Review – A Man Called Horse

When this first came out, it was innovative stuff. Hollywood was just beginning to acknowledge that American Indians were human beings with legitimate cultures of their own, not merely bloodthirsty savages fit only to be massacred by white men. An English lord (Richard Harris) roughing it in the American West is taken captive by a Dakota tribe. At first they’re cruel to him, but gradually they assimilate him into the group. The most famous scene is the sun ceremony, in which the hero undergoes a painful ritual in order to join the tribe and earn the right to marry a Dakota woman. The picture is unevenly paced and includes an unnecessary animal death and way more of Harris’s bare butt than I ever felt the need to see. Otherwise it’s a good experience both as an interesting story and a historical artifact. Mildly amusing