Tall Tale (1995)

Sorry, this movie sucks

Admirable film.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

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.

Just saw this with my daughter on cable. I'd never heard of it until now, but it is an interesting parable.I'm surprised nobody has mentioned it.It's about as subtle sometimes as an anvil on the head sometimes (Paradise Valley, the train from a Harper's Weekly nightmare), but it is an interesting take on the co-opting of traditions and symbols, the taming of the American West and the loss of the traditional, independent, potentially dangerous but exciting traditional American lifestyle in order to provide a predictable, comfortable, boring existence serving the greed of a rising industrial system. It is pretty ironic that it comes from Disney.

I saw this movie years ago when it came to the theater in my small hometown in northern Saskatchewan. It was my sister's birthday and I decided to treat her to "a night on the town," which basically consisted of a trip to our one-screen theater! Armed with our popcorn and twizzlers, we sat down to one of the most enjoyable movies either of us had ever seen. (We still talk about it and it was almost ten years ago!) All of our favourite fairy tale characters came to life and were transported to a place where heroes lived and dreams came true. For all the cynics out there, take a moment and remember what it was like to read the stories by Hans Christian Anderson and others and how they transformed the world around you and made you believe in the world of the imagination. Then watch this movie again and see it for what it is; a child's imagination on-screen. For the actors in this movie, thank you for showing us that there is a world of innocence out there and for reminding us that entertainment doesn't have to be bloodthirsty. It's nice to know there are movies out there that my niece and nephew can watch from start to finish without an adult having to reach for the fast-forward button.

I thought this movie was excellent for older children and adults. Tall tales are such a large part of our culture and others as well. Sometimes a person has to make a stand to protect his or her way of life and I think this movie does that in a way that is easy to interpret. It would also stay in our minds as a life lesson. Rosa Parks stood alone on that bus in Montgomery, AL. The boy in this movie took a stand too. He never hurt anyone either. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. took a stand without any violence and look what happened! The boy's father was an inspiration to his son. Our youth of today need these things. They need someone to look up to by example. I'd highly recommend this movie for all ages! I watched it twice in one day and will do so again and again.