Skinwalkers

Starring: Adam Beach, Wes Studi, Alex Rice, et al.

Navajo Tribal Police Officer Jim Chee and Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn investigate murders that lead them into spine-tingling and mystical world of Navajo witchcraft. Three unsolved homicides and an attempt on Chee's life have left the Navajo Tribal Police baffled. Are the murders somehow connected, although they occurred 120 miles apart? Or are they random acts of violence? Chee and Leaphorn's efforts to solve the seemingly unrelated individual crimes leave them with clues that point toward one suspect, in this suspenseful mystery. Adapted from the Tony Hillerman best-selling novel.

• Format: DVD
• UPC: 841887040228
• Release Date: January 1
• Rating: Not Rated
• Publisher: PBS
• Director: Chris Eyre
• Starring: Adam Beach, Wes Studi, Alex Rice, Michael Greyeyes, Jon Proudstar, Sheila Tousey
• Number of Disks: 1
• Other Video Info: ntsc
• Weight: 0.16 lbs.
• Dimensions: 5.4" x 7.5" x 0.7"

Customer Reviews

Skinwalkers - Hillerman vs. Redford

"Sun will be created - They say he has planned it all." Skinwalkers are witches in the Navajo legends and can fly or turn themselves into a dog or wolf. This mystery involves the conflict between Skinwalkers and shaman and bilagáana medicine. Then again, it may be a straightforward set of independent murders. In any event, it looks like someone is out to kill Navajo Tribal Police Officer Jim Chee (Adam Beach), and he has not got a clue as to why. As with all of Tony Hillerman's stories, you have the feeling you are there. In fact, if you have visited or lived in the area (Four Corners canyons) where the mystery takes place, you will be better able to identify with the people and landmarks. And as with his other books, there is an overt and covert story. This is the TV version of Skinwalkers with Robert Redford. He had a habit of redfordizing (twisting) stories for his agenda. This book was so strongly written that I thought Redford did not have a chance to modify it. I was wrong. He changed the whole underlying premise of the story. One may think that Redford did not read the book, although history has shown him to have modified several stories to suit his agenda, as seen in films such as “Three Days of the Condor” (1975). Maybe due to time constraints, many of the Navajo traditions that make Hillerman's work unique were glossed over. The book is much more in-depth, and the motive and additional characters made the mystery much more intriguing. Even the previous attempt at Hillerman films, “The Dark Wind” (1991), was closer to the feel. However, on the positive side, would anyone have made this TV film without Redford?