The Legend of Ben Hall [DVD]

Having never heard of Ben Hall before, then i don't know why anyone feels the need to re-tell his story.although this movie only covers the last 9 months of his life, it doesn't reveal much about him to make me sympathetic towards him.he was a bushranger who with his gang stole over 600 times in a period of 3 years, but he never shot anyone himself.i'm surprised anyone ever got shot, most of the 100s of bullets that are fired throughout the movie never hit anyone - although when it comes to 2 key shootings in the story, people suddenly become marksmen!casting of the lead was totally wrong, but necessary if you're going to weave love interests into the story.they may have been successful in incorporating lots of authenticity into this movie, but there's still a hefty dollop of artistic licence!there is little story here, and the death of Ben Hall is not much of an injustice imho.

The characters were chosen for the resemblance to the real outlaws, which made me give it 5 stars, based on facts the movie had a fair plot, which also captured the feelings of the time, no smart clean shirts, polished boots etc.a real outback feel. you sense like your part of the film.......always a sad ending, where villains are the Crown and the outlaws become the heroes in folklore!!

First off this film will play in full English it will also play in it's native language German you can alter the language through the audio button on the remote.The legend of Ben Hall is a Australian western film set in New South Wales, it is written and directed by Mathew Holmes best known for the film twin rivers which he directed and stared in he was also the art director on Tim Burtons The Nightmare before Christmas.The legend of Ben Hall is based on fact set in 1864 / 1865 the film is based on the last nine months of the famous well-established bushranger and his accomplices Gilbert and Dunn.It explores the relationships within the gang and depicts many of their robberies and clashes with the police which Mathew Holmes has done extremely well.The film also explores the details surrounding Ben Hall's betrayal and his controversial death at the hands of the Australian police on the 5th of May 1865 the film stars Jack Martin in the title role, Jamie Coffa as John Gilbert, and William Lee as John Dunn.These men were the most wanted men in Australia’s bushranger history and after years on the run all Ben Hall and his gang want is to steal enough cash and gold to flee to America.It all goes completely wrong when during a mail coach robbery a police sergeant is shot dead this then increased the bounty on all their heads which made them a more profitable prospect.Whilst in this very depressing time friends turn into enemies then into bounty hunters but what it also did was it made the police more determined more than ever to capture or even kill the gang at any cost.The Australian scenery is fantastic the acting strong there is plenty of shoot-outs to satisfy any western lovers out there I belive though this film will be for the hard hitting western fans.This is a longer film than most westerns out there coming in at 135 minutes at times it does feel a bit long but it is worth sticking at it just for the frontier landscape.

Beautifully acted and shot in stunning countryside, with a great deal of attention to historical detail. Like many films of this genre it romanticises a man who was probably in reality deeply unpleasant, but that is true of a great many westerns and gangster movies. What struck me most of all was the beauty of the landscapes. A handsome movie, sensitively-acted, which showed moral dilemmas and dealt intelligently with conflicts of loyalty and life choices.

I watched it because I saw reviews saying it had authenticity of detail. That was true, but unfortunately it was only the detail that was consistent. The overall effect of the movie fluctuated between not very gritty realism and soft romanticism, as if a two headed monster was fighting over the direction it should take. If you can check it out for free, it's worth a look, but I certainly wouldn't recommend paying money for it.

Very good historical drama with a remarkable amount of period detail. For gun buffs its a must because the film maker has gone the extra mile and provided the main characters with actual historically proved weapons. Tranter revolvers and revolving rifles, enfield carbines... the only down side to this drama was the actor who plays Johnny Gilbert....he gets on your nerves (maybe Gilbert did too?). Events have the grit and realism that has not been surpassed.

Untill the last 15mins slow boring tripe 15mins from the end then o.k ish but generally crap not worth your time.

Over-romanticised movie glorifying the exploits of a vicious man.