After shooting the majority of the marching scenes, plus the main battle and pursuit scenes, all of the little bits of the movie that I still had to do suddenly seemed insignificant, almost a hassle. And this was when some of my concerns and worried predictions about what might happen if filming went on for too long began to come true.
The day we filmed the battle in the woods was a model day, the kind of day I’d envisioned when I first decided to shoot the film. This was how it should have been from the start. First I assembled my cast – Jonathan, Jim, Rob, Colin Nicolle, and Cliff Lee – with the intent to film for about four hours. It was a Saturday afternoon, and everyone had the day off. Everyone, that was, except Gabe Purcell. I’d hoped to get him out to play Renard, but as a plumber’s apprentice he was too busy. Next time, he said.
Some folks think A Tale of Bloody Creek was inspired by Michael Mann’s 1992 version of Last of the Mohicans, but as I’ve already explained, Northwest Passage was the direct influence, so much so that I came up with my story while watching that film, in particular the scenes in which Rogers’ Rangers tramp through the wilderness and are pursued by their enemies. Another major influence was Werner Herzog’s Aguirre: the Wrath of God, which also features a band of soldiers stumbling through a wilderness setting. Some of my long, dreamy shots come from that one.
