A rather hollow saga of American frontier life from the celebrated Swedish director Jan Troell. It tells of an ill-tempered rancher (Gene Hackman) sending off for a mail-order bride (Liv Ullmann), and then treating her like a virtual slave - until she rebels. The film certainly looks terrific but there is no spontaneity and the overall effect is cold and uninvolving. Friends of the director put this down to his lack of control over a 100-strong crew, necessary under Hollywood union rules. In his native country, where he was responsible for the magnificent period pieces The Emigrants and The New Land, he only needed a hand-picked team of 15, and was even allowed to take over the camera and shoot particular scenes himself.


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