The term "revisionist history" is usually used in a negative connotation to imply that somewhat has changed the facts from the past in order to suit their needs or to assuage some guilt. (This seems to happen a lot in relationships.) Now, re-imagining history is something else. This is when you take a famous event or person from the past and create a fictional narrative around them. This usually includes things which could have happened, but more than likely did not. I’m typically not a history buff, but I enjoy this format and I’ve read some good novels which explore this technique, using figures like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Houdini, and Edgar Allen Poe. Blackthorn takes this “what if?” approach and applies it to Butch Cassidy.

Butch Cassidy was a real-life American outlaw who, with his partner, The Sundance Kid, robbed his way across the southwest over 100 years ago. The pair fled to Bolivia, where they both reportedly died in 1908. Blackthorn proposes that Cassidy lived on in Bolivia, changing his name to James Blackthorn and maintaining a small ranch where he raised horses. As the film opens, Blackthorn (Sam Shepard) is old and tired and feels that he doesn’t have long to live. So, he decides to sell his remaining horses, save for one, and use the money to fund a trip back to the United States, so that he can see his family. He sets off on the trail and is beset by Eduardo Apodaca (Eduardo Noriega), a man on the run. Apodaca’s sudden appearance spooks Blackthorn’s horse, who flees -- along with all of his money. Blackthorn learns that Apodaca stole a great deal of money from a mining company and that he is being pursued for this. He agrees to split the money with Blackthorn in exchange for help. Blackthorn agrees and it’s apparent that this reminds him of his days with Sundance. However, Bolivia is a treacherous country and getting the money and getting out alive will not be easily accomplished.

Even for those of us who don’t follow westerns, the idea behind Blackthorn is an intriguing one. There’s only circumstantial evidence that Cassidy actually died in Bolivia, so it’s a logical jumping off point for the film. From there, Blackthorn is introduced to Apodaca and, as mentioned above, he begins to feel that old outlaw thrill, even running into an old nemesis along the way. The screenplay by Miguel Barros contains some interesting twists and Blackthorn is soon reminded that honor amongst thieves is simply a saying, not a fact.

However, this creativity is squandered in the fact that Blackthorn is mind-numbingly boring at times. The movie should take the twists in the script, along with the fact that much of the movie involves a chase, and turn them into suspense and tension, but Gil is never able to do this. This happens for two reasons. First of all, he allows some of the dialogue scenes go on for too long and they don’t move the story along. Secondly, Gil appears to be more interested in making an art film than a western. We are treated to shots and flashbacks which are pretty, but again, make the film feel leaden.

As Gil has only directed one other feature film (and that was back in 1999), it’s good to see him back in the director’s chair. But, perhaps he should go back into horror. Gil does a great job of capturing the scenic beauty of Bolivia, but he can’t make the words jump off of the page. Blackthorn would have probably made a good novel, but as a movie it doesn’t.

Blackthorn even disappointed my wife who loves Eduardo Noriega on Blu-ray Disc courtesy of Magnolia Home Entertainment. The film has been letterboxed at 2.35:1 and the Disc contains an AVC 1080p HD transfer which runs at an average of 35 Mbps. The image is incredibly sharp and clear, showing only trace amounts of grain and no defects from the source material. It’s been a while since I’ve seen a transfer this good, as I felt as if I could step into the daytime scenes, especially those which take place on the salt flats. The white background of these shots reveals no problems with the image and shows off the great depth here. The level of detail in the picture is notable as well. The Disc carries a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track which runs at 48 kHz and an average of 4.0 Mbps. The track provides clear dialogue and sound effects. The stereo effects are well-done, especially those which highlight the sounds of the plains. The shootout sounds offers some good surround sound effects. These same scenes offer notable subwoofer effects.

The Blackthorn Blu-ray Disc contains a few extras. We begin with nine DELETED SCENES which run about 22 minutes. Most of these are simply extended versions of existing scenes from the film. Certain ideas are expanded upon here, but there are no new characters or subplots. "Making of Blackthorn" (10 minutes) is in Spanish and contains a wealth of on-set footage. We get comments from the director and writer, who discuss the story, the actors, and the locations. "HDNet: A Look at Blackthorn" (5 minutes) is a brief combination of clips from the film, comments from Shepard, and some momentary on-set footage. We get two short films from Director Mateo Gil, "Breaking and Entering" (17 minutes) and "Say Me" (15 minutes). The final extra is the trailer for the film.