A Man Called Horse
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Movie Reviews of A Man Called Horse
Movie Review: Don't Believe Everything You Read About This Film
Summary: 5 Stars
RE: A note to those confused about "white" men becoming Indian chiefs . . . so frustrating it is when some people criticize that which they clearly know nothing of.The following is from the back cover of a book depicting a true story. The book is called BLUE JACKET by Allan W. Eckert, Landfall Press, Inc., Dayton, Ohio, Copyright 1969 by Allan W. Eckert:
"In the year 1771, a white boy named Marmaduke Van Swearingen was captured by Shawnee Indians in what is now West Virginia but was then the edge of the American frontier. Impressed with his bravery, he was not killed but instead was taken to Ohio where he was adopted into the tribe and given the name Blue Jacket, from the blue shirt he was wearing at the time of his capture. The boy grew to excel as a warrior and leader and became the only white to be made war cheif of the Shawnee."
So famous is this story that every summer in Xenia, Ohio, very near where many of the noteworthy historical exents depicted in this book actually took place, the story of BLUE JACKET is performed live on stage in an ampitheatre in the form of classic outdoor drama.
Good people, don't allow the ignorance of others to mislead you into their conclusions. Indeed, this film is highly entertaining whether it is well-researched or not; and it does stand upon its own merit against the test of time whether or not some people who write negative rewiews of this film have well-researched this film and the validity of its subject matter or not. My opinion is to hand controversy over to the controversial; and instead allow for the art of filmmaking to color your own, personal take on this movie as you experience this film and all it means to you instead of what it means to others; for far more colorful and enjoyable this film will be when taken in the context in which it was clearly intended to be, and that is the study of a man who is desperately struggling to uncover his own personal values, and then discover what to do with them. Richard Harris delivers a soulful and well-rounded performance that, if missed, would surely be unfortunate. Yes indeed, five stars for A MAN CALLED HORSE.
Movie Review: A first in empathy for Sioux Indians
Summary: 5 Stars
It is one of the rare films about American Indians that is not at all concerned by their extermination by Custer and company. But it is in fact a lot deeper than that. It shows from inside the functioning, the culture, the rites and rituals of Sioux Indians when a white English Lord is captured and turned into a slave for some time. It shows how he manages to become a warrior by killing two Shoshone assailants. Then he marries the sister of the chief and eventually becomes the chief after a war with the Shoshones who attack the village that he defends successfully. And then they move. It shows how hard they are with old women when their sons have disappeared. It shows how hard they are with their warriors who have to go through very cruel rites. Pain is the deliverer of the soul. It shows the basic motivation of wars between tribes: to loot the others, in other words to survive by doing nothing productive but appropriating what is not theirs but the others'. It could be considered as light anthropologically but when it came out in 1970 it was a real revolution in the sympathy and empathy it conveyed about the Indians, but also about the fact that cruelty and pain were never looked for per se but always to prove the courage and the strength of the person. In other words it is the proof that Sioux Indians had a high level of morality based on proved physical endurance and courage. It also proved that love was a real dimension among them governing the relations among fellow human beings in the tribe and between men and women, though their love was not necessarily expressed the way we would romantically adorn it.
Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris Dauphine, University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne & University Versailles Saint Quentin en Yvelines
Movie Review: Shoshone-Killer
Summary: 5 Stars
Before writing this review, I went back and read the reviews written by those who didn't like the movie. One guy who reported that he was writing his review from the Pine Ridge Reservation, complained, amongst many other things that the natives in this film are overly stoic, never cracking a smile. Strange. I saw plenty of smiling, joking and laughing so I have to regard this guy's criticism as invalid. Another fellow thought the use of French was geographically impossible because French was only spoken in the South--apparently Louisiana. Another brilliant critic that can be ignored.
Anyway, this movie is great entertainment and, although it isn't certanly historically correct in every aspect, at least makes an effort to get it right. Yes, it does the usual Hollywood thing of using white actors made up as Lakota but, hey, it's Hollywood and it is probably difficult to pick up trained actors on every street corner. The Lakota, although not always shown in a glowing light, are always treated with respect. I especially enjoyed the children's reaction to 'Horse' killing a Shoshone warrior. Each little boy, while shouting the Lakota word for 'coup', strikes the corpse with his coup stick. It is a testamony to the aggression trained into every Lakota boy.
So I liked this movie and lot and, for my taste, found it far superior to Cosner's more politically correct 'Dances with Wolves.' I rather imagine, however, that Cosner used this film for much of his material.
Movie Review: Nearly anthropological in its discovery of an alien culture
Summary: 5 Stars
I saw this when it came out and was utterly enthralled by it. Having been raised on cowboy TV, where the Indian is invariably a dangerous savage, this film and Little Big Man were a revelation to me. LBM was the first film I had seen that portrayed Indians not only as vivid individuals but sympathetically, though it verged on melodrama. Horse was even better in so many ways. The Indians first appeared as cruel and brutal, then became human and sympathetic as the film played on. It is exactly the kind of evolution in perception that one can experience in another culture, with no holds bared and consistent realism throughout. It is truly masterful in the way that it absorbs the white man into the tribe as an honored member and future leader, including the test of courage and pain. I particularly liked the Frenchman, who taught him about Sioux ways; I have long remembered his pose: he acted crazy and came to be viewed as a kind of good-luck fool, so was not asked to work.
Now, nearly 40 years later, I watched it with my son, 10. He was shocked at first, then came to understand the culture some, and asked me plenty of questions. This was a great pleasure to me, indeed it is the reason I got the film. I could re-live it with him and stimulate his mind as well.
Warmly recommended. I enjoyed it as much as I did as a youth.
Movie Review: Authentic and brutal rite of passage
Summary: 5 Stars
Richard Harris stars as John Morgan a privileged but bored English nobleman hunting in the Northwest in the 1820's. He is captured and his party slain by a band of Sioux Indians. Brought back to their village he is presented to the aged mother of the chief, Buffalo Cow Head played by Dame Judith Anderson. He is degraded, dehumanized and must serve as the old lady's slave.
"A Man Called Horse" was extensively researched as to the lifestyle among the Sioux at this time and portrayed in beautifully photographed and acted out fashion. Harris gradually embraces the way of the Sioux and is schooled by another prisoner Batiste, a half Indian and half Frenchman who acts as his interpreter.
Harris falls in love with the sister of the chief, Running Deer played by the gorgeous raven haired Corinna Tsopei, a former Miss Universe from Greece. The chief, Yellow Hand played by Manu Tupou will not approve of their marriage until Harris undergoes the Sun Vow, a harsh, hurtful ceremony to prove his bravery.
Filmed in both Mexico and South Dakota with a large native American supporting cast, the movie goes on to effectively portray the tragedy that follows Harris and the Sioux tribe as they struggle for survival in the competitive environment they populated back in those days.