Audience Reviews for Soldier Blue Mar 05, 2010 Soldier Blue is a very good movie, showing the drama and realities of war following two lead characters through a story with a very bloody ending. American casualties reached a peak in 1969. Essentially, films like these are no longer made, which is a shame. Both Soldier Blue, the My Lai or Songmy Massacre of 1968 quite correctly present the dark side of American History - and explains why America is such a painful, divided place today. Nelson had already 'tested the waters' with his superb realistically violent 'Duel At Diablo' and 'Soldier Blue' extended the violence further. The phenomenon of SOLDIER BLUE is forever woven around its supremely sadistic finale which is "tame" compared with what was originally shot, but gruesomely recreates the all too real Sand Creek Massacre of 1864. Even today, this massacre, a sequence of unbelievably extreme violence that involves hacked body parts, rape, and infinite bloodshed, makes SOLDIER BLUE very difficult for viewers to watch. This review contains images of nudity and graphic violence*** After a cavalry patrol is ambushed by the Cheyenne, the two survivors, a soldier and a woman, must reach the safety of the nearest fort. ... is now preserved by the National Park Service. Soldier Blue awakened my consciousness to the Native American plight and dared to go where no other movie had ventured before. Soldier Blue is a 1970 American Revisionist Western film directed by Ralph Nelson and starring Candice Bergen, Peter Strauss, and Donald Pleasence. Nelson had already 'tested the waters' with his superb realistically violent 'Duel At Diablo' and 'Soldier Blue' extended the violence further. SOLDIER BLUE suffers from bergen's week performance and Strauss is bland, but. With Candice Bergen, Peter Strauss, Donald Pleasence, John Anderson. Besides trying to set the record straight on native America, Soldier Blue was also an early Vietnam allegory, targeting the My Lai massacre at a time when it was too controversial to tackle to portray – it took Hollywood until the 1980’s to do that. Soldier Blue is a 1970 American Revisionist Western movie directed by Ralph Nelson and inspired by events of the 1864 Sand Creek massacre in the Colorado Territory. SOLDIER BLUE, in fact, is erratically paced and indifferently scripted, with the ingenious plotting and well integrated period detail of Theodore V. Olsen’s source novel having been largely jettisoned. However, much could be said of Britain's Colonial Past too. Synopsis. Both Soldier Blue, the My Lai or Songmy Massacre of 1968 quite correctly present the dark side of American History - and explains why America is such a painful, divided place today. Soldier Blue ★★ 1970 (R)Two survivors of an Indian attack make their way back to an army outpost. Essentially, films like these are no longer made, which is a shame. 109m/C VHS, DVD . It was a story that needed to be told. After a brutal Cheyenne massacre on a cavalry unit, two survivors — Honus Gent, a devoted soldier, and “Cresta” Lee, a young woman sympathetic to the Indians — must make their way to safety at a U.S. outpost. Written by folk icon Buffy Sainte-Marie, this is the theme song to the 1970 movie Soldier Blue, which depicts the 1864 Sand Creek Massacre - a brutal attack on the Cheyenne and Arapaho village by the Colorado State Militia.Ever hear of the movie? It was written by John Gay based on the novel "Arrow in the Sun" by Theodore V. Olsen and starred Candice Bergen, Peter Strauss, and Donald Pleasence. Hurst recalled waiting for Soldier Blue to come on TV in 1980 so he could finally see it – but was disappointed to find the notorious massacre all-but excised. 115. In the BBC's defence, though, it was a good clean print, and was almost in the right ratio, as far as I could tell. Don't see if it you're easily traumatized by beheadings, graphic rape scenes, hacked off limbs, or the… Regarding the film’s major set-piece, the Sand Creek massacre sequence, its presentation is sincere. Of course Soldier Blue is primarily known for its climactic depiction of the Sand Creek massacre, one of the most infamous incidents in the history of the American West, in which Colorado Territory militia massacred a village of Cheyenne and Arapaho. ***WARNING! After a cavalry patrol is ambushed by the Cheyenne, the two survivors, a soldier and a woman, must reach the safety of the nearest fort. Soldier Blue is an American Revisionist Western from 1970, directed by Ralph Nelson, telling a fictionalised account of the events surrounding the 1864 Sand Creek massacre in the Colorado Territory. And then there was Vietnam. Soldier Blue is a multifaceted film that grows on you as its story steadily unfolds. Soldier Blue, a loosely fictionalized account of the Sand Creek Massacre, is one of the most violent films ever made. While I'm not a big fan of "trigger warnings," this film merits one. The timeslot was kind of understandable, bearing in mind the ending, and the nature of the film itself. The Sand Creek Massacre was one of the darkest points in the Indian Wars where terrible atrocities were carried out on innocent Cheyenne women and children. Nelson had already 'tested the waters' with his superb realistically violent 'Duel At Diablo' and 'Soldier Blue' extended the violence further. It stands out for its attempt to put some reality into American history, but before it gets there it is basically a story of the relationship between Candace Bergen's character and Peter Strauss's. —Nick Riganas. I don't say this lightly. If you're from the US, probably not – and there's a reason for that. "No one knows Soldier Blue in North America. With Candice Bergen, Peter Strauss, Donald Pleasence, John Anderson. Writing in Cinema Retro, P.B. Gratuitously violent Vietnam-era western hits hard on racial themes. Soldier Blue is a 1970 American Revisionist Western film directed by Ralph Nelson and starring Candice Bergen, Peter Strauss, and Donald Pleasence.Adapted by John Gay from the novel Arrow in the Sun by T.V. Soldier Blue. Essentially, films like these are no longer made, which is a shame. At its heart is a simple, endearing western with an underlying romance storyline. The shock waves of the My Lai massacre in 1968 were still reverberating. When beginning my excavations of Soldier Blue, I had never imagined the many fascinating finds I would make. Both Soldier Blue, the My Lai or Songmy Massacre of 1968 quite correctly present the dark side of American History - and explains why America is such a painful, divided place today. Based on the novel “Arrow in the Sun” by Theodore V. Olsen on the Sand Creek Indian massacre. The Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site was dedicated on April 28, 2007, almost 142 years after the massacre. Ralph Nelson. United States, 1970. However, much could be said of Britain's Colonial Past too. Directed by Ralph Nelson. Is Soldier Blue equally responsible for the blood-soaked 1864 Sand Creek massacre in Colorado? Directed by. The cavalry then seeks revenge on the Cheyenne tribe accused of the attack. However, much could be said of Britain's Colonial Past too. I saw Soldier Blue when it first came out and I forgot how long it took to get to the final massacre scene. The Kent State shootings took place the same month that Soldier Blue was released. Western. Buffy Sainte-Marie, OC (born Beverly Sainte-Marie, February 20, 1941) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, composer, visual artist, educator, pacifist, and social activist.Throughout her career in all of these areas, her work has focused on issues of indigenous peoples of the Americas. In addition to solving the longstanding mystery of whether Ralph Nelson’s “commentary on war” deliberately echoed the My Lai massacre, The Most Savage Film: Details the bizarre, incident-packed Mexican location shoot Soldier Blue, director Ralph Nelson's "revisionist" western from 1970, wraps a fictitious story around this historical event, peppering it with modern political references to the United States then-current involvement with the Vietnam War, and more specifically, with the My Lai massacre. The film "Soldier Blue" aired on BBC2, late at night on Friday 16th August, between 00:20 and 02:15 hours. 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