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Reviews

Overall, this is an entertaining film with good acting and script. Unfortunately, the widescreen DVD is not enhanced for widescreen TVs. This is a film; those who want to study history, should refer to books.

This movie has lots of action and is spot on in regards to Custer's ego. However, the "Custer's Last Stand" is full of inaccuracies. All in all, it's a fun movie to watch. I especially enjoyed the scene when Custer assumed command and "whipped" the outfit into shape. Only he and the old Sargeant finished the drill. Great!

I wouldn't bother to review this picture if it hadn't been for the "alarmists" around here, who claim that the picture has been cropped down to 1.85:1 (and this has to be assumed, when reading the back of the MGM/UA sleeve). IT IS A TYPO! (Illiterate printers?) IT IS SIMPLY NOT TRUE AND THIS IS WHY... The picture was filmed in the "bastardized" Cinerama format, which at one time was spectacular in scope and as we know from "How the West Was Won" (just recently reissued in a cleaned up and digitalized format) and "The Fabulous Adventures of the Brothers Grimm", was that famous three camera process that should have emulated "what the eye sees" (a sort of expanded 3D, but without the need of special spectacles), and corresponded to about 2.90:1 (HTWWW is in 2.89:1 now). The "bastardized" version of Cinerama came after 1965 and was a fraud in terms, since only the name remained but in fact was just a feeble version of CinemaScope (2.35:1). That particular format came in two frame ratios, depending on the kind of film and camera used. One was in 2.2:1, which clearly corresponded to a Todd-AO format, and the other was slightly bigger than CinemaScope and was at 2.4:1 (which is today's Panavision standard). I have compared my videotape version of the movie of some years ago, released by ANCHOR BAY, and it was in the right ratio of 2.2:1 (even specified by the releasing company itself). I watched them both on my 16:9 widescreen LCD TV simultaneously, and guess what? There is absolutely no difference. Both Anchor Bay's version and the present MGM/UA release (which is actually nothing more than the original transfer by ARTISAN, just in a different packaging and logo) are in the correct ratio. Compared to the VHS tape there is an obvious improvement in sharpness and brighter colors. Alas, the sound is not up to par, and there is certainly a way one could improve that, but even so, it is not too bad. There are though some artifacts that stand out, but only in scenes where there's lots of movement and therefore barely noticeable to the eye (unless one sits two inches from the screen). Even though as a movie it is not really the greatest movie about this subject ever made (if you want a better one, you have to go back to the Errol Flynn version called "They Died with Their Boots On"), it still stands out for performers like Robert Shaw, Jeffrey Hunter and Robert Ryan. It is still watchable and could be taken as a treatment comparison piece to the above mentioned Errol Flynn version. It is entertaining though, and yet not really something for the accurate historian. It's a Western, for Heaven's sake! Enjoy it as such and have a laughter afterwards...

It's really a good DVD release? I haven't seen the DVD and do not buy it. Because? The DVD it's in 1,85:1. It was filmed in: Super Technirama 70 Printed format: 35 mm / 70 mm (Super-Cinerama) / 70 mm Aspect ratio: 2.20 : 1 (negative ratio) / 2.35 : 1 (35 mm prints) As filmfan I want only the original format. Sorry for this I can give only one point / star. But Ty hardin is great :-)

Over the years, certain incidents from the Wild West have been dealt with over and over again in Hollywood; the gunfight at the OK Corral, the battle of the Alamo, and as in the case of Custer of the West, the life of George Armstrong Custer. Following the Civil War, General Phil Sheridan gives Custer a post in the west with the 7th Cavalry and orders to clean out the Indians no matter what. Upon arriving, Custer gets his regiment into fighting shape and unleashes attacks on the Cheyenne (no Sioux in this one). But as he fights the Indians, Custer begins to question what he's doing and why and for who even as he greedily seeks glory. Obviously not the best of the movies made about Custer, or the most historically accurate, but I felt there was enough here to recommend the movie. The locations in Almeria, Spain, where many spaghetti westerns were filmed, doesn't look like the American West, but is still great to look at. Also, there's plenty of action, including a unique look at the massacre at the Little Big Horn, and a good musical score from Bernardo Segall. So give this movie a chance, even if it's just to see a different take on the legend of George Armstrong Custer. Throughout his short career that was cut short far too early, Robert Shaw tackled a wide variety of roles and here is no exception. The English actor plays Custer here and pulls it off pretty well. He's no Errol Flynn, but Shaw tries to explain some of the complexities of the character. He was egotistical and a glory seeker, but there's more to the man as Shaw shows. Mary Ure isn't given much to do as Libby, Custer's wife, but she is good in the few scenes she does have. Jeffrey Hunter and Ty Hardin play Capteen Benteen, the moralist who questions what the cavalry is doing, and Major Marcus Reno, the alcoholic second in command who hates Custer from the first time he meets him. Neither have a ton of screen time which is a shame because they're both good actors. Lawrence Tierney is good in a small part as General Phil Sheridan, Custer's commanding officer who is conflicted with what he has to do. Charles Stalmaker as the eager Lt. Howells, Kieron Moore as Chief Dull Knife (no Sitting Bull or Crazy Horse here), and Robert Hall as Sgt. Buckley also star. And in a great, if short, cameo, Robert Ryan plays Sgt. Paddy Mulligan, a 7th cavalry deserter who gets the itch for gold and tangles with Custer. As for the DVD, MGM went "all out" once again. The widescreen presentation is good but not great and doesn't really take advantage of the Cinerama filming. I saw a good-looking version on Turner Classic Movies recently to compare the two. Special features are slim here as well so don't expect too much. Still, it's an entertaining movie with some interesting cast choices and a very different look at the career and death of George Armstrong Custer. Give Custer of the West a try!

Reviews

I enjoyed this DVD. It does not cover any new ground in illuminating the legends of Native American history. I am glad that this DVD honors the people, and legends, as their stories are told in a respectful way. I am glad that this DVD has been produced with the underlying ideal that people can always grow their compassion and understanding of past history to light a way forward through the darkness of the horrors of the past. The legends live on, as we all do through the stories we consciously choose to tell our children ... and may the stories be of peace and progress for us all individually and collectively, as global hosts for this earth. Healing. It is all about the evolution of spiritual healing.

Reviews

Store was sold out - book was easy to order, reasonble in price and came quickly!

This book arrived quickly, well before the final possible arrival date. It is also in great condition. Looks brand new.

Mr. Momaday's voice in his collection of stories is priceless. He tells of the Kiowa's legends, follows them up with facts, and includes his own reflections on what it means to be Kiowa, Indian/Native American, human. The inclusion of his father's artwork makes this an even more impressive volume. I was fortunate enough to meet Mr. Momaday at a Western Writers Conference where he gave readings from this collection. And, not being a writer myself I felt out of place. It was Mr. Momaday's voice (think James Earl Jones), and his notice of me (the only other Indian/Native American in the auditorium) that mesmerized me. I've been a fan ever since.

In his writing, Momaday creates a vibrant sense of how stories are expressed through living words within vital communities. His brillant blending of mythology, folktales, oral history, historical descriptions, and personal reflections all connect in a fascinating story about finding one's way in life's journeys. The writing is so vivid and the book is so animated that patient readers will connect with what Momaday presents, provided that they choose to share in the reflective silence that he offers on the way to Rainy Mountain.

The Way to Rainy Mountain by N. Scott Momaday; illustrated by Al Momaday. Highly recommended.Rainy Mountain, a "single knoll [that] rises out of the plain in Oklahoma," is an old landmark for the Kiowa people. It is a land of bitter cold, searing heat, summer drought, and "great green and yellow grasshoppers." It is a land of loneliness, where the Kiowa were drawn after a long journey from the northwest through many types of lands.The Way to Rainy Mountain is about the journey-in myth, in drawings by Momaday's father Al, in reminiscences, and in historical snippets. All reveal aspects of Kiowa culture, life, philosophy, outlook, spirituality, and sense of self-the beauty and the desolation, how the introduction of the horse revolutionized Kiowa life, the story of Tai-me, and the richness of the word and the past. It is a literal journey as well; Momaday, in Yellowstone, writes, "The Kiowas reckoned their stature by the distance they could see, and they were bent and blind in the wilderness."This is a small gem of a book, beautifully written, illustrated, and designed. It has moments of insight, beauty, and sadness, as the ending of the Sun Dance, telling as the sun is at the heart of the Kiowa's soul-a soul that survives in every word and drawing of The Way to Rainy Mountain.Diane L. Schirf, 3 March 2002.

Reviews

Wonderful book; fascinating stories; important for women and men. Especially important for the significance of minority women writers.

I have never read any Native American literature before but, I had to read these stories for a Literature class and I thoroughly enjoyed them. I would recommend this reading to anyone who is somewhat interested in the history of Native America or who is interest in great story telling. The stories are so visual and Zitkala Sa takes the reader through her childhood memories with passion, emotion, depth and sincerity. Her stories shed light on what happened in that era for those who aren't as familiar with the history of Native Americans. Her experience compels us as humans to take a closer look at our actions and strive to preserve the beauty and differences of all cultures not just of the Native American. Zitkala Sa emerges from her tragic experiences and her loss of culture and spirit to become one of the most notable Native American Activists fighting for the rights of her people and stressing the importance cultural preservation. All these short stories are beautiful and moving.

I have never read any Native American literature before but, I had to read these stories for a Literature class and I thoroughly enjoyed them. I would recommend this reading to anyone who is somewhat interested in the history of Native America or who is interest in great story telling. The stories are so visual and Zitkala Sa takes the reader through her childhood memories with passion, emotion, depth and sincerity. Her stories shed light on what happened in that era for those who aren't as familiar with the history of Native Americans. Her experience compels us as humans to take a closer look at our actions and strive to preserve the beauty and differences of all cultures not just of the Native American. Zitkala Sa emerges from her tragic experiences and her loss of culture and spirit to become one of the most notable Native American Activists fighting for the rights of her people and stressing the importance cultural preservation. All these short stories are beautiful and moving.

Zitkala-Sa (Gertrude Bonnin) collected her autobiographical narratives from the Atlantic Monthly (1900-1902), and some fictional folktales, in this 1921 book. Obscure and out of print for decades, it was rediscovered in the 1970s and in 1985 was issued in this facsimile of the first edition, with a helpful forward by Dexter Fisher. It's tempting to call Zitkala-Sa the Native American Zora Neale Hurston, but Zitkala-Sa is too original to be seen as a version of anyone else. The story of her upbringing, and the deceptive luring of her to a missionary-sponsored school in the east, where she found herself held down as her hair was cut (a scene that reads with the intensity of a rape), is riveting and heartrending. Although bitter about her experiences, she achieved a full education in English, expertise on the violin (she performed in Paris), and finally the presidency of the National Council of American Indians, which successfully promoted a law making Native Americans citizens of the United States. The book as a whole reflects her empowerment, but also speaks eloquently in a conquering culture's language of what it is to have no power over your destiny or selfhood. Her integration of several competing selves led her to write this, in "The Great Spirit": "The racial lines, which once were bitterly real, now serve nothing more than marking out a living mosaic of human beings." I for one feel richer for having read this book, and knowing the story of an American hero in her own words. Very highly recommended to all.

Reviews

I am a naturalist and a student of Native American cultures and I love this book. I'm reading it now. It is rare to find an author so expert in the natural world, the specific local and the Miwok culture. She takes you to the time of Marin with her descriptions of the plants, sights and smells of that time. I've already given this book to several friends.

This book is well written and provides a comprehensive and fair handed assessment of Native American history in the Bay Area. This book is long overdue and well worth reading.

Marin County, California, is named after a Native American tribal chieftain of the Coast Miwok who resisted Spanish colonization at a time when the infamous system of Spanish missions collapsed and California was being rapidly transformed by the Americans. "Chief Marin: Leader, Rebel, And Legend" is a compelling biography of a hitherto obscure figure by anthropologist and archaeologist Betty Goerke who drew upon her seminal research efforts with mission records, ethnographies, the diaries and correspondences of missionaries and explorers, and other source materials. Of special note is the section of thematically relevant photographic illustrations. An enthusiastically recommended addition to academic and community library Native American Studies and American Biography reference collections, "Chief Marin" is a vividly written, informative biography of a remarkable man and his epic struggle to emancipate his people from the Spanish colonial system in an ultimately doomed effort to preserve his people's aboriginal lifestyle.