The Legend of Ben Hall
Ben Hall is drawn back into bushranging by the reappearance of his old friend John Gilbert. Reforming the gang, they soon become the most wanted men in Australian history.
30 March 1979, Durban, Natal, South Africa
22 July 1983, Balaklava, South Australia, Australia
November 26, 2016
Writer/director Matthew Holmes steers and controls the film's tone with a single minded focus that serves the film well, appealing to the serious historian and invested film loverDecember 26, 2016
The long-neglected tale of bushranger Ben Hall - there was an ABC TV series way back in 1975 - receives a pretty good going over in this impressive, ambitious, incident-packed feature from writer/director Matthew Holmes.November 30, 2016
There's a story here somewhere but I suspect the nub of it is at the beginning of Hall's bushranging career, rather than the end. Whatever the truth of it, Holmes is too tentative in his attempts to tease it out.December 02, 2016
As portrayed by Jack Martin, the bushranger is an imposing figure, tall craggy, blue-eyed and charming when he wants to be. But his motivations, except for the fact he wants his son back, remain sketchy.December 17, 2016
Holmes' unfocused screenplay makes clear that his subject was an honorable thief (Hall never took a life), but the writer-director never makes any of it matter.November 22, 2016
...an impressive feature bold in its sense of ambition and rich with character-driven intimacy.December 15, 2016
Often the word "legend" in a film title can be a fairly good indicator that you're not in for a breezy frolic, but that still doesn't prepare you for the ponderously protracted slog that is "The Legend of Ben Hall."December 02, 2016
This is far too long (half an hour could have easily been trimmed) and the actors aren't always up to it, and yet it's still worth persevering with, right down to the you-saw-it-coming, sub-Bonnie And Clyde ending.January 06, 2017
It's a serviceable Aussie Western set circa 1864, one that moves at a good clip despite being more than two hours long.