This curious Western may set a new world record for out-of-the-blue inanity, which comes winging in toward the end of the picture.
Seraphim Falls (2007)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:81
Fresh:44
Rotten:37
Average Rating:5.7/10
Consensus: A brutal, slow-moving drama that unfolds among some great-looking scenery.
Rated: 15 [See Full Rating] for violence and brief language.
Runtime: 1 hr 55 mins
Genre: Thriller, War, Theatrical Release, Violence, Revenge, Railroads
Theatrical Release:03-08-2007
Synopsis: PIERCE BROSNAN and LIAM NEESON star in Seraphim Falls – An epic action thriller set against the backdrop of the American Civil War. Directed by David Von Ancken (The Shield, CSI) Seraphim Falls... PIERCE BROSNAN and LIAM NEESON star in Seraphim Falls – An epic action thriller set against the backdrop of the American Civil War. Directed by David Von Ancken (The Shield, CSI) Seraphim Falls is a visceral study of revenge and a bloody account of the aftermath of war. Combining the raw brutality of FIRST BLOOD with the mesmerizing savage beauty of COLD MOUNTAIN, this is a film that will leave audiences gasping, and on the edge of their seats. It's been five years since the end of the American Civil War. Somewhere deep within the snowy mountains of the American West a lone figure - Gideon (PIERCE BROSNAN) sits in front of a fire, lost in thought. Abruptly, he is pulled out of his reverie by the echo of a Henry rifle and a bullet puffing into the snow inches from his head. With no time to react another shot rings out. It connects with Gideon's shoulder and whips him to the ground. Instantly Gideon calculates his one chance of survival. To leave everything he owns and run for the cover of the nearby fir trees – his blood leaving a crimson trail in the snow… So begins the thrilling first act of SERAPHIM FALLS, and the final stage of Colonel Morsman Carver's (LIAM NEESON) terrible revenge - to hunt down and kill Gideon, no matter what it takes. There will be many men dead before these two meet face to face, and only then will Carver fully comprehend the full cost of his undertaking. Launched by a gunshot and propelled by rage, the relentless pursuit will take them both far from the comforts and codes of civilization and into the unforgiving wilderness. The emotional conclusion to this odyssey comes after a bloody climax in which both men are forced to confront their past and travel deep within the recesses of their souls. SERAPHIM FALLS - a taut action film, an epic chase and primal battle set in the mythic landscape of the West. [More]
Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Liam Neeson, Anjelica Huston, Angie Harmon
Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Liam Neeson, Anjelica Huston, Angie Harmon, Xander Berkeley, Ed Lauter, Tom Noonan, John Robinson, Robert Baker
Director: David Von Ancken
Director: David Von Ancken
Screenwriter: Abby Everett Jacques
Producer: Bruce Davey, David Flynn
Composer: Harry Gregson-Williams
Studio: IDP Distribution
Reviews for Seraphim Falls
It starts with a bang, but ultimately, the wheels come off this covered wagon.
The best thing about Seraphim Falls is the extraordinary cinematography by Academy Award winner John Toll.
A handsome, old-fashioned western of few words and heavy meanings that unfolds with the sanctimonious grandeur of a biblical allegory.
It works as a revenge/chase movie, but when things get wacky towards the end the movie almost loses its way.
No rotund subplots, no twist endings, and no tail-chasing. It's just two great actors dashing around the countryside trying to slice each others' throats.
For devotees of gonad cinema, there may not be a better time to be had at the movies right now than the first 20-ish minutes of Seraphim Falls.
You can, if you so choose, read the film as a lesson in the futility of violent conflict as a means toward a peaceful end. Or you can let it just wash over you, fast and pounding, like a waterfall.
Seraphim Falls has decent pep in its step until the final 30 minutes.
[Neeson] and Brosnan are supremely well-matched foils, though I do wish that the filmmaker, David Von Ancken, had lent his sparsely mythic tale just a twinge of something...new.
Seraphim Falls has a crispness and economy that few genre films can claim these days.
Eventually feels like a less-gruesome Apocalypto with not much more back-story.
By all rights the film should be a pretentious bore. But damned if Seraphim Falls didn't hold my attention all the way through
Basically just an old-fashioned western chase saga with delusions of grandeur. But it's still enjoyable as a flamboyant exercise in nostalgia.
If not nearly as multi-layered and lyrical as last year's The Proposition, Seraphim Falls still proves to be something in short supply these days: a sturdy, straight-ahead, less-talk, more-action Western.
There are plenty of shootouts and grisly happenings to keep things moving, and Toll's cinematography...ensures that Seraphim Falls is a visual triumph.
Revenge begets revenge is the moral here in a beautifully photographed genre Western showing off New Mexico's climatically varied scenery.
Seraphim Falls is a sanctimoniously violent western about retribution and forgiveness with obvious Biblical overtones, references and names.
Aside from spasms of brutal violence, however, there's nothing rousing or new here.
Latest News for Seraphim Falls
April 28, 2007:
Trailer & Poster review ![]()
More...
January 26, 2007:
Another "Crown" for Brosnan
Pierce Brosnan took a detour into indie productions after hanging up his Bond tux and martini -- most recently in "The Matador" and "Seraphim Falls" -- but... More...
January 25, 2007:
Critical Consensus: "Smokin'" Not Hot, "Release" Hardly A Catch, "Epic" and "Chocolate" Not Screened
The first month of 2007 wraps up with four eclectic releases, featuring hitmen ("Smokin' Aces", starring Ryan Reynolds, Jeremy Piven, and a million other hip... More...
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