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Why is This Film so Underrated?

posted 15 years ago by jayraskin1
8 replies | jump to latest

I thought the film was amazing. Why is it not considered one of the greatest Westerns?

[–] Bush_Pilot 15 years ago

It loses out due to the lack of authenticity like many other films of the time. Had it been pure non-fiction about a fictional charactor things would be different I think. Everything else is superb in my opinion.

[–] aljaz_ciber 14 years ago

That's one of its biggest flaws, yes. But I also think it was a pretty mediocre movie anyway. Maybe I would like it better if bigger portion of the movie would focus on the time Bill spent in Washington and touring with his show around the globe, because the fighting scenes look just ridiculous, if you compare them with other great westerns. Still, it's a nice little movie for a rainy afternoon.

They may crush the flowers, but they can't stop the Spring.

[–] Captain_Augustus_McCrae 12 years ago

Also, remember that to more recent generations of young Americans, the frontiersmen who settled the land and fought the Indians aren't heroes anymore- they are seen as genocidal colonizers- thanks to Howard Zinn and his revisionist ilk.

"It ain't dying I'm talking about, it's LIVING!"
Captain Augustus McCrae

[–] AssetsonFire (149) 5 years ago

That makes no sense, the people who settled the land and fought the Indians aren't even heroes in this film. Buffalo Bill, on the other hand, depicted here as being against that behaviour, would be loved by Howard Zinn and his "revisionist ilk".

[–] bcamphome 9 years ago

The Wild West Show phase of Buffalo Bill's career--arguably the most important phase--is reduced to the last five minutes of this movie. That's a significant flaw. Also, the film pays lip service to the problems of the Indians but then creates a thrilling spectacle out of a battle that killed lots of Indians and, in the film at least, pretty much ended the Plains Indian Wars. Buffalo Bill is shown as sympathetic to the Indians, yet he wholeheartedly participates in their demise, shooting buffaloes with abandon and accompanying the army on its campaign against the Cheyenne, whom he's supposed to be friends with. This schizophrenia, quite common in Hollywood movies, helps prevent this otherwise entertaining and well-made film from being a classic. Truly great westerns, like FORT APACHE and THE SEARCHERS, confronted this schizophrenia and dealt with it much more honestly.

[–] jayraskin1 9 years ago

Hi bcamphome,
Thanks for the response. Robert Altman's "Buffalo Bill and the Indians" dealt nicely with the Wild West phase his career. This film really portrays Bill as the loveable action hero he believed he was.
In reality, the final battle, was not so thrilling. I believe one native American got killed, (probably not by Bill) and one American soldier got a foot injury while dismounting his horse.
I think the movie romanticised Native American life and also humanized Native Americans, unlike most films of the period. I haven't seen "Fort Apache." I will look for it, thanks. I'm not a big fan of the "Searchers," that is really a racist film and way too long to be enjoyable.
I think John Ford is really schizophrenic. How the same man could do "Grapes of Wrath," and "Tobacco Road" two years later, is incredible. The first film makes you want to hug every vagabond you see, while the later film makes you want to shoot them.

The World is my country, all mankind are my brethren, and to do good is my religion - Thomas Paine

[–] Captain_Augustus_McCrae 9 years ago

You are incorrect, Sir. Yellow Hair (mistranslated as Yellow Hand) was indeed killed by Buffalo Bill, in a skirmish witnessed and described by dozens of soldiers, scouts and Cheyennes. I'm curious- where did you get the idea that someone else shot Yellow Hair?

"It ain't dying I'm talking about, it's LIVING!"
Captain Augustus McCrae

[–] cjbarrett 9 years ago

Sorry to say I find the film pretty much unwatchable.
Huge fan of McCrea, O'Hara, Mitchell et al.
Also usually love William Wellman's work. Really didn't feel like his heart was in it. I mean this is the guy who just directed The Ox-Bow Incident! Maybe it's the screenplay?