Steiger plays a Reb who won't surrender, but unlike Ethan of "The Searchers", he embraces the native American culture when he loses his own country.
We get a great adventure story here, with shades of the searchers, the Naked Prey, Dances with wolves, and long before those films were made.
More important, we get three dimensional characters. Even the two "heavies", one from each culture, are depicted with added dimensions. They are cruel, but their cruelty is motivated. They aren't "rebels without a cause". Indeed, what we see is "rebel with a cause" throughout.
There is much one could say to endorse this film, but I feel that would spoil it. What sticks out is how many of the characters behave in "humane" ways, even when they're expected not to, from both sides. Charles Bronson and Rod Steiger portray characters you feel actually existed, who mirror each other, and come to understand each other. The way this unfolds is amazing in script and directing, as well as acting.
This is action packed, but also thought provoking drama. You could put this on a stage and get much the same reaction, but it works great in cinema, too.
We get a great adventure story here, with shades of the searchers, the Naked Prey, Dances with wolves, and long before those films were made.
More important, we get three dimensional characters. Even the two "heavies", one from each culture, are depicted with added dimensions. They are cruel, but their cruelty is motivated. They aren't "rebels without a cause". Indeed, what we see is "rebel with a cause" throughout.
There is much one could say to endorse this film, but I feel that would spoil it. What sticks out is how many of the characters behave in "humane" ways, even when they're expected not to, from both sides. Charles Bronson and Rod Steiger portray characters you feel actually existed, who mirror each other, and come to understand each other. The way this unfolds is amazing in script and directing, as well as acting.
This is action packed, but also thought provoking drama. You could put this on a stage and get much the same reaction, but it works great in cinema, too.