Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson (1976)

Director:

Robert Altman

Writers:

Arthur Kopit (play)
Alan Rudolph (screen story and screenplay) ...

Release Date:

24 June 1976 (USA)

Genre:

Western | Comedy

Plot:

A cynical Buffalo Bill hires Sitting Bull to exploit him and his add credibility to the distorted view of history presented in his Wild West Show.

Plot Keywords:

Sitting Bull | General Custer | Buffalo Bill Cody | Translator | American Indian

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Paul Newman	...	The Star (William 'Buffalo Bill' Cody)
Joel Grey	...	The Producer (Nate Salisbury)
Kevin McCarthy	...	The Publicist (Maj. John Burke)
Harvey Keitel	...	The Relative (Ed Goodman)
Allan F. Nicholls	...	The Journalist (Prentiss Ingraham) (as Allan Nicholls)
Geraldine Chaplin	...	The Sure Shot (Annie Oakley)
John Considine	...	The Sure Shot's Manager (Frank Butler)
Robert DoQui	...	The Wrangler (Oswald Dart) (as Robert Doqui)
Mike Kaplan	...	The Treasurer (Jules Keen)
Bert Remsen	...	The Bartender (Crutch)
Bonnie Leaders	...	The Mezzo-Contralto (Margaret)
Noelle Rogers	...	The Lyric-Coloratura (Lucille DuCharme)
Evelyn Lear	...	The Lyric-Soprano (Nina Cavallini)
Denver Pyle	...	The Indian Agent (McLaughlin)
Frank Kaquitts	...	The Indian (Sitting Bull)

Also Known As:

Buffalo Bill and the Indians

Runtime:

123 min | Finland:105 min (1979) | 135 min (video release)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:L | Australia:PG | West Germany:6 (f) | Argentina:Atp | Finland:K-8 | Norway:12 | Sweden:Btl | UK:PG | USA:PG | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Morley, Alberta, Canada

Company:

Dino De Laurentiis

Trivia:

Although set in Wyoming, the movie was made mostly in Alberta, Canada. The production crew bulldozed a remote field and constructed a full-sized copy of William F. Cody's outdoor theater complex.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Another flag with 48 stars is seen just prior to the Presidential scene. In the scene where Buffalo Bill plays for the President, the Presidential booth is adorned with 2 flags, each with 48 stars. The 48 star flag became the official flag in 1912.

Quotes:

William F. 'Buffalo Bill' Cody: Where were ya?
William Halsey: It's the first of the moon.
Nate Salisbury: That's not what Buffalo Bill asked ya! Now where in the hell have you been?
William Halsey: During the first day of the first moon, Sitting Bull visits the sun in the mountains while his squaws move the teepees to the moon path.
Nate Salisbury: Damn it, Halsey! Stop sunning and mooning us! Now where the hell have you been?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in A Decade Under the Influence (2003)

Altman's Take on the Wild West

A very weak Altman film, all the weaker because it came out the year after one of Altman's best works: "Nashville." "Buffalo Bill..." is one of the most savagely satiric films from a director known for savage satire. Unfortunately, it's also a one-joke film, whose joke is given away in the first five minutes, leaving the film nowhere to go. Paul Newman plays Buffalo Bill as a complete buffoon, surrounded by yes-men and lackeys. He practically buys ex-Indian chief Sitting Bull for his Wild West show, and what we suffer through is scene after scene of white men making asses of themselves while native American Indians nobly and quietly observe and judge them. It's two hours of smug finger pointing at oblivious Caucasians for raping and pillaging the American frontier.

All of Altman's films have the feel of coming together in the editing room, and many times this approach to structure results in inspired moments, but "Buffalo Bill" feels even more than usual like a film without a center. There's no narrative thread to hold it together, so it has a wandering and monotonous quality. Also, it doesn't help that Altman's shooting style is uncharacteristically distant. There are virtually no close-ups in the entire picture, so scene after scene is photographed in medium and long shots. Both the screenplay and the camera keep us at a distance; as a result, we never become engaged in the action.

A definitive misfire.

Grade: C