I’m a huge fan of director Walter Hill. For me he’s made
some of the most interesting and action packed films that I’ve enjoyed
repeatedly. STREETS OF FIRE, SOUTHERN COMFORT, 48 HOURS, THE WARRIORS and THE
LONG RIDERS to name a few. Hill has always made movies that would fall under
the category of man’s man films. So to learn he was making a movie about the
old west and the hunt for Geronimo was not a surprise.
As the Indian Wars were coming to an end the Cavalry was
rounding up the remnants of the various tribes to escort them to reservations
to live on. The story is narrated by young recently graduated military academy
Lt. Britton Davis (Matt Damon). It is through his eyes we see the story unfold
as well as his glimpse into the land it takes place in. Assigned to help Lt.
Charles Gatewood (Jason Patric) escort Geronimo to a meeting with Brig. Gen.
George Crook (Gene Hackman) he quickly learns what the west is all about.
Learning from Gatewood and from Geronimo as they travel he
develops a respect for the Apache warrior and the code of honor that he lives
by. Gatewood has seen and done much while out west and is sympathetic to the
plight this man is going through even though he follows the orders given to
him. It is through these two that most of the story unfolds.
Crook promises peace with the Indians as long as they remain
on the reservation. He is a man they trust, one that they know will live up to
his word. But the Apache were not farmers and it isn’t long before one of the
medicine men begins claiming visions and encourages war. As the Cavalry attempt
to arrest him he is shot and killed resulting in the Apache warriors reacting
in kind. The word broken Geronimo and his tribe head out on a rampage against
the white man.
Crook resigns after the failed attempt at peace and is
replaced with Brig. Gen. Nelson Miles (Kevin Tighe) whose methods are not near
so accommodating. Gatewood and his men accompanied by their long time tracker
Al Sieber (Robert Duvall) hunt down Geronimo as he wreaks havoc across the
countryside. But he is not their only problem. Bounty hunters trying to track
him down turn out to be even more vicious than the Indian leader leaving bodies
in their wake as well. The end result is known historically as Geronimo
eventually was caught and surrendered spending the rest of his life in Florida,
once more lied to as he was told he would only be there 2 years.
One thing that makes this movie stand out as so different
from others that discussed the same subject matter is that it doesn’t condescend
or preach about the topic at hand, the lies told to the Indians by a government
intent of moving west. So many movies on the topic prior to this portrayed the
Indians as “noble savages” which in itself seems to be an insulting phrase
meant to be a compliment. On one hand we had movies made long ago that
portrayed them as heartless killers but then after the 60s we had movies where
they were the infringed upon owners of the west. Ignored was the fact that for
centuries people around the world have been conquered by an invading force who
determined their outcome.
What made this different than most was the near attempt at
genocide of the Native American Indian. And Hill doesn’t dwell on this topic in
a morose way that says oh poor me. Instead he shows a proud leader who is doing
all he can to save his people from extinction even if that word was not in his
vocabulary. It isn’t until the final moments of the film when we see the
Indians loaded in box cars on their way to Florida that one thinks of this. Images
of Jews in the same sort of conditions making their way to concentration camps
come easily to mind while seeing this.
The movie is best because it doesn’t take one extreme side
or the other. It tells the tale of a vanquished people but never paints either
side as wholly right or wrong. For the soldiers they are doing nothing more
than following the directives sent to them from Washington. They’re not the
redneck gun toting soldiers as portrayed in those late 60s/early 70s films
determined to do nothing more than “kill an ‘injin”. They are soldiers, nothing
more. And in Gatewood, Crook and Davis we see that they not only learned to do
their duty but learned something from the man they were sent to capture.
All actors on hand here turn in great performances. Patric
once more shows that he was an actor that should have been provided more and
better roles that he received. Odds are it was his personal life (if memory
serves me correctly) that prevented that which is sad. Hackman. Need I say
more? Damon turns in a great performance as a naïve recruit in what is one of
his earliest performances. The most wasted actor here is Wes Studi as Geronimo.
For a movie with the character’s name in the title it felt like he should have
been onscreen more than he was. The moments with Studi there shows that we
wasn’t just a Native American Indian actor but a great actor. Here too we have
an actor who has been wasted by Hollywood and should have had more and better
opportunities than to just play Indians.
The movie looks great in all the images presented with Hill
being able to capture the vast openness of the west in golden hues that make you
feel the oppressive heat as well as imagining inhaling the dust kicked up from
the dirt strewn plains. It’s beautiful and deadly at the same time. The
costumes here are well done as well, a little thought of part of a movie but
necessary in period films. When done wrong everything looks new and polished in
the worst settings but here it was done perfectly with a well-worn look to clothing
items making them seem real. My only issue with the movie was the sound. It
seems movie makers are determined to shoot dialogue scenes with the lowest
volume possible and action sequences as loud as can be. And having them occur
back to back leads a viewer to strain to hear what’s being said only to be
blown out of their seats seconds later. Thank goodness for subtitles.
When released the movie did decent numbers but nothing
stupendous. That might be because at the same time another film based on Geronimo
came out from Ted Turner that ran on TV. It might also have been the title
which Hill is said to have been unhappy with preferring THE GERONIMO WAR to
this one, a title that would have made more sense. The good news is that fans
can now own a solid copy of the film and those that have never seen it have an
opportunity to do so.
Twilight Time. I never get tired of saying this. Twilight
Time is releasing the film in the best possible format and presentation
possible in 1080p hi-def blu-ray format. Perhaps the only disappointing thing
about this release is that the extras are limited to an isolated music track
and the original theatrical trailer. As with all of their releases this one is
limited to just 3,000 copies so if interested pick one up soon.
Click here to order.
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