The Dark Wind
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Errol Morris
Screenplay by	Eric Bergren Neal Jimenez
Based on	The Dark Wind by Tony Hillerman
Produced by	Robert Redford Patrick Markey
Starring	Lou Diamond Phillips Fred Ward John Karlen Gary Farmer
Cinematography	Stefan Czapsky
Edited by	Freeman Davies Susan Crutcher
Music by	Michel Colombier
Production companies	Carolco Pictures Le Studio Canal+
Distributed by	Seven Arts (through New Line Cinema)
Release date	November 1991 (1991-11) (BFI London Film Festival)
Running time	111 minutes
Country	United States
Languages	English Navajo Hopi

The Dark Wind is a 1991 American mystery drama film based on The Dark Wind by Tony Hillerman, one of a series of mysteries set against contemporary Navajo life in the Southwest. It stars Lou Diamond Phillips as Jim Chee and Fred Ward as Joe Leaphorn.

Synopsis

As Officer Jim Chee (Lou Diamond Phillips) watches a windmill, trying to catch the vandal repeatedly sabotaging it, a small plane crashes nearby. Thus begins a tangled story involving not only the vandalism and the crash, but also murder, drug smuggling, and burglary. Officer Chee is suspected by the FBI when drugs known to have been on the plane are missing.

Cast

• Lou Diamond Phillips as Officer Jim Chee
• Fred Ward as Lt. Joe Leaphorn
• John Karlen as Jake West
• Gary Farmer as Deputy Cowboy Albert Dashee
• Michelle Thrush as Shirley Topaha
• Guy Boyd as Agent Johnson
• Blake Clark as Ben Gaines
• Gary Basaraba as Larry

Reception

It was directed by Errol Morris, a documentary film-maker making his dramatic feature debut. Robert Redford was executive producer, hoping for a series of films, but he was unhappy with the production and director. In an article on the successful adaptation of Skinwalkers in 2002, Redford said of The Dark Wind, "That was a false start. It was miscast. It was ill-conceived and I didn't think it was the right beginning for the series. It wasn't distributed."^[1]

Director Errol Morris did not finish the film due to "artistic differences" with Redford.