njmollo Some say that Geronimo: An American Legend is revisionist but there is no getting away from the fact that this movie is poorly made hokum. The story begins and firmly stays with the point of view of the white man. One of the first scenes sets the tone for the following nonsense by having the American Cavalry officer played by Gene Hackman stress to his men the desire to allow the Indian women and children to escape to safety before they ride in to capture the renegade Indians.This cynical attempt at stressing the concern or at least the benevolence of the American Cavalry is ridiculous considering the well documented indiscriminate slaughter of Indian women and children perpetrated by American forces in the west.This travesty continues with Charles B. Gatewood played with angelic wetness by Jason Patric espousing an extraordinary and relentless knowledge of Apache customs, beliefs and spirituality to the young impressionable Lt. Britton Davis (Matt Damon). Ignorance and a want to stay ignorant of the Indian and their beliefs was standard for US soldiers and civilians alike at the time.The image of the Red Indian as created by Hollywood is perpetuated in this production without any attempt to shed new light on the subject. The revisionist Hollywood cliché is that the American Forces accidentally start the carnage and slaughter because of some simple misunderstanding. That the brutality is somehow impelled because of some small yet legitimate action by the Indian. Flying in the face of documented history, the general impression created by Hollywood is that the wholesale murder of the Red Indian was all a terrible mistake.The fact that Geronimo was never made a Chief because he was too impetuous and irresponsible is not broached. He is seen talking as if a Chief with retrained wisdom and thought. Many of Geromimo's own tribe found him to be dangerous and unreliable. Some still to this day wonder why Geronimo has become such an icon for white America. On a technical level this production is shot like a TV movie and the editing is especially bad. The dialogue is atrocious and unoriginal, an example being when Geronimo shoots a jug out of the hand of a Marshall at distance "That was a good shot!"......."No, I was aiming for his head!"

valis1949 Regardless of the absolute historical veracity of the film, GERONIMO:AN American LEGEND is, first and foremost, an engaging piece of motion picture entertainment. Written by John Milius, and directed by Walter Hill (with a dynamite soundtrack by Ry Cooder), the film attempts an evenhanded examination of the final chapters in America's war-torn and bloody relationship with The Apache Nation. Most historians would agree that the government of the United States enacted legislative policies concerning the Apache which were less than honest, and led to senseless acts of mayhem and violence. America's inept handling of these Native Americans attests to the sad fact that spurious 'short-term fixes' very often can lead to onerous and unintended diplomatic protocol. Neither the US or the Indians could claim the moral or ethical high ground, because such a position did not exist. Both sides were guilty of genocidal madness. At least this film attempts to present the issues and shed some light on the reasons that led to this decades long, violent and ill fated conflict. Jason Patric, as 1st Lt. Charles B. Gatewood, and Wes Studi, as Geronimo, convincingly embody the conflicting aims and strategies of the United States Government and the Apache Nation. Each man is portrayed as an honorable individual who tries to find common ground in an impossible situation where neither man has complete control. The film is a deft balancing act between an action adventure motion picture, and a thoughtful meditation on an almost insoluble clash between two cultures. THREE AND A HALF STARS.

bkoganbing Geronimo: An American Legend was the last of the fearsome Indians whose very name spread terror to the white settlers of the American West. The film is based on the actual memoirs of the real life character Matt Damon plays. Damon's character Brittain Davis wrote the book in 1929, in the film Damon is a young shave-tail lieutenant newly minted from West Point and assigned to the 6th Cavalry in the Arizona territory. Damon narrates the film and it's through his eyes that we see the action unfold.Army politics factors big in the hunt for Geronimo, General George Crook who was the Army general best known for subduing the Indians had his policy questioned by the officials in Washington and after he captures Geronimo once and then through some gross stupidity an incident happens on the reservation that sets Geronimo on the warpath again, Crook played by Gene Hackman is replaced by General Nelson Miles who is portrayed by Kevin Tighe.That's above the heads of army lieutenant Charles Gatewood who actually does the negotiations to bring Geronimo in and is played by Jason Patric. It's also so much nonsense to army chief of scouts Al Sieber who Robert Duvall plays. They're the ones along with Damon who are actually in the trenches so to speak.The Indian wars of the Arizona Territory are played even handedly in this film showing the courage and brutality on both sides. Geronimo: An American Legend is a fact based tale told from the perspective of one who was actually there. It's a most worthwhile film.

Chris First of all I'm not US Citizen, have Indian Origin or studied the so called Apache Wars in detail. But I enjoy western and when a western have at least some historical accuracy I like it even more. I have to say I was really surprised of this movie. If you expect to see a Western about heroic Indians and evil soldiers or an action loaded cowboys versus apache film don't watch it. In my opinion it's a decent portray of a great historian figure. Wes Studi did a fantastic job and is very believable as Geronimo. A strong acting from his side. It's a wonderful cast of actors in thismovie: Gene Hackman as General George Crook, Robert Duvall as Scout AlSieber, Jason Patric as 1.Lt. Charles Gatewood and a young Matt Damonas 2nd Lt. Britton Davis. Damon is doing such a fine acting as he showsin so many movies after. He is also the narrator voice of this sad story in American history too. Robert Duvall seems to play the only John Wayne like Character in this movie. He also has some wonderful Action Scenes and is good and motivated as ever. Same goes to Gene Hackman and Jason Patric. As mentioned before there are Action Scenes, mostly shootouts, battles and horse riding scenes. All of these aregreat cinematographic work and of course the pictures of the landscapesare incredible too. It seems that Director Walter Hill wanted to do hisown Homage to legends like John Ford. The Music is bit melancholic pretty decent, sometimes slow but never over the top or too much of all. The choice was excellent for this movie.Walter Hill impressed me with this beautiful and sad movie. It's a decent Western but not too slow or too boring. Walter Hill shows a fantastic picture about the people in this infamous and tragic story of a brave warrior and his tribe.