Soldier Blue

Riley.

New member
Shown on Sky Movies last night, this was the movie many of my classmates sneaked into in 1970 and then told everyone about the next day. What none of them mentioned was that most of it is a two-handed sitcom starring Candice Bergen and Peter Strauss.
Together with the perky, totally inappropriate Roy Budd score and scenes of truly horrible violence, it's one of the oddest Westerns I've ever seen.
As a historical rendering of the Sand Creek Massacre it's heavily fictionalised but the nastiest bits are the true ones, as the opening title states.
Although infamous and massively popular on first release, the only thing most people remember about it today is Buffy Sainte-Marie's title song.
It does make me wish Candice Bergen had made a few more movies where she could let rip a la Murphy Brown rather than be the frosty clotheshorse she usually played. :cool:
 
I was traumatised by the ITV tv version when I saw it years ago. It was some time before I could bring myself to see it uncut. :eek:
The relatively lighthearted tone of much of the movie is obviously deliberate and intended to make the final scenes that much more distressing.
I suppose it's worth bearing in mind that it's based on a novel and not really intended as a re-enactment. Even so, it still has a powerful message although the movie itself has been virtually forgotten.
 
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