Soldier Blue [Blu-ray]

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The account of the massacre is included as part of a longer fictionalized story about the escape of two white survivors from an earlier massacre of U.S. Cavalry troops by Cheyenne, and names of the actual historical characters were changed. Director Nelson stated that he was inspired to make the film based on the wars in Vietnam and Sơn Mỹ. [6] I am at a loss to explain why there would be cuts. Three incidents of "animal mistreatment" have been erased from the version released to the public. These are, presumably, horses falling over during battle scenes. I simply couldn't tell you which three of the 10, or 12, horses falling over throughout the course of the film cross the line of mistreatment. Either they're all mistreating horses, or none of them are. And what of every single Western that has ever been? And what of the Grand National? They're as bad as Soldier Blue. Retrospective analysis has placed the film in a tradition of motion pictures of the early 1970s– such as Ulzana's Raid (1972)– which were used as "natural venues for remarking on the killing of women and children by American soldiers" in light of the political conflicts of the era. [17] However, the "visual excesses" of the film's most violent sequences have been similarly criticized as exploitative by modern critics as well. [18] Soldier Blue" often gets touted as a "revisionist western", but its actually got more in common with exploitation cinema, of which it's one of the genre's best. Released in August 1970, the film drew attention for its frank depictions of violence, specifically its graphic final sequence. Some film scholars have cited Soldier Blue as a critique of America's "archetypal art form [the Western]," with other interpretations ranging from it being an anti-war picture to an exploitation film. [5] Plot [ edit ]

U.S. Cavalry who were breaking new ground. For Nelson’s portrayal of the boys in blue as blood crazed Multiple film critics said Soldier Blue evoked the My Lai massacre, which had been disclosed to the American public the previous year. [10] In September 1970, Dotson Rader writing in The New York Times, remarked that Soldier Blue "must be numbered among the most significant, the most brutal and liberating, the most honest American films ever made." [6] To be sure, this is a comedy overall. This relieves it of a lot of criticism about its unrealistic tone and pace. But this comic element is layered with a brutality and frankly honest depiction of the time that is valuable. And the way it is filmed, with lots of long lens shots from a far distance zooming in on the main characters, is interesting, too. In all, it's a better film in the details than in the overall effect.

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a b Ebert, Roger (January 1, 1970). "Soldier Blue". Chicago Sun-Times . Retrieved March 28, 2018– via RogerEbert.com. Don't miss the beginning at any cost.Or else you would not hear Buffy Sainte-Marie's eponymous anthemic song (Yes this is my country,young and growing free and flowing from sea to sea...).The version of the song as performed here features a string arrangement not present in the original version (which is to be found on BSM's "she used to wanna be a ballerina",vanguard).This song is as moving today as it was 30 years ago,and when the singer implores "can't you see there's another way to love her?" it gains an universal meaning(not only American natives or Vietnamese as it was mooted at the time for the movie) Film scholar Christopher Frayling described Soldier Blue as a "much more angry film" than its contemporary Westerns, which "challenges the language of the traditional Western at the same time as its ideological bases." [20] Frayling also praised its cinematography and visual elements in his 2006 book Spaghetti Westerns: Cowboys and Europeans from Karl May to Sergio Leone: "most critics succeeded in missing the really inventive sections of Soldier Blue, which involve Nelson's use of elaborate zooms, and of untraditional compositions, both of which subtly explore the relationship between the 'initiates' and the virgin land which surrounds them." [20] Curious to know what the movie's about? Here's the plot: "After a cavalry group is massacred by the Cheyenne, only two survivors remain: Honus, a naive private devoted to his duty, and Cresta, a young woman who had lived with the Cheyenne two years and whose sympathies lie more with them than with the US government. Together, they must try to reach the cavalry's main base camp. As they travel onward, Honus is torn between his growing affection for Cresta."

Video (26th January 1990) - Rated "18", still cut, some previous cuts now included, but now running to 109m 28s. That should give you a rough idea, at least. However, up until that time, the film is - like you say - pretty tame. If only you had seen the final 20 minutes, then you'd know why it was so controversial! This is not, perhaps, a deeply thought out movie, but there's more going on here than its slim reputation lets on. In a way, the light silliness of the first hour and a half makes the ending all the more horrifying and memorable. Highly disturbing to the point of almost seeming abusive. This is where the freedoms of New Hollywood are trying to still find their footing. I recently taped and watched the BBC2 screening of "Soldier Blue" - a graphic and uncompromising Western movie from 1971, starring Peter Strauss and Candace Bergen.In this Vietnam-era Western there are noisy action , shootouts , fights , a love story , extraordinary landscapes and a big deal of gratuitous violence . The film is based on real deeds regarding ¨Sand Creek massacre¨ and there are some remembrance about Vietnam killings and hardship on racial themes by that time . The highlight of the movie , of course , is the Cheyenne massacre with lots of blood and guts , it results to be an authentic butchery and was censured , prohibited , cut , and severely trimmed in some countries . The motion picture is classified ¨R¨ for the cruel murders and isn't apt for little boys, neither squeamish . The violence of its Indian slaughters , in which seemingly every part of the bodies were slice off and blood fountained all over the screen , brought worldwide queues and much criticism in the newspapers . The picture achieved too much success , in spite of violence and crude theme and excessive final brutality . The ending confrontation amongst the cavalry and the hapless Cheyennes is breathtaking and overwhelming. Donahue, Suzanne Mary (1987). American film distribution: the changing marketplace. UMI Research Press. p.297. ISBN 9780835717762. Please note figures are for rentals in US and Canada Make no mistake, this is no masterpiece. But it reveals a lot about movies of the period, and about attitudes toward Native Americans and the Wild West. It's not terrible, and in some ways it's so disturbing by the end it makes a rare point. If you like these themes, and can tolerate some awkward and awful social politics you'll get something from it. In a 2005 article on the film in Uncut, Kevin Maher deemed it "a bloody 1970 exploitation western ... [which] has a gore-count worthy of Cannibal Holocaust." [5] TV Guide awarded the film one out of five stars, writing: " Soldier Blue suffers from Bergen's weak performance and Strauss is bland, but the parallel between the 1864 Sand Creek Massacre and Vietnam's My Lai incident is disturbing and the film's depiction of Native American life is an explicit attempt to move past Hollywood stereotypes." [19] Hurst, P.B. "The Most Savage Film: Reliving Soldier Blue". Cinema Retro . Retrieved December 27, 2017.

In the BBC's defence, though, it was a good clean print, and was almost in the right ratio, as far as I could tell. (The film appears to start in a hard-masked 2.35:1 ratio, before pulling out to its proper ratio of 1.85:1, which is what the BBC version did as well.)Cashing in on this trend was "Soldier Blue", notorious for its "massacre sequence" in which boys are shot, children are trampled by horses, squaws are beheaded, men are impaled, women are stripped, breasts are cut, civilians are mutilated and all manners of sadistic evil and re-enacted, all in the name of "keeping the country clean". It's nauseating. UK release is the original uncut version at 114 minutes, excludes all 'toned down' material from USA "PG-rated" version and includes all director's material in climatic scene, except for 36 seconds cut from a scene showing the rape of an Indian woman during the massacre of the village." Recalling the film, star Candice Bergen commented that it was "a movie whose heart, if nothing else, was in the right place." [7] In culture [ edit ] caught up with Soldier Blue on home video, I was disappointed. Although much of the material excised for the I saw Soldier Blue several times at the cinema when it first came out, covered in notoriety, and have watched it a number of times since.

The other is the military aspects, which seem to be a reflection on the U.S. military of the time, 1970—which means Vietnam. The senselessness of the killing and the blind military attitudes seem, at least on the surface, to parallel popular attitudes against American involvement in the Vietnam War. It was common at the time (as now) to use movies to speak to contemporary themes this way. Near the end, the flag is thrown to the ground in disgust and there is a long, truly brutal, and frankly disturbing battle scene.The other cut is of a rape scene during the Sand Creek massacre. Naturally, it's harrowing, but it's neither glorifying rape, nor being gratuitous. It's integral to the plot; it's contextualised; it's neither made light of, nor made horrifically graphic. Without it, subsequent scenes showing a topless dead body could be perceived as pornographic. After a cavalry charge decimates the Indian men, the soldiers enter the village and begin to rape and kill the Cheyenne women. Honus attempts to halt the atrocities, to no avail, and he is later arrested for treason by his own comrades. Cresta attempts to lead the remaining women and children to safety, but her group is discovered and massacred, though Cresta herself survives and is arrested for treason by the soldiers. Honus is dragged away chained behind an army wagon while a despairing Cresta is left with the few Cheyenne survivors. Huebner, Andrew J. (2008). The Warrior Image: Soldiers in American Culture from the Second World War to the Vietnam Era. University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 978-0-807-83144-1. Just had a response from Jon Mulvaney - the Customer Service guy from Criterion. Sadly, it's only a pre-generated reply. Shaun - it's the final 20 minutes of the movie, that give the film its "18" certificate, and also the problems with censorship in most parts of the world. (Even the US still doesn't have an uncut version legally available!)