Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson (1976)

A cynical Buffalo Bill hires Sitting Bull to exploit him and add his credibility to the distorted view of history presented in his Wild West Show.

Director:

Robert Altman

Writers:

Arthur Kopit (play), Alan Rudolph (screen story and screenplay),

Stars:

Paul Newman, Joel Grey, Kevin McCarthy

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Paul Newman	...	The Star (William 'Buffalo Bill' Cody)
Joel Grey	...	The Producer (Nate Salisbury)
Kevin McCarthy	...	The Publicist (Maj. John Burke)
Harvey Keitel	...	The Relative (Ed Goodman)
Allan F. Nicholls	...	The Journalist (Prentiss Ingraham) (as Allan Nicholls)
Geraldine Chaplin	...	The Sure Shot (Annie Oakley)
John Considine	...	The Sure Shot's Manager (Frank Butler)
Robert DoQui	...	The Wrangler (Oswald Dart) (as Robert Doqui)
Mike Kaplan	...	The Treasurer (Jules Keen)
Bert Remsen	...	The Bartender (Crutch)
Bonnie Leaders	...	The Mezzo-Contralto (Margaret)
Noelle Rogers	...	The Lyric-Coloratura (Lucille DuCharme)
Evelyn Lear	...	The Lyric-Soprano (Nina Cavallini)
Denver Pyle	...	The Indian Agent (McLaughlin)
Frank Kaquitts	...	The Indian (Sitting Bull)

Storyline

Buffalo Bill plans to put on his own Wild West sideshow, and Chief Sitting Bull has agreed to appear in it. However, Sitting Bull has his own hidden agenda, involving the President and General Custer.

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Plot Keywords:

sitting bull | wild west show | general custer | buffalo bill cody | satire | 

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Genres:

Western | Comedy

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 June 1976 (USA)

Also Known As:

Buffalo Bill and the Indians

Filming Locations:

Stoney Indian Reservation, Alberta, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$6,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dino De Laurentiis Company, Lion's Gate Films, Talent Associates-Norton Simon

Technical Specs

Runtime:

123 min 105 min (1979) 135 min (video release)

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This started out as a project re-teaming Paul Newman and director George Roy Hill after Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Although Hill dropped out of the mix in the intervening years, Newman remained on board.

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Goofs

There is a flag on the flagpole. All 3 flags have 48 stars on them. The flag with 48 stars didn't come about until 1912.

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Quotes

William F. 'Buffalo Bill' Cody: Remember, son, the last thing that a man wants to do is the last thing he does.

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Crazy Credits

Robert Altman's Absolutely Unique and Heroic Enterprise of Inimitable Lustrel

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Connections

References Nashville (1975)

User Reviews

Interesting, like all Altman films, but not his best.

This movie is certainly worth watching if you're an Altman fan, or a fan of revisionist Westerns. The performances are great (as per usual when Altman is at the helm) and the movie is entertaining enough on its own merits.

The two biggest flaws, though, are these: Compared to most of Altman's films, much of the dialogue in this movie is very "stagy" and theatrical. I suppose it's supposed to be that way because of the questions of "myth" and "legend" that the story concerns itself with, but my impression was that such theatrical-sounding dialogue didn't mesh well with Altman's typically naturalistic style of filming.

The other problem I had is that the whole subject matter -- myth vs. reality, history vs. reality, show business vs. reality, etc. -- isn't really explored with any depth or subtlety. We're constantly being reminded that Buffalo Bill is a man who created his own legend out of lies, and that that is the basis of modern show business to this day, but really, that just didn't strike me as being a particularly insightful observation. This is hardly the first movie to point out that lies are often more "real" (or more attractive) than the truth, and Altman doesn't seem to bring anything new to the table.

Still, it's Altman, which means it's well-made, entertaining and beautiful to look at. I don't think this will ever be considered one of his major works but it's certainly worth a look.