While I've not seen the subsequent Redford produced adaptations of Hillerman's Skinwalkers, Coyote Waits (w/Adam Beach as Chee), or A Thief of Time (w/Gary Farmer returning to the Hillerverse as Captain Largo), I think any of those would have been a more universally digestible initial film. The Dark Wind is one of his most complex and perhaps a more seasoned dramatic director rather than a documentarian would have been a wiser choice. I really wished LDP, still enjoying young lion status from his roles in La Bamba and Young Guns, had optioned the rights to a couple more Hillerman stories. I truly enjoyed his subtle, soft spoken Jim Chee and his chemistry with the always excellent Gary Farmer's Dashee.
Review of The Dark Wind
