In the Line of Duty: Manhunt in the Dakotas

The Gordon Kahl incident, Medina, North Dakota on Sunday, February 13, 1983, was a forerunner to the James and Steven Jenkins incident, Ruthton, Minnesota in September, 1983, the whole mid-1980s farm crisis, and even Ruby Ridge and Waco. Gordon Kahl was a promoter of Posse Comitatus, and had a considerable following in North Dakota. Eventually, push came to shove. Kahl went down to the Arkansas Ozarks. But the FBI went in and got their man. The movie is based on a book written by James Corcoran who covered the news story for the Fargo Forum. The Georgia filming location suffices for North Dakota in winter? Not quite. There was a Dodge Ramcharger in the actual slaying incident. There was a small undercurrent of Posse Comitatus in North Dakota and Minnesota in the 1980s and early 1990s. They are a neo-Nazi sort of group. I think maybe an anti-Big Brother undercurrent would be a good thing if not taken to extreme extremes, but not a racist one.

Saw this movie on a TV rerun a while back and thought it wasn't too bad. I know someone from the town of Medina, N.D., where he was living after prison. It's pretty surreal when you know someone whose family was around at the time of the incident. Yes, this movie is very realistic. Its not flashy, its not stylized, its like real life, the way movies are supposed to be. Rod Steiger also looks insanely close to the real Gordon Kahl. It is probably one of the largest stories in N.D. history because of the nationwide impact it had. If you catch this on TV (probably on one of the smaller cable channels), check it out, especially if you are from N.D. Its not that bad of a movie and for those of you who remember it, I'm sure you'll find things you like and don't like about it.

This semi-obscure movie is based off of James Corcoran's book "Bitter Harvest". Said book was publicly denounced by Kahl's wife Joan as being inaccurate and filled with lies. That should say quite a bit right from the start... The inconsistencies, inaccuracies, etc. In this movie compared to the actual events that took place and the people involved are so plentiful I made a list. Joan Kahl is portrayed as skittish and weak when in reality she was a caring mother of 6+ children. Rod Steiger is strangely complemented by some as looking the part he plays but IMO he is a bit too short and heavy-set, and strangely always seems to be wearing the same set of clothes. As mentioned in some of the other reviews here, the filming locations are noticeably wrong to anyone familiar with ND. There are far too many trees and a distinct lack of snow in the scenes. GK is portrayed as a racist, bitter old man hell-bent on getting revenge, when in reality he was a religious father who admitted to not enjoying killing the marshals and just wanted to be left alone by the government. The entire Medina shootout scene is wrong, from the vehicles used to the positioning of those vehicles to who fired at certain times, etc. The Arkansas shootout is entirely wrong as well, the movie shows a long exchange of gunfire and GK is killed via smoke inhalation and an explosion. In reality GK never fired a shot and was murdered by a local sheriff who was then killed by friendly fire. Many of the names used to represent people in the movie have been changed from their real-life counterpart, maybe due to consent issues or fear of legal action for whatever reason. This movie is strictly for entertainment purposes only. Those looking for an actually accurate portrayal of the events it is based on should watch the documentary Death & Taxes.