A Thief of Time

Starring: Studi, Wes

Product Description

MYSTERY-THIEF OF TIME

• Format: DVD
• Language: English
• UPC: 841887050326
• Release Date: January 2004
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Publisher: PBS
• Director: Eyre, Chris
• Starring: Studi, Wes
• Number of Disks: 1
• Other Video Info: DVD
• Weight: 0.22 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 7.5" x 5.4"

Customer Reviews

A well-done rendition of Hillerman’s story

The story was kept intact and in iconological order. However, it suggests you read the book first or at least be familiar with the characters first. There is only so much film time, and this needed to be a mini-series. Each character’s background and personality were alluded to. The visuals are par excellence. You feel that you are in Four-Corners territory. They picked a perfect cast of actors. Most have played in other Hillerman book films, so you recognize the characters. I know you can look up the list, but I am still amazed at how I immediately associate the actors with the characters. To name a few, Wes Studi (Cherokee) as Joe Leaphorn, Sheila Tousey (Menominee and Stockbridge-Munsee Indian) as Emma Leaphorn, and Graham Greene (He is a Oneida Indian) as Slick Nakai. This presentation follows the Hillerman formula for two intertwined mysteries that start for different purposes and sometimes end differently, and are not combined. On occasion, Hillerman's stories do not end. Jim Chee must track down a missing backhoe that he let get pilfered from a secure compound. Joe Leaphorn must track down a suspected pot thief or a thief of time. One of their paths crosses through a preacher appropriately named Slick. When the backhoe user turns up dispatched and the pot thief is missing, they may find that the two stories are one. We are quite lucky that the story did not get twisted by Robert Redford, as he has his agenda and quite often bends stories for his purpose. In the movie “Skinwalkers,” the Skinwalkers have been, for all practical purposes, removed. Robert Redford did the same thing in several other productions, ruining the whole purpose of the story. Yet here he seemed to take a more hands-off approach, so it played well. The DVD has a good voice-over commentary and the standard other extras.