A man named Horse

A Man Called Horse (A Man Called Horse) is a 1970 American twilight western. based on the eponymous short story written by Dorothy M. Johnson and first published in 1950 in Collier's^{[1]< magazine /sup>} and later, in 1968, in the author's book called Indian Country.

The film, which was directed by Elliot Silverstein and starred Richard Harris as the lead actor, was shot in part in Dakhota, a Sioux language. The story, told entirely from the point of view of the Indian tribe, is about a white man who joins a tribe of Indians.

The director, Elliot Silverstein, narrates with effect, both naturalistic and gore, this adventure of survival, honor and friendship, which breaks stereotypes regarding Indian culture, although it ultimately turns the white aristocrat into a true mythical hero of the tribe. In order to achieve the aforementioned pseudo-documentary style, the director researched for quite some time, living with Sioux Indians, to try to achieve maximum fidelity when it came to representing the lifestyle of the tribe.

This title was a great commercial success, because for the first time "the customs of an Indian tribe were described from within"; however it was criticized by many Indian activists, even calling it "the whitest film of all". It is the best-known performance by Richard Harris, who rose to fame with it and would reprise the main character in two sequels.

Plot

The story told in A Man Called Horse takes place in 1843.

A group of white hunters is attacked in the mountains of Montana by a tribe of crows Indians. All the whites die except the head of the group, John Morgan (Richard Harris), a wealthy lord of Boston (England) who travels the world to pursue his hobbies, especially hunting, and incidentally to think about his own life, until one day he is captured by a tribe of Sioux Indians.

At first he is used as a pack animal, just like a horse, and is taken prisoner before the chief of the tribe, who gives him as a gift to his mother as a slave.

The chief shows slight interest in him when he sees him explode after being humiliated over and over again, as he shows more strength and intelligence than the other slave they have in the tribe, a half-breed named Baptiste, who pretends to be crazy to that they do not use it in the hard tasks, and that he will become a confidante of Morgan when he also knows English. Little by little he is adapting to the lifestyle of the tribe. Although everything changes, when Morgan has the opportunity to prove his worth in a battle when he kills two members of a rival tribe, thus earning the respect of the entire Sioux tribe and becoming one more warrior.

He falls in love with the sister of the chief of the tribe and when he asks for her hand, they demand that he be part of the tribe, and for this he must make the "Oath to the Sun", a climactic scene in the film and iconic in the history of cinema. After surviving this ordeal, he became an Indian and later the chief of the Crow tribe.

Cast

• Richard Harris: John Morgan, later called Horse (Caballo).
• Manu Tupou: Yellow Hand, first head of the tribe.
• Judith Anderson: Buffalo Cow Head (Buffalo Head), mother of the first boss.
• Corinna Tsopei: Running Deer, sister of the first boss.
• Eddie Little Sky: Black Eagle, second head of the tribe.
• Tamara Garina: Elk Woman (Women Alce), wife of Yellow Hand, and then Black Eagle.
• Michael Baseleon: Longfoot (Pie Largo), warrior of the tribe who later became chief.
• Lina Marin: Thorn Rose.
• Iron Eyes Cody: Tribe sorcerer.
• Tom Tyon and Jackson Tail: assistants of the sorcerer.
• Manuel Padilla Jr.: Leaping Buck (Cervo Jumpin), boy of the tribe.
• Members of the Sioux tribe of Rosebud, South Dakota.
• Terry Leonard: Striking Bear (Formidable Bear), head of the chochonis.
• Jean Gascon: Baptiste, prisoner of the tribe.
• Dub Taylor: Joe, white hunter.
• James Gammon: Ed, another hunter.
• William Jordan: Bent, another hunter.