Amber Waves

I agree with all the other reviewers in that this is quite a well made movie, however you don't have watch too closely to see that actually not a lot of wheat gets cut by these custom cutters. In scenes with the combines, they spend most of their time just driving aimlessly around an already cut field in the dark or even worse making it appear like they are cutting wheat by in fact just driving the machine through some scrub grass. Some minimal stock footage was used of combines in wheat but it amounts to seconds of the film.

Its sad that the movie could not have had the chance to get some decent shots of the machines doing the job.

This is the only major factual fault in what really is a well produced, directed and acted TV movie.

Who would have thought that a TV movie about wheat-whackers would be this good? (See other reviews for detailed description.) Dennis Weaver, Kurt Russell, and Mare Winningham are uniformly excellent in their roles in a dramatic (but never melodramatic) script by veteran television series writer Ken Trevey ("Gunsmoke," "The Big Valley," "Lou Grant," et al.). It might sound like a snooze-fest, but you won't regret watching this one.

I saw this made-for-TV film when it aired 38 years ago. I recall it being much better than anticipated with cinematography featuring stunning landscapes and competent dramatic performances.

Everything about this movie is "classic," as far as custom combining movies go. About the only thing wrong with it is maybe too much licentiousness. Weaver and the others do excellent acting. Custom combining is an American tradition since World War II. In the late '70s and early '80s, there were a lot of combining crews, as combines were getting bigger and more comfortable to operate, yet they weren't as modern as today's combines. And a lot of those combines were Canadian-built Massey-Ferguson 760s. This was an ABC TV movie. It was filmed in Canada, though the movie is supposed to occur in the U.S.A. Weaver's character almost kills himself and loses a combine, but the harvest must go on.

This is an excellent television movie with much to say that was made during the peak of the made-for-TV era. It's the story of a widower (Dennis Weaver) and his kids who travel around the farm belt hiring out as professional wheat harvesters. Kurt Russell signs on reluctantly to help. Weaver's performance is one of his best and the rest of the cast shines as well. Top notch writing, directing, photography and score. I saw this film during a very dark time in my life and it inspired me to press on and make changes. I recommend it to anyone in need of inspiration. They don't make these kind of intelligent, sensitive and involving films for television often anymore. But these are exactly the kind of films we need today.