I saw it last night on AMC. I had seen it many years before, but my age had made me appreciate things I didn’t see before.
It was surely a pro-Indian movie; made the white man seem evil as all hell. But then again, it made the Indians look stupid as well (the contrarian; the gay Indian out of place) especially with the final scene with Chief Dan George “dying” on top of the hill.
I thought Custer was Hilarious! “The poison rises from the gooonads” great stuff…
So was it a farce or social commentary? Great funny and deep flick all around…
Yeah. It starts with the same tribe who slaughtered Little Big Man’s tribe being the ones who adopt him (though only reluctantly, after he’s pretty much abandoned to them by his sister).
And pretty much continues from there with just about everyone having their good and their despicable qualities, though I don’t recall the book having that much good to say about Custer either way.
I remember wanting to read the book when I was in Junior High,(ca.1970’s) I had to get my parents permission to check it out of the library!! Still don’t know what that was about.
I’ve just watched both of these in the last week or so. Enjoyed both, though JJ was a bit too slow in the pacing for me. I’m sort of exploring one of Little Big Man’s stages of life right now myself, so not going to say much more.
I always really enjoyed this movie, despite it being way over-the-top about “Indians are without sin and white people are evil simpletons”. But that depiction was fairly common in the late 60s/early 70s. Did you ever notice that out of all the different things Jack did, the only time he wasn’t a failure was when he was with the Cheyenne? His wife was stolen from him and his store was ran into the ground by a crooked partner. He could shoot, but quit when he saw someone get shot, and his sister abandoned him in disgust. He tried to be a scout for General Custer, but started fighting with the soldiers about slaughtering Indians. The preacher who took him in was a cruel jerk, and his wife was…a real piece of work. He was too honest to work with Merriwether the swindler. He was even a failure at being a worthless drunk and a hermit.
In the 60s and 70s? It’s current now! See Avatar, etc.
Little Big Man is the source of my favorite quote, which is applicable at least daily when you work in IT: *“Some days, the magic works; some days it doesn’t”.
*
Give credit where credit is due. The author is Thomas Berger, who also write Neighbors (don’t judge it by the movie – if you read the book first, you’ll realize the movie is pretty good), and Regiment of Women. He’s an excellent writer.
I liked Dustin Hoffman’s little touch of using a cracker rural accent when speaking English, but using his normal accent when he is supposed to be speaking Cheyenne.
And it was a common thread through all of John Ford’s westerns, so it’s been around a lot longer than that. Although, granted, Ford was the exception; his view of Anglo-Native relations didn’t become commonplace till the 60s.
“Indians are without sin and white people are evil simpletons” was absolutely not a common thread among John Ford westerns, and can only be generously applied to a small handful of his films (with still a couple of fingers left over).
I, too, saw this for the first time the other night (!). GREAT show, and now I absolutely must see it again as second (or third+) times are when things are better caught or comprehended - by me anyways.
I was gonna start a thread re: the ‘gay’ Indian and if that type of thing was common and/or tolerated amongst various tribes. I got some more thinking to do on that, though. I also have all kinds of tribal folks locally (including next-door neighbor) that I could chat with should the opportunity present itself.
Enjoyed both, though JJ was a bit too slow in the pacing for me. I’m sort of exploring one of Little Big Man’s stages of life right now myself, so not going to say much more.