I was very disappointed in this movie. Post production was clearly lacking. I counted at least 7 times where the microphone was clearly visible in the scene. In two or three other scenes you could see a dark bar, as if something was being intentionally blocked out. The script did not flow and dialogue was hard to understand in parts (maybe the microphone needed to be closer and more visible :)... Overall, I would not waste my money on this movie, buy the book instead. It is much better. I will say the other three Hillerman movies are very good. The actors do a much better job of staying true to the characters in the novels. Not so with this movie...

I have been reading the Tony Hillerman novels for some time and this was the first time I was able to see the characters brought to life.
I have always liked Lou Diamond Phillips as an actor and he did not disappoint here. His narration simply made the film work as well as it did.
I recommend this film to everyone and especially those who have an interest in Native culture, particularly Dine (Navajo) culture.
Cheers!

It would be nice to see and HEAR this alternative to the PBS series. Despite what I thought was a blasted lie in the Amazon description and a clear red box of text on the case, I find no no captions. My research on "cc" notation reveals a technology tangle with HMDI, RCA, and other input cords, plus incompatible improvements over the years.
Most of the explanation I have been able to find says it is just impossible for most average folks to understand. T V and computer sound inputs simply vary too much. So, we are sold out again.

Hillerman is a wonderful writer who can interweave the beauty of the southwest, the cultures of the Native Americans living there and a good mystery, Too bad this film did not do that talent justice by using all of the considerable acting abilities of Lou Diamond Phillips. This is an OK film that could have been really good if the director, actors and writers had put any real effort into it. As it is, it does give the story a fair telling, and the beauty of the southwest landscape is evident. However, everyone acts like this a high school production being done for the parents instead of a film being made to present to the public. It is still a good story, and does entertain especially if you don't mind films that are not done to their best.

Every Hillerman book should be made into a movie. Shame the studio s**tcanned this movie even before it was done. LDP is always great (who was the best in this role? They were both great tbh) but their rendition of Leaphorn was horrendous. Anyways, I do love me a Navajo murder mystery, as any sane person should.

We have watched this movie at least once a year for 15 years at least. It is somewhat dated but the story and the scenery are great. It is sort of a compilation of Tony Hillerman books and not at all true to The Dark Wind book but still well worth watching.

Anything by Hillerman is so worth reading but what about his books made into films? It’s ok. It’s a winner with great acting! True to the books! Worth buying for your library of film. Some of us still like DVD’s!

We have all 4 of the Chee Movies and thoroughly enjoy watching the movies. We have traveled in this area and it brings to life the movie. The actors are well suited to the characters. We first saw them on PBS and I wanted them for our expanding DVD library and was happy to find them on Amazon.