| It was during the summer of 1994 that director Nathan Ryan began his love-affair with the classic westerns. Gunfight at the OK Coral, A Fistful of Dollars, and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon became the foundation of his film library. After the release of Tombstone, Wyatt Earp, and Legends of the Fall, he decided the time had come for a Synthetic American western. The result was perhaps the most-watched, most-beloved of the Synthetic American movies. John Lavoie was the obvious choice to play the main character, Samuel Porter, a young man determined to fight for his family. Equally inspired were Brian Fleming, Amy Faucon, Nathan Ryan, but here Dan Parenti finally came into his own as a scene-stealer. The story revolved around a turn-of-the-century family in rural Tennessee, and how the great cattle war of 1916 threatened to tear them apart. Acting and production values were top notch. Synthetic American even had horseback riding scenes! It was here that SA truly hit its stride . . . | |
