The Legend of Ben Hall

Sadly, the distribution of this film is patchy, to say the least, and it will not be found in most mainstream cinemas. That is a real pity, as it is far better than many "big name" films (I'm tempted to write a spoiler here about the one we saw a few days ago) and deserves to be seen more readily. We had to travel to another town to see it.

For a film made on, essentially, a shoestring budget, the quality on all scores is excellent. The Australian bush is captured beautifully, the casting and acting is entirely credible as are the sets and production values. The script brings out good character development in the main characters and the story itself is historically accurate to the point that it could almost qualify for documentary status.

Trying hard to look for negatives, the most I could suggest is that there could have been slightly tighter editing of some of the "moody pensive" shots and horse riding. But that was a minor consideration. I also should mention the great musical score.

Definitely worth seeing to visit the Australian bush of the 1860s and to learn of one of the most legendary of our bushrangers.

growing up in Ben Hall country really made this movie something special to me . As a child spending days fishing the Dog and Duck lake . Searching for old relics at the site of the Inn .Feeling the spirit of those men while sitting under some aged red river gums knowing those gums would have sheltered the bush rangers .Also having an understanding of the distances they traveled all comes to life as i watched BEN HALL. ON a recent visit to Forbes i was fortunate to meet the cast of Bushrangers it was very brief but great to chat about how they felt portraying the gang .On occasions growing up there i had visited where Hall was shot and Gilbert .As well as there graves .I give full credit to all who made this come to life

This is a true story.

In Australia 1864, Ben Hall (Jack Martin) wants to give up being a Bush-ranger (A bandit), but is convinced by his friend John Gilbert – aka Happy Jack – (Jamie Coffa) to give it one more go to make enough money to go to the United States. John Dunn (William Lee) joins them and together they rob mostly travelers. Ben Hall has unfinished business with his wife Biddy (Joanne Dobbin) who left him and he wants to take his son Henry (Zane Ciarma) away from her. The government is in the process of passing The Felons Apprehension Act which would make Ben, Happy Jack and Dunn OUTLAWS and could be shot on sight by any citizen.

This movie is about the last 9-months of Ben Hall's life. Before that he and his gang robbed at will and then Ben's gang was disbanded and he led a quiet life until John Gilbert came after him to continue the life of crime.

This is a very good western, and some may compare him to Jesse James although all we saw was Ben, Happy Jack and Dunn only robbing travelers and not trains and banks as Jesse James did. Later we did see an attempt to rob a mail coach with a lot of money, but it was not successful. Ben Hall was known all throughout Australia and was known to never have killed a man.

The cinematography was stunning, the dialogues were spot on, the acting by all was very good, and the music was low key, but okay. The shooting scenes were carefully done and were impressive. The movie may be a little too long, but very engaging.

Ben Hall played by Jack Martin seems to have been a reasonable man who wanted no part of killing. He even allowed a lady he was robbing to keep a necklace she wanted badly. Jamie Coffa as John Gilbert aka Happy Jack was a bit of a clown and a loose cannon sometimes. William Lee as John Dunn was simply a good follower and loyal to Ben Hall.

You keep asking what happened to Ben Hall at the end. Ben Hall was betrayed by his good friend Mick Coneley played by Adam Willson and was ambushed by the police Mick's wife Mary (Erica Field) always had a thing for Ben.

At the end of the movie there are statements what happened to all. (7/10)

Violence: Yes. Sex: No. Nudity: Yes. Language: Some F-bombs, but not many,.

What a beautifully shot film!! Excellent cinematography, it almost out shone the stars!

After reading copious amounts of Ben Hall literature in my youth this is the best historically accurate telling without adding the usual 'Hollywood' style fluff to pad it out and make a more 'interesting' movie to the detriment of the real tale. It shouldn't, and didn't need it. Well done Mathew and crew!

Jack Martin bought to life the best portrayal of Ben Hall yet, as did the rest of the gang and support cast. Even though Jamie Coffa's John Gilbert, with his 'boyish laugh', was a bit over the top and sometimes annoying, I reckon the real Gilbert probably was too.

The costuming and set detail is one of the best I've seen to recreate an accurate picture of the period. That's something that's usually goes astray. Even right down to the accurate detail of the weaponry used which would have maybe even impressed the late bushranger historian Edgar Penzig. A hard man to please.

The great music score only added the majesty of the scenery and the use of traditional music off the period, always a must, added to the authenticity. The song Ben Hall as the end piece was beautifully haunting. The stunning work of Ross Morgan's portraits during the credits must also get a mention.

The gun battles were excellently and excitingly shot while the last scenes of Ben's demise were very moving to say the least. Those bastard traps!

And the most amazing thing? It was crowd funded and shot on a very limited budget …but you wouldn't know.

This is a mostly forgotten history lesson that needed telling. Move over Ned!

But these guys were really special.. I don't know how accurate this is, but it looks like they tried at least.. I think the problem is in the script tho.. Should have focused more on Hall and how he managed so many robberies without killing anyone.. That would have been very interesting to me.. This was just a typical Western buddy movie.. Not sure why all the hate.. Certainly wasn't that bad and better than a lot of the tripe these days.. Acting was ok, tho the Happy Guy was a bit annoying.. Cinematography was pretty good I thought.. Flow was decent.. Production quality ok.. Just felt a bit too black and white.. Except for the kids there were zero likable characters and I think that made it a major bummer.. Really just approached it wrong and focused too much on the negative.. Too slice of life for me.. Still, I'd have given it 6 1/2 stars if possible as it's still a passable Western..