, "Well, I ain't selling." Then what happens? Do they discuss it further? Does Stiles resume the meeting? No! Everyone just gets up and LEAVES! The meeting isn't even adjourned; they all just... walk out of the building! Did they forget what they were doing? Do they have Attention Deficit Disorder? Someone please explain this scene to me.Now, if I remember correctly, Stiles is so mad about Jonas ruining his meeting that he does the logical thing and... shoots Jonas. At the last minute, Jonas's son Daniel gets ahold of the deed to their land and runs away with it, because Stiles will stop at nothing to snatch it right out of his hands (a tried-and-true legal tactic). Daniel runs away and falls asleep in a boat. Then he dreams about being in the Old West with Pecos Bill. Then he wakes up, and Stiles tries to run him over with a train. Suddenly all the townspeople are on his side and he gets to keep the deed. It's all very confusing.What a dumb movie. 2/10 stars.

I'm now 18 and this movie remains a favorite of mine. I watch it so much my parents urge me to watch other films.The film takes place in the American West in 1905. A young boy named Daniel Hacket doesn't believe his father is doing the right thing when he passes up an opportunity to sell the family farm for purely sentimental reasons. He also doesn't believe all the tall tales his father tells him of Pecos Bill, Paul Bunyun and Jonn Henry.He is later entrusted with the deed to the farm by his father who then gets critically injured.The villain of this film, Mr. Stiles, won't rest until he has every deed to Paradise Valley, the area where the Daniel lives.Daniel falls asleep in a boat and is carried off. When he awakes he is rescued by none other than Pecos Bill himself. Daniel is determined to get home to take care of his family. Pecos decides to help him. Along the way they meet Paul Bunyun and John Henry. They also must struggle to avoid Stiles and his men who are hot on their trail.On the journey, Daniel sees why the land is so important to his father and finds himself fighting for it just as hard.I find this to be a charming and heart warming film. It must have been fun for the actors to portray those great American legends. I, personally, could not see anyone else in those roles. I would have liked to see a bit more of Calamity Jane.Here's to the Code!

I am only commenting on this "movie" because of previous criticisms listed above. This "film" was never in cinema houses because it was produced as a children's special for HBO. It's really too bad that others can't manage to see it through the eyes of its intended audience: a seven-year-old who is enthralled by the likes of Patrick Swayze, Oliver Platt, Scott Glenn, Catherine O'Hara, Roger Aaron Brown, Scott Wilson, William H. Macy and Burgess Meredith acting out his/her favorite childhood stories. Come on! Who WOULDN'T have fun watching this cast? I, for one, am glad that there is still mindless, FUN entertainment for children to watch in between the movies we adults view that are full of explosions, blood, gore and full frontal nudity. I'm certainly no prude, and I don't even HAVE children -- I just remember fully what it was like to be a child!