SYNOPSICS
A Man Called Horse (1970) is a English,Sioux,French movie. Elliot Silverstein has directed this movie. Richard Harris,Judith Anderson,Jean Gascon,Manu Tupou are the starring of this movie. It was released in 1970. A Man Called Horse (1970) is considered one of the best Adventure,Drama,Western movie in India and around the world.
During the early 1800s, English Lord John Morgan (Richard Harris) is hunting in the Dakotas, but he is captured by a group of Sioux warriors. Morgan's guides are killed, but he is spared by Sioux Chief Yellow Hand (Manu Tupou), who marvels at Morgan's blond hair. Brought to Yellow Hand's tribal village, Morgan has to endure physical abuse and mockery at the hands of women and children who consider him to be a wild horse. Restrained by a rope around his neck, Morgan is given as a gift to an old squaw, Buffalo Cow Head (Dame Judith Anderson), to be her slave and help her with daily chores. In the village, Morgan meets Running Deer (Corinna Tsopei), the beautiful young sister of Chief Yellow Hand. Morgan witnesses the traditional courtship process when Running Deer is asked in marriage by a tribe member who presents Yellow Hand with gifts in return for his sister's hand in marriage. Morgan starts to fall in love with her. Also in the village is half-breed, Batise (Jean Gascon), whose ...
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A Man Called Horse (1970) Reviews
Silverstein's camera captures beautifully the expansive outdoor of the Sioux way of life and their rituals
The year is 1825 The story begins with a British aristocrat named John Morgan who finds himself captured by Sioux warriors At first he's mocked and treated like an animal and then he's dragged to their camp where he is given to work for an old squaw (Judith Anderson). Before too long the 'grand white gentleman' up with another captive Batise (Jean Gascon) whose family was all massacred five years ago by the Indians acts as translator for Morgan One day after killing two Shoshone Indians from another tribe and scalping one of them, John gains trust and respect from his captives thus paving the way to be soon a warrior, then a loving husband The film's centerpiece is the Sun Vow that Morgan must bear to prove his courage to withstand all tests of pain in order to gain the hand of Running Dear (Corinna Tsopei) sister of Chief Yellow Hand (Manu Tupou). As the English nobleman is white, he is considered weak and he'll give up in the moment of truth There are also other truly memorable moments in the film: how the Indian virgin prepares herself for marriagehow she takes her sweat bath to be pure; and the tragic events when an Indian mother loses and has no other son or man, how she cuts off her forefinger and when winter comes she dies from the freezing cold
I'm not a bloody horse!
This is the story of Lord John Morgan, an honest earthy person who is captured by the Sioux in 1825. Abused and treated as an animal he comes to adapt to his life in order to survive. Enduring torture and oppression he must earn their respect in order to be accepted as part of their tribe. The white man as part of a Sioux tribe story was given a major shot in the arm with Kevin Costner's Oscar bagger, Dances With Wolves in 1990. This picture came out some twenty years before Costner's stylish picture but the two films couldn't be further apart in terms of story telling. Here in Elliot Silverstein's picture, the scenery and scope is certainly lush, but the niceties stop there for this is a harsh, at times painful, story with realism dripping from each frame. Silverstein wanted to get as close as he could to the facts of the Sioux way of life, even bringing in a Sioux historian to oversee the production. The Sioux are painted on both sides of the canvas, on one side we are shown them to be violent, even sadistic, but Silverstein also portrays them as an intelligent race driven on by intense loyalty to their ways and culture. Richard Harris plays our main protagonist and has a clear license to act with immense verve and vigour, it's a memorable turn that lingers long after the credits roll. Hurting the film is a twee romance between Morgan and the Chiefs daughter (Judith Anderson) and Jean Gascon's fluctuating accents start to grate entering the film's last quarter. But really the plus points far outweigh the little irritants in the piece. The editing from Philip W. Anderson & Michael Kahn is like a whirling paean to hallucinations, and some scenes are from the top draw, most notably the Vow To The Sun ritual that literally is painful to watch. A Man Called Horse may well be of its time, but it's certainly a very interesting and highly intelligent film. 7/10
Among the Sioux
One of the first films to ever deal with the relationship between white men and Native Americans that wasn't slanted towards the white man, A MAN CALLED HORSE was released during the same year as the excellent Arthur Penn film LITTLE BIG MAN and the ultra-violent SOLDIER BLUE, which also dealt with the white man/Indian conflict. Richard Harris gives a great performance as an Englishman who loses his wagon team to, and is captured by, a group of Sioux Indians in the Dakota territory of the mid-1800s. He soon learns their ways of living, which primitive as they might be to us and to him are very traditional. Though the film is rated 'PG', be forewarned that there are scenes of violence and bloodshed (particularly the Sun Vow sequence) that could have gotten this film an 'R' (or a 'PG-13'), so the film is not exactly for kids. Nevertheless, it is worth seeing.
Spectacular and Powerful Classic Western
In 1825, the Sioux, leaded by Yellow Hand (Manu Tupou), capture the English nobleman John Morgan (Richard Harris), while hunting in the United States of America. John is brutally treated like an animal by the Indian, and is given to help Buffalo Cow Head (Judith Anderson), the mother of Yellow Hand, as if he were a horse. Without understanding the language and behavior of the Sioux, he is helped by Batise (Jean Gascon), a white man made prisoner and mutilated by the Indians five years ago. Batise translates and explains the Sioux's culture for John, plotting to escape some day back to the civilization with him. After an undefined long time later, John loses his snobbish behavior and is reasonably integrated to the Sioux. One day, he kills two enemies Shoshones, who were spying and stalking the Sioux, and gains the respect of the Sioux and love of the sister of Yellow Hand, Running Deer (Corinna Tsopei). John marries Running Deer and integrates to their culture, and after a tragic attack of the Shoshones to the Sioux tribe, he becomes their leader. "A Man Called Horse" is a spectacular and powerful classic western of the 70's. The first time I saw this movie, I was a teenager and left the theater completely astonished with such a different story in that time and the violence of the scenes. Two days ago, I bought the VHS and yesterday I saw it again, and it is still a very impressive film, with magnificent performances of the cast, highlighting Richard Harris and Judith Anderson. The production is very careful, being mostly spoken in Sioux, and depicting in a realistic way, the life, the behavior, the common laws and the moral practices of the Sioux. I believe that "A Man Called Horse", with the Sioux, "Soldier Blue", with the Cheyenne and "Little Big Man", all of them from 1970, were among the first movies to show the lives of prisoners of the North American Indians in their tribes. The amazing scene of John Morgan suspended by his chest in an Indian ceremony is unforgettable and very impressive. My vote is ten. Title (Brazil): "Um Homem Chamado Cavalo" ("Spectacular Classic Western")
Classic Wilderness Adventure
A MAN CALLED HORSE (4 outta 5 stars) Classic western epic stars Richard Harris as an English nobleman on holiday in the American wilderness who gets taken captive by a band of American Indians. He is brutally treated at first but his captors come to accept him as one of the tribe as he gains more knowledge of their different way of life... where one needs to earn his/her place in the hierarchy... unlike British aristocracy. Harrowingly violent scenes may make this film tough to watch for some... but Harris gives one of his usual great performances and the movie provides an atypically (for its time) sympathetic depiction of the Native American people. Much more realistic but just as sincere as that other 70s classic "Little Big Man."