Soldier Blue (1970)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Ralph Nelson

Writers:

Theodore V. Olsen (novel)
John Gay (screenplay)

Release Date:

30 October 1970 (Sweden)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Romance | Western

Tagline:

The most savage film in history!

Plot:

After a cavalry group is massacred by the Cheyenne, only two survivors remain: Honus, a naive private devoted to his duty...

Plot Keywords:

Village | Fort | Attack | Private | Love

Cast

Candice Bergen	...	Kathy Maribel Lee, 'Cresta'
Peter Strauss	...	Honus Gent
Donald Pleasence	...	Isaac Q. Cumber
John Anderson	...	Col. Iverson
Jorge Rivero	...	Spotted Wolf
Dana Elcar	...	Capt. Battles
Bob Carraway	...	Lt. McNair
Martin West	...	Lt. Spingarn
James Hampton	...	Pvt. Menzies
Mort Mills	...	Sgt. O'Hearn
Jorge Russek	...	Running Fox
Aurora Clavel	...	Indian woman (as Aurora Clavell)
Ralph Nelson	...	Agent Long (as Alf Elson)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Marco Antonio Arzate	...	Kiowa warrior (uncredited)
Ron Fletcher	...	Lt. Mitchell (uncredited)
Conrad Hool	...	Lieutenant (uncredited)
Lance Hool	...	Guard (uncredited)
Barbara Turner	...	Mrs. Long (uncredited)

Directed by
Ralph Nelson

Writing credits
Theodore V. Olsen		(novel "Arrow in the Sun")
John Gay		(screenplay)

Produced by
William S. Gilmore	....	associate producer (as William S. Gilmore Jr)
Gabriel Katzka	....	producer
Joseph E. Levine	....	executive producer
Harold Loeb	....	producer

Original Music by
Roy Budd

Cinematography by
Robert B. Hauser		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Alex Beaton

Casting by
Leonard Murphy

Art Direction by
Frank Arrigo

Set Decoration by
Carlos Grandjean

Makeup Department
Del Armstrong	....	makeup supervisor
Ellis Burman Jr.	....	special makeup effects artist (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Mario Cisneros	....	assistant director
Everett Creach	....	second unit director
Terry Morse Jr.	....	assistant director

Art Department
Ray Mercer Jr.	....	property master

Sound Department
John Poyner	....	dubbing editor
Barry Thomas	....	sound mixer

Special Effects by
Herman E. Townsley	....	special effects (as Herman Townsley)

Stunts
Everett Creach	....	stunt coordinator
Jerry Brutsche	....	stunts (uncredited)
Gary Combs	....	stunts (uncredited)
Bennie E. Dobbins	....	stunts (uncredited)
Terry Leonard	....	stunts (uncredited)
Fred Lerner	....	stunts (uncredited)
Glenn Randall Jr.	....	stunts (uncredited)
Greg Walker	....	stunts (uncredited)
Rodd Wolff	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Charles W. Short	....	camera operator
Frank Shugrue	....	still photographer
Jim Songer	....	video supervisor

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Theodore R. Parvin	....	costume supervisor (as Ted Parvin)

Music Department
Roy Budd	....	conductor
Roy Budd	....	music arranger
Buffy Sainte-Marie	....	composer: title song "Soldier Blue"

Other crew
Bob Forrest	....	script supervisor
Rhonda Grogan	....	production secretary
Don Halswell	....	technical advisor
Joseph E. Levine	....	presenter
Eddie Little Sky	....	technical advisor
Corky Randall	....	livestock supervisor
'Chema' Hernandez	....	head wrangler (uncredited)

Production Companies

• AVCO Embassy Pictures
• Katzka-Loeb

Distributors

• AVCO Embassy Pictures (1970) (USA) (theatrical)
• Astro Distribution (1998) (Germany) (VHS)
• Gold Western (19??) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Kinowelt Home Entertainment (2004) (Germany) (DVD)
• Magnetic Video (1979) (USA) (VHS)
• Nelson Entertainment (19??) (USA) (VHS)
• RCV Home Entertainment (2004) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (Canada only)
• Universal Home Entertainment (USA) (VHS)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence including a rape, and some nudity.

Runtime:

Argentina:115 min | UK:114 min (cut version) | USA:112 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:18 | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | USA:PG (edited for re-rating) (1974) | Canada:R (Ontario) | Iceland:16 | Sweden:15 | Argentina:18 | Australia:(Banned) (original rating) | Australia:M (censored) | Finland:K-18 | Netherlands:16 | Norway:16 | UK:X (cut) | USA:R (original rating) | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Mexico

Company:

AVCO Embassy Pictures

Trivia:

In order to recreate the gory Sand Creek massacre of Cheyenne Indians, director Ralph Nelson sought the services of orphaned amputees. Various prosthetic limbs were affixed to missing body parts of these amputees, and then, in one of the most blood-and-guts sequences in film history, these "limbs" were mercilessly hacked off as the cameras rolled.

Quotes:

Col. Iverson: [to Lt McNair] 'McNair! Raze the village! Burn this... pestilence!'

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Death Proof (2007)

Soundtrack:

Soldier Blue

An unforgettable variation on the theme "How the West was won".

I cannot describe the impact that this film had on me. The warmth of the relationship that slowly develops between Honus and Cresta leaves you totally unprepared for the violence of the attack on the Cheyenne village and the scene hits you like a ton of bricks. I saw this film (in Europe) with my ex-wife and none of us could speak a word until we arrived back home, some 30 minutes after the film ended. An interesting variation to "How the West was Won" that I will never forget,