BUFFALO BILL AND THE INDIANS, OR SITTING BULL'S HISTORY LESSON (1976) **1/2 Bicentennial existential Wild (tamed & staged) West alternative mini-graft biopic drama suggests that there's something wrong with America that goes deeper than Nixon. And Nixon went pretty deep. And it wonders, or wanders in directions that make you wonder, whether those same deep problems with America aren't the same problems with showbiz. Or whether showbiz reflects those same deep problems, and after all how couldn't it? Treasure trove of inverted logic and quotable statements, of course everything's quotable and inverted logic relies on something else, so how come they look so good standing alone? We all know that Paul Newman could play the hero, here he proves that he can play the fraud. Does that make you wonder about his heroes? Should it? How could it? Doesn't it make them more convincing since now we know that he's honest? Or at least sometimes honest. I remember reading, as a little kid, a biography of Buffalo Bill written for little kids. It was one of those unfortunate biographies where you have a better idea of why the subject is heroic before you read it (he didn't even kill millions of Indians). But he didn't come out of it looking like this . Burt Lancaster as the Greek chorus, except that there's only one of him and he's not Greek he doesn't sing and he's more worried about something else other than truth. He's worried about something else, so he's the verbal equivalent of a shoeshine boy. He does it great. Doesn't make me worry about the other characters he played. Robert Altman was doing some vicious, vicious work there for awhile. Lost of important things are vicious.
back to Brilliant Observations on 2120 Films page, or Index
go back home, or send me email
Reviews won't do it any more! I need sustained brilliance! I want to buy your exciting new terrorist novel!
I've already read both of your novels. Thank you, they're amazing. Now I want to check out your weekly blog on everything