A Man Called Horse

Starring:Richard Harris, Judith Anderson, Jean Gascon, Manu Tupou, Corinna Tsopei, Dub Taylor, James Gammon, William Jordan, Eddie Little Sky, Michael Baseleon, Lina MarÃn, Tamara Garina, Terry Leonard, Iron Eyes Cody, Tom Tyon, Jackson Tail, Manuel Padilla Jr., Lloyd One Star, James Never Miss a Shot, Frank Raiter
Director: Elliot Silverstein
Studio: Paramount
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

American Indians were a "cool" factor in 1970 cinema, the year A Man Called Horse made its vigorous, feverishly real, and occasionally shocking debut alongside Little Big Man and Soldier Blue. Unlike the latter two films, however, Horse is less an allegory for Vietnam-era America and more of a vision quest for historical identity. In one of his defining roles, Richard Harris plays an English aristocrat captured by Dakota Sioux in 1825. Over time, he adopts their way of life and eventually becomes tribal leader--but not before undergoing savage initiation rituals, the most famous of which involves being suspended by blades inserted beneath Harris's pectoral muscles. Horse looks clunky, quaint, and inadvertently demeaning in some respects today, but the film's Native American milieu is at least defined on its own terms, i.e., whole cloth and apart from familiar Western conventions. The real draw is Harris, whose performance has a soulful integrity. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews:

History of Native American Life.......2007-01-10

Being a history teacher, I needed a movie that would depict realistic Native American life for a Texas history unit. I remembered this movie
from my youth and what an impact it made on the nation. My students are not exposed to those great epic movies of yesterday. This film is an accurate accounting of everyday village life of the Sioux. It truly is a
historical classic with superb acting from Richard Harris and others. It is a must see and one for our children to view in their studies of Native Americans.

A Learning Experience.......2006-12-01

If people thought Mel Gibson had it tough getting people to watch a movie that was fully in Aramaic, think back to 1970 when A Man Called Horse came out. This movie is almost entirely spoken in Lakota, and there aren't subtitles. This helps you to really get a sense of what it was like to be thrown into a foreign culture and to try to thrive there.

Richard Harris plays John Morgan, a nobleman from England who has gotten bored with life and has been romping around the plans of the American West to find something more interesting. This is back in the 1820s, before the civil war, when there were vast expanses of quiet. Suddenly, Morgan is captured by the Sioux Indians. They treat him like a pack animal, calling him horse. It's not necessarily that the natives were "excessively cruel" to their captured slaves, in an unusual way. They looked down on them just as the southerners looked down on their slaves. They treated them as functional possessions - to be fed and watered, but certainly not paid much concern to. Morgan has to do chores, eat what is given to him, and sleep outside in the cold.

Morgan learns to do what he must to stay alive, including defending his dignity. We get an "I am not a horse!" stand, very much reminding us of "I am not an animal!" from a certain other movie. Every person wants to be respected for their humanity. The chief's sister falls for his good looks and soon the two are making goo-goo eyes at each other. But there's a catch. For Morgan to get the girl, he needs scars on his chest.

In a scene which probably goes down as one of the most memorable in all movies featuring native american cultures, claws are inserted into Morgan's chest muscles and he is suspended by them, spinning in slow circles. It is of course agonizing. But it was also a rite of passage, a way for a boy to prove he had become a man. A tribal "tattoo" if you will. The ceremony was the Sun Dance, to celebrate the strength and power of life.

I give the movie high marks for really striving to keep the situations authentic. We don't get translations of all the Lakota language, nor is the movie "dubbed" in English. Instead, you have to listen to the native language and try to learn as you go what they are saying. There are of course English sections where Morgan is talking to himself or to another captive in the group. The clothing, the homes, the ceremonial lodge are all quite fascinating to see. Many of the actors were from the Sioux reservation and knew how to do these things properly.

That being said, there is also a bit of "English dude saves backwards natives" as well. It's Morgan's skilled tactics that save the day when a battle ensues - even though this tribe has been fighting wars their entire lives, while Morgan has been off lazing in the sun. The chief's daughter could marry whoever she wanted and choose the "best of the best" - and she goes for Morgan. In very little time - and without really learning the language - Morgan goes from looked down on slave to most exulted leader.

I am also a bit embarassed that they had such trouble finding real native americans to play the lead roles. I realize if we watch a movie about the Roman Empire we tend to have Americans, not 100% Romans, playing those parts. They put Americans into all the parts in a Robin Hood movie, too. However, Native Americans *are* Americans and they were right there in the areas that the movies were being filmed. Instead, they took actors who did not look Native American at all, painted them red, and made it seem that it was good enough. I certainly understand that a good actor can submerge himself into the part, but if the movie is about a captured male African slave and his traumas coming to America, it wouldn't do well to have that played by Gwyneth Paltrow and filmed in Siberia. As good as an actress as she is, the visual mismatch would interfere with the story.

Still, in all, it is definitely a movie to watch at least one, and appreciate the parts that were done well. At one point, Morgan's fellow slave crows over a bad thing which has happened to one of the Sioux. Morgan turns and snarls at him, asking him if he has learned nothing in the five years he has been with the tribe. I certainly appreciate that sense that we can all learn from other cultures, if we would just open our ears and listen.

Great movie .......2006-08-30

This movie was great for anyone interested in Indian history. You get a feel for how they lived. If you're not sympothetic to how white men treated them before the movie, you will be afterwards.

Better than Dances With Wolves.......2006-08-07

An English nobleman, visiting circa-1820 America, is kidnapped by a band of Sioux warriors. Before you can say `Lord Greystoke" John Morgan (Richard Harris) is adapting to the strange and savage savages, and integrating himself into their strange and savage culture. That adaptation, of course, ultimately results in Lord John having a pair of splinters driven deep under his chest muscles and getting hoisted high in the air by a rope attached to those splinters. After this initiation ceremony Horse/Lord John/Harris becomes a respected warrior in the tribe. The scene, gruesomely realistic when A MAN CALLED HORSE was released in 1970, still works pretty well today.

I recommend this movie with, no pun intended, reservations. Director Elliot Silverstein does a good job of presenting the story from Harris's point of view. His initial capture and harsh treatment is appropriately exciting and unsettling. Harris is good in the physically demanding lead role, and conveys well the disorientation Lord John feels and his gradually increasing confidence in the hostile environment. And it's always nice to have a movie pay attention to details when it takes place in a foreign and exotic location - in this case a Sioux tribe in the early decades of the 19th century. The small stuff, as far as I can tell, is accurately related.

On the other hand, the `Tarzan factor' always has to be taken into account. White English nobleman travels to the colony, is kidnapped by the `natives' and, through inherent superiority, rises to a position of power and prestige in the foreign environment. At least A MAN CALLED HORSE treats the Sioux with interest and respect, and even has a few Native Americans, most notably Eddie Little Sky, among the cast. Well, Iron Eyes Cody, the `Crying Indian' some of us may remember from anti-pollution television commercials of the `70s, has a part in it too. But I've just learned, to my surprise, that Iron Eyes Cody was a second-generation, full blooded Italian from Louisiana whose real name was Espera DeCorti. Who'da thunk? Yellow Hand, the chief who claims initial ownership of Horse, is played by Manu Tupou (Fiji Islands.) Running Deer, Horse's eventual love interest, is played by Corinna Tsopei, Miss Greece 1964. Perhaps the most intriguing bit of casting is the actress who plays Yellow Hand's mother and Horse's opening day tormenter, Buffalo Cow Head - beneath the brown grease paint and buckskin robe it's no other than the redoubtable Dame Judith Anderson.

A MAN CALLED HORSE was followed, a half decade or so later, by RETURN OF A MAN CALLED HORSE. I haven't seen the second one but enjoyed the first well enough to bury it deep in a rental queue.

Authentic and brutal rite of passage.......2006-05-15

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.

Average customer rating:

Rescuing "Yellow Hands"
gritty realism
The Sioux fight for their lands
What, More Horse Chunks?
Still stands Up

The Return of a Man Called Horse
Starring: Richard Harris , Gale Sondergaard , Geoffrey Lewis , William Lucking , and Jorge Luke
Director: Irvin Kershner
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00005LOL1
Release Date: 2001-09-04

Description

"A Man Called Horse returns at full gallop" (Los Angeles Times) in this exceptional western that follows the plight of a horribly wronged tribe of Sioux Indiansand the quest of the one man who would lead them to victory. The Return of a Man Called Horse is a "visually stunning" (Variety) and "hauntingly beautiful vision of American history" (Los Angeles Times). Lord John Morgan (Richard Harris), disillusioned with the "civilized" aristocracy of England, returns to the American West in search of the vital and rugged life he once led among the proud Yellow Hand tribe. But what he finds instead is destruction: a brutal and bloody war inflicted on his adopted blood brothers by an unscrupulous trapper and his followers. Decimated, enslaved and swept from their home, their only hope of regrouping, retaining their ancient customs and fighting backfor their sacred homeland now lies with Morgan...a man they call Horse.

Customer Reviews:

Rescuing "Yellow Hands".......2006-07-25

I'm always fascinated with books & movies that deal with the interaction of subjects from different cultures such as "Shogun", "Lawrence of Arabia", "Dances with Wolves" or "Broken Arrow".

The original film "A Man Called Horse" (1970) has had a very special place in my memory and heart. Its sequel "The Return of a Man Called Horse" (1976) wasn't so good, nevertheless is quite enjoyable.

It tells the story of Lord John Morgan's return to the plains around 1840. He was languishing at his states in England when suddenly he feels the urge to return to America.
He discovers that the Yellow Hands has been expelled from their sacred lands, her women enslaved and the rest of the tribe condemned to a miserable life due to the "in force" invasion of some fur traders.
The trader gang has constructed a stronghold including cannons and settling allied native around the fort.
Lord Morgan or Horse as he is known to his Sioux kin starts a new epic experience. Self imposing extreme hardships, first to attain a "vision", then he strengths very young tribesmen thru sacred rites, next he trains women to fight and finally devices a plan to expel the usurpers.
The final combat is film's culmination and a very good action piece.

Harris performs again with deep conviction even if the script is not as good as the original one he extract the maximum from his character.
This time Sioux warriors are fleshed by Mexican actors and actresses instead of the multinational cast of the first film, without lose.

Even with its flaws this film moves the spectator to admire and respect Native American culture.

Give this film a try, you won't be disappointed!
Reviewed by Max Yofre.

gritty realism.......2006-03-25

Whether fact or fiction, everytime I watch this movie you can taste the era.

The Sioux fight for their lands.......2005-12-06

This is a sequel to the 1970 A MAN CALLED HORSE. In that movie Richard Harris is John Morgan, an Englsih baron captured by the Yellow Hand Sioux in the early 1800s and raised by them; being a great fighter he was given his freedom and returned to England in 1821.

Now, three years later, Harris is bored in England and decides to return to America. When he does he finds the Yellow Hand have been driven off their lands or enslaved by white traders. He leads them in a fight to regain their lands.

The movie is shot almost totally from the Indians' perspective, and great care has been taken to get it right and to treat the Indians and their ways honestly. There is a lengthy self-mutilation ceremony that is quite gory (but authentic); it was cut from some earlier prints as being too graphic, but it's essential as to why the tribe decides to fight for their land (they must purge themselves of the evil spirit first). The really memorable thing about the movie is the photography: the Dakota landscape is spectacular.

What, More Horse Chunks?.......2004-12-15

Harris reprises his weak and tepid role of an 1800's gentleman who can't stomach modern life in England so he goes back to the Plains to find his adopted tribe of Sioux Indians. He finds them on the verge of extinction, starvation and he is there to lead them to new hope, which means bowing to his leadership. Why the Sioux didn't kill him in the first film goes beyond reason. More silly stuff from hippies in the 1970's in this second installment of the wildly popular but empty "A Man Called Horse" saga. Look for a psychedelic scene where Harris is "behind" naked while emerged in color shots of eagles flying in the sky.

Still stands Up.......2004-11-25

The first movie was a departure from the everyday" Cowboy Indian movie with a few good twists albeit you could see them comming. Good story to be told, and Part 2 Still with Richard Harris is one of the best follow up movies to come down the pike for it's Genre. I owned and discoverd part 2 recently and was surprised how good it was, and stood up on it's own. All I'll say is in part 2 Harris becomes restless in England and revists his adopted indian family and it takes off from there. Harris is perfect for the role, an english Gentelman with a conscience.

A Man Called Horse / The Return of a Man Called Horse (2 Pack)

Average customer rating:

A Man Called Horse / The Return of a Man Called Horse (2 Pack)
Director: Elliot Silverstein , and Irvin Kershner
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Westerns | Genres | DVD | Video

Widescreen
Language: English
2 Disc Set

ASIN: B000PWCB6O

Product Description

A Man Called Horse: In 1825, John Morgan (Richard Harris), an English aristocrat, is captured by a tribe of Sioux Indians. Hoping to save his own life by proving his worth, Morgan undergoes the long, painful Sun Vow ritual, where he is hung in a tree by the flesh of his chest. ---- The Return of a Man Called Horse: In this sequel to "A Man Called Horse," Sir John Morgan, the English aristocrat who was captured and raised by Yellow Hand Sioux, returns to America to lead his adopted Native American family back to sacred lands and to help save them from being exterminated. As before, he must prove himself worthy by going through the flesh-mortifying ritual which he previously had to endure. Sequel to the unusual film "A Man Called Horse," which was made entirely from the perspective of the Sioux. Here the Englishman raised by the Sioux becomes fed up with "civilization" and returns to his Indian brothers, only to find they've been decimated by the white men.

Average customer rating:

History of Native American Life
A Learning Experience
Great movie
Better than Dances With Wolves
Authentic and brutal rite of passage

A Man Called Horse [Region 2]
Starring: Richard Harris , Judith Anderson , Jean Gascon , Manu Tupou , and Corinna Tsopei
Director: Elliot Silverstein
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Westerns | Genres | DVD | Video

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ASIN: B00005RFH0

Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

History of Native American Life.......2007-01-10

A Learning Experience.......2006-12-01

Great movie .......2006-08-30

This movie was great for anyone interested in Indian history. You get a feel for how they lived. If you're not sympothetic to how white men treated them before the movie, you will be afterwards.

Better than Dances With Wolves.......2006-08-07

Authentic and brutal rite of passage.......2006-05-15

Average customer rating:

History of Native American Life
A Learning Experience
Great movie
Better than Dances With Wolves
Authentic and brutal rite of passage

A Man Called Horse
Starring: Richard Harris , Judith Anderson , Jean Gascon , Manu Tupou , and Corinna Tsopei
Director: Elliot Silverstein
Manufacturer: Paramount Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Westerns | Genres | DVD | Video

( M ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

The Return of a Man Called Horse
Little Big Man
Jeremiah Johnson
The Mountain Men
Dances with Wolves - Extended Cut (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)

ASIN: B00008DDI2

Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

History of Native American Life.......2007-01-10

A Learning Experience.......2006-12-01

Great movie .......2006-08-30

This movie was great for anyone interested in Indian history. You get a feel for how they lived. If you're not sympothetic to how white men treated them before the movie, you will be afterwards.

Better than Dances With Wolves.......2006-08-07

Authentic and brutal rite of passage.......2006-05-15

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