The Silence of Cricket Coogler is Excellent
Patricia Smith Wood | Albuquerque, NM | 06/12/2010
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I went with a good friend to see this video at a special presentation in Santa Fe in 2000 by the guys who put it together. My friend grew up in Las Cruces and knew many of the people involved. Her sister went to school with Cricket. We were both impressed with this film and the research done by Mr. Cullin and his co-producer. We especially enjoyed the interview with Tony Hillerman. As everyone knows, Mr. Hillerman was the outstanding writer of the Lt. Joe Leaphorn and Sgt. Jim Chee mystery series set on the Navajo reservation. Mr. Hillerman was very well acquainted with the circumstances surrounding Cricket's death. He moved to Santa Fe in 1952 to become the UP Bureau Manager in New Mexico. The murder happened in 1949 and the state of New Mexico was still reeling from the political fallout connected with Cricket's death at the time Mr. Hillerman arrived in the state's capitol city. He was in a position to talk to a lot of the people who knew things about what went on.
I've read both "Cricket in the Web" (by Paula Moore) and "Death Near The Crosses" (by Peter Sandman). These are both informative books and certainly "Cricket In The Web" is extremely well researched and written. These books are good reading, but the film is a visual way to present the story. I fail to see how you could compare reading the books to a film that presents a dramatic recreation of the events. I believe anyone who has seriously studied this case and been immersed in it the way I have for the past thirty-five years would agree that the film offers so much. It was great to see some of the actual people from that era and hearing their story from their lips. I've written a fictionalized version of this murder and I used all three of these resources (plus talking to Mr. Hillerman and several former FBI agents) to gain insight into the crime. I definitely recommend the film."
Pass on this. Get the books instead.
Adipocere | United States | 08/31/2008
(2 out of 5 stars)
"Read Cricket in the Web by Paula Moore and Murder Near the Crosses by Peter Sandman. Pass on this video.
This DVD comes across as an inadequate, highly summarized account of a very complicated case.
The books hold your interest; this puts you to sleep."