Product Details

• Actors: Andrea Camarena-Lindsay, George Cook (II), Sam Elliott, Linda Fiorentino, John Furlong
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, NTSC
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Warner Home Video
• VHS Release Date: April 30, 1996
• Run Time: 93 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6303303587
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #269,642 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Though The Desperate Trail is hardly a modern Western, this mixture of frontier adventure and con-man conniving is inflected by the plot twists that have driven the post-Tarantino era of low-budget crime thrillers, at least through the first half of the film. It opens with a stagecoach ride that becomes a thrilling runaway escape from bandits, but the passengers are not what they seem and the films spins into a game of one-upmanship between a pair of slick outlaws thrown together by fate. Craig Sheffer, a con man duded up like an Eastern hick and smiling like a chump, spars with lady outlaw Linda Fiorentino, a tough gunslinger with a gift for bluff, while she eludes driven lawman Sam Elliot, whose passion for justice is personally motivated. Through a series of schemes and ambushes (including a Wild Bunch-inspired free-for-all where the posse hits more civilians than criminals), the bickering duo slowly reveal their secrets as the posse closes in. Elliot is perfectly cast as the hate-filled marshal, whose burning dark eyes and simmering persona are unleashed in his ruthless villain with a personable drawling manner, and director P.J. Pesce stages fine action scenes. If there are no surprises in The Desperate Trail, neither are there any lulls--it's a fun ride right to the satisfying if predictable conclusion. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another great original western by TNT, July 1, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Desperate Trail [VHS] (VHS Tape)

TNT seems to be the only source of good quality Westerns these days. This is certainly a good one and worthy of anyone's video library. You'll love the soundtrack, and you'll love some of the sets, and you'll enjoy the original story. On top of that, Sam Elliott is great as a marshal hellbent on justice... or revenge. Buy it or rent it, but be sure and watch it. You won't be disappointed.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Save Your Money....., March 1, 2006

By 

D. Haw "Mr. Western Buff" (Fountain Valley, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Desperate Trail (DVD)

This film is just awful. The plot seems to suggest that if your husband abused you, you're entitled to rob a stage and pistol whip any man who abuses women, and if you caused an accident that crippled your brother, you are also entitled to steal money to give your brother what he wants. Linda Florentino plays an abused wife who becomes a gun toting stage robber with a very sarcastic mouth, bad dialog, and a silly looking outfit, and she is the heroine. Craig Sheffer steals money, sleeps with whores, wears a silly looking hat covering a silly haircut, and he is our hero. Sam Elliott looks like he'd rather be somewhere else, and he should have been. All in all, a very poor western.

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Worth seeing but don't expect anything special, June 16, 2001

By 

MalachiX - See all my reviews

This review is from: Desperate Trail [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Desperate Trail is a decent film but nothing really amazing.

The story is fairly strait-forward with nothing truly origional but decent. Unfortunatly the characters could use some work. None are particularly well-developed or interesting. Scheffer and Forientino are both rather flat leaving Eliot with the only strong performance and his character really should have gotten more screen time.

The action sequences are generally well done with a good use of slow motion and editing. What really pumps up the scenes is the excellent soundtrack. They aren't masterfully done but are exciting enough to warrent seeing the movie.

Desperate Trail is a competent western but nothing revolutionary.