Sacred Ground (1983)

it is finally so absorbing because it plays like a lyrical road odyssey that’s also a detective story.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

A white trapper (Tim McIntire) and his pregnant young Apache bride (Serene Hedin) unknowingly build a home on a Paiute burial ground. The Paiutes don't like it. After some stuff happens, the trapper turns to crazy old Jack Elam for help. Not half-bad little western from Charles B. Pierce, best known for The Legend of Boggy Creek. Pierce clearly had an interest in all things Native American as he made a handful of westerns and, of course, the cult classic Vikings vs. Indians movie, The Norseman. One thing I can say about Pierce is that his movies intrigue me, even if they don't always fire on all cylinders.The main selling point of this one is the pretty scenery. The cast isn't terrible, either. Tim McIntire plays our "hero" and his performance is something else. Half the time he appears to be ad-libbing but it could just be that he forgot his lines and they didn't do multiple takes. Either way it adds a crudeness to his performance that winds up helping the film more than it probably should have. Vets Jack Elam and L.Q. Jones are fine in their scenery-chewing roles. Serene Hedin is lovely but not the greatest actress. She would make two more films with Pierce, including the notorious stinker Boggy Creek II.This isn't something I'd ever want to watch again but it's not bad. It's a little slow-going and the plot is hardly original but, as is often the case with Pierce movies, there are enough interesting things going on to keep my attention.

This story of a mountain man, his Indian wife, and their accidental violation of sacred ground, is both interesting and different. The movie has a gritty, authentic feel to it throughout. This really is minimalist entertainment, almost entirely filmed outdoors in southern Oregon. A couple of annoying glitches crop up, include disappearing and reappearing snow, and Indians who speak their native tongue or English at various times, without any rhyme or reason. Nevertheless, "Sacred Ground" is filled with authentic feeling characters, the standout being Jack Elam. Recommended for those seeking a story that you haven't seen before. - MERK

You don't see much of it until the second half of the film, but in the background shots you'll see one of the Cascade Range's oldest and most beautiful volcanoes, Mt. McLoughlin. The sentinel of southern Oregon, this majestic peak rises above the location of this story which is equally ancient. Wife stealing as a plot device was central to Homer's tale of Helen of Troy in "The Iliad" and King David's chicanery to possess Bathsheba, the wife of his soldier Uriah, in the Old Testament book of 2nd Samuel. A latterday Samuel (Pierce) has updated the story a few millennia later by having his hero steal an Indian's wife for a wetnurse when his own Indian wife dies while giving birth to their child. He feels justified in doing so after she's mortally wounded in a skirmish with the local Paiute tribe who had taken umbrage over the mountain man and woman building a cabin on their burial ground. Using a little Davidian chicanery himself, Pierce's hero persuades another mountain man into helping him steal the woman and then, lacking a thousand Greek ships, he steals a Henry repeating rifle to hold off the angry Paiutes. Although the dialogue and plot development leaves a lot to be desired, Pierce, who also was the Director of Photography for this production, redeems himself as a better DP than screenwriter. The location footage shot in Oregon's Klamath County brings this film to life as it muddles along with the story. It's still a very enjoyable film, with some good performances from Jack Elam and L.Q. Jones, both of whom develop their characters without going too far over the top. And the location footage makes me wish I had travelled further south in my trips to the Beaver State. Dale Roloff

Story based in fact of a mountain man and his indian woman, who accidentally violate sacred burial mountain of the Piute's, the ensuing battle, and eventual truce after quite a few lost lives. A white man who CARES that he had encroached on these peoples sacred land, and would have liked to have just gotten off and gone away, but unfortunately doesn't get to. Very beautiful scenery shots of the Rocky mountains and some pretty nice music, make up for some of the acting. Along the lines of Grizzly Adams, Sellier does a good job on probably a rather tight budget. I enjoy rewatching this from time to time. Even if it is a bit of a dated piece.