The Dark Wind (1991 film)
The Dark Wind is a 1991 American mystery drama film based on The Dark Wind by Tony Hillerman, one of a series of mysteries set against contemporary Navajo life in the Southwest. It stars Lou Diamond Phillips as Jim Chee and Fred Ward as Joe Leaphorn.
| The Dark Wind | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Errol Morris |
| Produced by | Robert Redford Patrick Markey |
| Written by | Eric Bergren Neal Jimenez |
| Starring | Lou Diamond Phillips Fred Ward John Karlen Gary Farmer |
| Music by | Michel Colombier |
| Cinematography | Stefan Czapsky |
| Edited by | Freeman Davies Susan Crutcher |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Seven Arts (through New Line Cinema) |
Release date |
|
Running time | 111 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English Navajo Hopi |
Synopsis
As Officer Jim Chee (Lou Diamond Phillips) watches a windmill, trying to catch the vandal repeatedly sabotaging it, a small plane crashes nearby. Thus begins a tangled story involving not only the vandalism and the crash, but murder, drug smuggling, and burglary. Officer Chee is suspected by the FBI when drugs known to have been on the plane are missing.
Cast
- Lou Diamond Phillips as Officer Jim Chee
- Fred Ward as Lt. Joe Leaphorn
- John Karlen as Jake West
- Gary Farmer as Deputy Cowboy Albert Dashee
- Michelle Thrush as Shirley Topaha
- Guy Boyd as Agent Johnson
- Blake Clark as Ben Gaines
- Gary Basaraba as Larry
Reception
It was directed by Errol Morris, a documentary film-maker making his dramatic feature debut. Robert Redford was executive producer, hoping for a series of films, but he was unhappy with the production and director. In an article on the successful adaptation of Skinwalkers in 2002, Redford said of The Dark Wind that "The film, says Redford, wasn't any good and wasn't released. "That was a false start," Redford says. "It was miscast. It was ill-conceived and I didn't think it was the right beginning for the series. It wasn't distributed.""[1]
Director Errol Morris did not finish the film due to "artistic differences" with Redford.
References
- King, Susan (November 17, 2002). "The bestseller they couldn't sell". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 28, 2015.