Little Big Man (1970) and Midnight Cowboy (1969)

I've been wanting to see this movie forever, and finally did and really liked it! It reminded me of Dances with Wolves from 1990, primarily because it's about a white man raised by an indigenous tribe. Dustin Hoffman was an interesting choice to play this part. He was a big box office star from this time period, and he brings alot of that everyman essence to this part which I think is important for this role.

At the start of the film we meet Hoffman's character - a 120 year old man being interviewed by a reporter (William Hickey) interested in his long life and his supposed acquaintanceship with Civil War General Custer in the 1800s.

The old man lives in a nursing home; I have a relative who just moved into such a place, and they can be lonely places. I could understand why this old man would want to talk and tell his life story to someone who will listen. And he's had a long life, a really long life. He talks about being raised by a Cheyenne tribe, and later befriends historical figures Bill Hickock and General Custer. These sequences are episodic, but I really seeing him brush with historical figures. This was an idea that was used somewhat similarly later in the movie Forrest Gump, but I think works really good in this film.

I like how the old man narrates the movie throughout; this gave me the feeling that I was always being told the old man's story and not someone else's. He talks about the various "stages" of his life.... "My Indian Years", "My religious years", "My Outlaw Days", etc.  Faye Dunaway has a small supporting part where she plays a religious man's wife who becomes a prostitute later on.

I couldn't believe that it was Richard Mulligan playing a dramatic role as General Custer; I only knew him for his comedy roles on TV but he is really good in this.

There is also great standout performance by a Native American actor in the film - Chief Dan George. His part is significant as Hoffman's father figure and wise mentor who has some interesting (and racy) dialogue. I imagine that the audience of 1970 would like his line where he says, "Does she show enthusiasm when you mount her?" (referring to Hoffman's spouse).

It's unfortunate that the movie's marketing posters (as shown above) make this movie to look like a comedy, with Dustin Hoffman made to look like Don Knotts in The Shakiest Gun in the West. This is a really profound drama (with occasional comic relief), that was ahead of its time showing the perspectives of both indigenous and white peoples. Equally unfortunate is the lack of accolades that year - no Oscars...not even a Best Picture nomination. In 1970, the big winner was "Patton", which was a more traditional war film with a hero that audiences could probably relate to more. Little Big Man was unfortunately overshadowed by it, and I don't think audiences were quite ready to embrace such a film yet. Not until Dances with Wolves 20 years later.

I also re-watched Midnight Cowboy which I haven't seen in more than 20 years but remember liking it overall, especially the chemistry of the two leads (Voight and Hoffman). I forgot that there was a sequence where they go to a hippy artists' party in New York, and there are some real cameos by Andy Warhol protégés. After attending a Warhol art exhibit recently, I've been reading some of his biographies and a book of his journal entries; interestingly in one entry he wrote that he wanted to do a cameo in Midnight Cowboy but couldn't do it because he was in the hospital recovering from a gunshot wound (in the summer of '68).

I loved seeing all the on-location scenes of New York; I kept my eye peeled for any interesting posters that would have been of the times. I saw one poster/billboard with Jonathan Winters on it. And another poster was a movie ad for "Doctor Doolittle" starring Rex Harrison, which was interesting. Flash forward 50 years and we have yet another remake of "Doolittle" in theaters starring Robert Downey Jr (I'm planning to skip since it doesn't look all that appealing to me).

Another scene in Midnight Cowboy that I had forgotten about happens at the end where Joe Buck beats the old man in his hotel room, almost killing him (his actual death isn't shown but it's implied he might have killed him). This makes me feel less sympathetic toward the character, and even reminded me of what Brad Pitt does at the end of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (my least-favorite sequence in that movie); now I'm wondering if Tarantino intended that scene to be an homage to Midnight Cowboy.

Read a blog post about this movie by Avvaganda.com here

Endless Poetry (2017) and Wind River (2017)

Two of my favorite films from last year were not nominated for any Oscars this year, but to me they really had a impact. 

Endless Poetry (2017, French-Chilean) was released last year and is the latest film from Alejandro Jodorowsky (El Topo, Santa Sangre). I absolutely loved this film because it struck me in a very personal way. It is partially an autobiographical film about Jodorowsky, and stars his son, Adan Jodorowsky.. The film begins with the young Alejandro learning about life and his passions - he loves poetry and art, but his father wants him to be a doctor. Throughout the film Adam meets some very interesting people - other artists, poets, performers, puppeteers - and he develops his creative talents. The ending moved me tremendously, as the son makes peace with his father and tells him that if it weren't for him, he would have never discovered his true calling. It reminded of my recent reconnection with my own birth father after 27 years in 2016.

Here is a review of this film from the blog Surrender the Void.

I also was really moved by the film Wind River (2017). It's a murder mystery done very effectively and is very engaging, with great scenery and a music score co-composed by Nick Cave.

The Rotten Tomatoes capsule summary of the film -

Wind River is a chilling thriller that follows a rookie FBI agent (Elizabeth Olsen) who teams up with a local game tracker with deep community ties and a haunted past (Jeremy Renner) to investigate the murder of a local girl on a remote Native American Reservation in the hopes of solving her mysterious death.

It was written and directed by Taylor Sheridan, who also wrote Sicario, if you enjoyed that film, you may also enjoy this one as well, and I recommend it.

Jeremiah Johnson (1972)

In 1972's hit film Jeremiah Johnson,  Robert Redford's character heads off into the Rocky Mountains to become a fur trading mountain man, alone in the wilderness. We don't know what motivates him right away, but in time the film reveals that Jeremiah was a veteran of the US-Mexican war, and fled to the north before the war ended (the film takes place in the early-mid 1800s).

I like the episodic format of the film. In one scene Jeremiah fights for his life against a pack of wolves; in another, he struggles for hours to light a fire pit under a snow-covered tree, only to have a pile of snow fall right down on top of it. My favorite scene is the one where Jeremiah, with the help of a young orphan boy he meets along the way, builds a log cabin house. Other interesting characters he meets include a seasoned hermit who mentors him and a Native American who learns to trust him. There is even a wedding scene, but I won't give away too much if you haven't seen the film. Recognizable actors pop up, such as Will Geer, Paul Benedict, and Matt Clark.

According to the book Box Office Hits by Susan Sackett; Redford told a reporter "I wanted this film to be an antidote to the general feeling int he States today that getting away from civilization is such a terrific thing and is so romantic....I wanted to show the kids what it is really like going it on your own in the wilderness and thoroughly deromanticize it for them." Director Sydney Pollack agreed, and told the New York Times: "You cannot live totally selfishly and be completely independent of the world. You must adjust to the needs of nature or of man."

Jeremiah Johnson holds up very well after more than 40 years, I think. It has a good share of humorous moments. And I loved the mellow folk ballads of the film's soundtrack, including the song "The Ballad of Jeremiah Johnson". I did some research online to find out who wrote and sung these songs; the site FilmScore has a good write up about the composer John Rubinstein (b. 1946) and writer-singer Tim McIntire (1944-1986).

I watched this movie on DVD, and was delighted to see not only an "Overture", but also an "Intermission" title card and an "Entr'acte"! I could hardly believe it. An Intermission - this film actually had an intermission back in the day! And it was only a 2-hour film. Pure delight.

Wagon Master (John Ford, 1950)

While I was in Palo Alto this past Spring, I went to the Stanford Theater and watched Wagon Master, which was playing that week.

The titular wagon master is played by Ben Johnson.

He's hired by a Mormon pioneer (Ward Bond) to lead his wagon train through the desert to their "promised land'. Jane Darwell (Grapes of Wrath) plays one of the Mormons.

Any film about a slow-moving wagon train in the blistering heat needs to have a good story and interesting characters to hold my interest. The film gets interesting when the group meets a family of gypsy performers and let them travel along. Ben Johnson even falls for the daughter, played by Joanne Dru).

There's an interesting sequence where a group of Native Americans invite the entire group to their campsite.

The film gets even more interesting when the Clegg Family - a group of fugitive brothers - gets involved.  The leader of the group is the ruthless "Uncle Shiloh" (Charles Kemper), a nasty villain.

Co-starring Harry Caray Jr.  Directed by John Ford.

Read a review from Laura of Laura's Misc Musings

Read another blog post from Just Hit Play here