Customer Reviews

The Return of a Man Called Horse

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I do not think I've ever seen a sequel that surpasses the prequel to such a degree as this film does. The opening quarter of an hour of the film is one of the best ever, that engages the attention of the viewer immediately. Action scenes are poignant and dramatically effective at the same time. I believe that the Lakota were far more sensitively portrayed than they were in 'A Man Called Horse' - when they seemed to do very little than shriek incoherently at each other and everyone else. The scenery and the costumes are great and are very authentic given the detail usually given to most films of this era.

The film begins with Harris returning to America, initially for a year, to visit the Lakota band that enslaved and later adopted him in the 1820's. He finds that his adoptive Yellow Hand people have been slaughtered by a group of trappers and an enemy tribe; the survivors enslaved or driven from their homeland. Harris eventually meets up with the survivors and helps revitalize their spirit enabling them to win back their homeland. If there is one fault with the film it is this; once again native people need a white man to save the day. If you can disregard this it is an excellent film - my favourite scenes being the Sun Dance and the Yellow Hand women getting the upper hand with the Arikaras!

This is a sequel to the 1970 A MAN CALLED HORSE. In that movie Richard Harris is John Morgan, an Englsih baron captured by the Yellow Hand Sioux in the early 1800s and raised by them; being a great fighter he was given his freedom and returned to England in 1821.

Now, three years later, Harris is bored in England and decides to return to America. When he does he finds the Yellow Hand have been driven off their lands or enslaved by white traders. He leads them in a fight to regain their lands.

The movie is shot almost totally from the Indians' perspective, and great care has been taken to get it right and to treat the Indians and their ways honestly. There is a lengthy self-mutilation ceremony that is quite gory (but authentic); it was cut from some earlier prints as being too graphic, but it's essential as to why the tribe decides to fight for their land (they must purge themselves of the evil spirit first). The really memorable thing about the movie is the photography: the Dakota landscape is spectacular.

Truly worth sh..

My VHS tape is far superior in "roundness" of image and even the main titles are clearer.

Do you want to know something more? Even the sound is better on tape!!!!

The funny thing though, is that both are sons of the same father...

Yes indeed, the Widescreen Tape and the DVD are both produced by MGM/UA and yet the quality of the DVD is grainy and the image flickers at times. The sound on the DVD comes and goes as it pleases, and this throughout the movie.

The tape is far superior. It has no disturbances whatsoever, even though the picture is a bit unfocused. Yet the sound is perfect and clear.

So, why is this?

Couldn't they find a new roll of film to slam onto a DVD?
Or where they to lazy even to look for a copy and decided that the quality of the tape would suffice to be thrown onto DVD?

Only Heaven knows...

Was it faulty compression?
Your guess as mine...

Hey, the Lion roars... yeah, my foot!

The Lion has lost its teeth and cannot even seem to remember where his denture is...

It has become a very lame old alley cat... that old lion...

Time for retirement? I think so. I know so!

If you have it, stick to your old VHS widescreen tape. If not and you would like to have a copy of the movie, opt for the tape and NOT for the DVD version.

A friendly advice for your pockets.

The first movie was a departure from the everyday" Cowboy Indian movie with a few good twists albeit you could see them comming. Good story to be told, and Part 2 Still with Richard Harris is one of the best follow up movies to come down the pike for it's Genre. I owned and discoverd part 2 recently and was surprised how good it was, and stood up on it's own. All I'll say is in part 2 Harris becomes restless in England and revists his adopted indian family and it takes off from there. Harris is perfect for the role, an english Gentelman with a conscience.

This is the second in the series of three, the orginal movie called "A Man Called Horse". "Return of a Man Called Horse" is okay. The main character played by Richard Harris is back in England and becomes bored with life and decides to return to the Sioux tribe that captured him 4 years earlier. I would say that it repeats somethings from the original like the "Vow to the Sun"(done alittle differently this time) and some of the characters have returned but not many. Difinitely watch it if you have seen "A Man Callled Horse"(which is OUTSTANDING) just so you can have the satisfaction of seeing the series and of course the wonderful actor Harris. Movie is nowhere near as good as the first film but is you enjoy Harris, watch it. Have fun.

This is one of my favorite series, and should be watched by all who are the least bit interested in the Black Hills of Montana and the Sioux nation.

It is a wonderful tribute to Richard Harris.

Del Dennis

This movie is a good sequel to the first one and I enjoyed it. Richard H. was vey good in this role. as was all of the others. They did a good job in casting N.A. in the N.A. roles and not actors non N. A. in the roles as Hollywood is good in doing. I think there was only one acftress that was cast as N.A. not bad Hollywood that is not N.A.

I love these Horse movies. The film product is a little grainy. But I loved it when it came out originally, and I still love them today. Get both of them. It gives you the complete story. If you love westerns about indians of old, this is excellent. Richard Harris is great in this.

in viewing this movie I liked it so much I bought the
return of a man called horse, recommend

I'm always fascinated with books & movies that deal with the interaction of subjects from different cultures such as "Shogun", "Lawrence of Arabia", "Dances with Wolves" or "Broken Arrow".

The original film "A Man Called Horse" (1970) has had a very special place in my memory and heart. Its sequel "The Return of a Man Called Horse" (1976) wasn't so good, nevertheless is quite enjoyable.

It tells the story of Lord John Morgan's return to the plains around 1840. He was languishing at his states in England when suddenly he feels the urge to return to America.
He discovers that the Yellow Hands has been expelled from their sacred lands, her women enslaved and the rest of the tribe condemned to a miserable life due to the "in force" invasion of some fur traders.
The trader gang has constructed a stronghold including cannons and settling allied native around the fort.
Lord Morgan or Horse as he is known to his Sioux kin starts a new epic experience. Self imposing extreme hardships, first to attain a "vision", then he strengths very young tribesmen thru sacred rites, next he trains women to fight and finally devices a plan to expel the usurpers.
The final combat is film's culmination and a very good action piece.

Harris performs again with deep conviction even if the script is not as good as the original one he extract the maximum from his character.
This time Sioux warriors are fleshed by Mexican actors and actresses instead of the multinational cast of the first film, without lose.

Even with its flaws this film moves the spectator to admire and respect Native American culture.

Give this film a try, you won't be disappointed!
Reviewed by Max Yofre.