A NATION FORGED IN BLOOD.
At the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, a fur trapper (Al Pacino) and his son are reluctantly drawn into it; an aristocratic daughter (Nastassja Kinski) has more idealistic reasons to help the colonists. The box-office bomb that was so poorly received that Pacino didn’t make another movie for four years isn’t quite that bad. Technical details in the 1700s scenery and battles are impressive, but the British are painted as almost comically evil, a few accents are ludicrous and we never get a firm grip on Kinski, or her romance with Pacino.
1985-U.S. 123 min. Color. Widescreen. Directed by Hugh Hudson. Cast: Al Pacino (Tom Dobb), Donald Sutherland (Peasy), Nastassja Kinski (Daisy McConnahay), Joan Plowright, Dave King, Annie Lennox… Steven Berkoff, Robbie Coltrane.
Trivia: Robert Duvall, Harrison Ford and Richard Gere were allegedly considered in the lead role. Reedited in 2009; that version runs 115 min.
