a5c7b9f00b Re-enactment of the story of Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce Indians, who lived in the beautiful Wallowa Valley of Idaho and Oregon. In 1877, President Grant opened the valley to white settlement, and the Nez Perce were given thirty days in which to move to the Lapwai Reservation. The government sent the one-armed soldier-chief, General Oliver Otis Howard, to clear all Nez Perce out of Wallowa Valley. Chief Joseph, in a succession of shrewd military actions, outmaneuvered ten pursuing units of the U.S. Army until his outnumbered band, sick, starving, and tired, finally surrendered after a seventeen hundred mile, one hundred eight day fighting retreat. On October 8, 1877, Chief Joseph made his noble speech, "from where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever." In a period when many thought that "the only good Indian is a dead Indian," Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce won the admiration of the American public. The film had a modest budget, but it depicted very accurately events and major characters involved in the Nez Perce war. Had a strong anti war message; couldn't help noticing that it was made just after the US pulled out of Vietnam. Brian Ghilliotti I have seen this movie in 1978 for the first time and it has moved and inspired me a lot. Its plain and simple authenticity, its well-structured plot, its reliance on Joseph's best oratory and the excellent performances of the players who mostly do without histrionics have struck me at first sight and still do so. I will show this movie again tonight to a course of my college students who study Native American history and Indian oratory and customs to deepen their cross-cultural understanding and I am sure that they will be amazed againquite a lot of other courses before. I can truly recommend this movie to anyone who really cares about historical truth and high-quality cinematography. Dieter Seidensticker, Bielefeld, Germany
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370 weeks ago