Soldier Blue
Directed by Ralph NelsonAfter a cavalry group is massacred by the Cheyenne, only two survivors remain: Honus, a naive private devoted to his duty, and Cresta, a young woman who had lived with the Cheyenne two years and whose sympathies lie more with them than with the US government. Together, they must try to reach the cavalry's main base camp. As they travel onward, Honus is torn between his growing affection for Cresta.
- eif999January 25, 2025Here's a film that has me torn. A fantastic action open with a wagon train being attacked, followed by two survivors being annoying, followed by an epic bloody battle. The first and 3rd part are some masterful filmmaking. The message is clear and I won't spoil it here. What bums me out is the soft predictable center of the film. Bergen is miscast as the free-spirited foulmouthed hippie. Clearly she has perfectly plucked brows and her hair is being done by some Hollywood expert. Never do I believe her. She makes a perfect dress out of found material in like 15 seconds. Meanwhile, she's on a survival run with a guy who is so green you wonder if he's house trained. The middle of the film having those two bicker is not an interesting or original story. You know they're gonna eat gross things and struggle. Throw in Donald Pleasance in comically large fake teeth chasing them just never registers. Then they get to the end. I've seen lots of bloody battles in Westerns. But this may take the cake. Not only is it bloody and disturbingly believably real, the military tactics are so well researched you do feel like this is probably how things actually happened. John Anderson as the army leader is the MVP in this. Shame you have to get through that boring, never original middle. Overall is a recommendation because you can't ignore the two scenes mentioned especially when you put it in context with the youth movement turned ugly by 1969 with Manson, Vietnam and Altamont.
Soldier Blue Trivia
Soldier Blue was released on September 25, 1970.
Soldier Blue was directed by Ralph Nelson.
Soldier Blue has a runtime of 1h 55m.
Soldier Blue was produced by Gabriel Katzka, Harold Loeb.
After a cavalry group is massacred by the Cheyenne, only two survivors remain: Honus, a naive private devoted to his duty, and Cresta, a young woman who had lived with the Cheyenne two years and whose sympathies lie more with them than with the US government. Together, they must try to reach the cavalry's main base camp. As they travel onward, Honus is torn between his growing affection for Cresta.
The key characters in Soldier Blue are Kathy Maribel Lee, 'Cresta' (Candice Bergen), Honus Gent (Peter Strauss), Isaac Q. Cumber (Donald Pleasence).
Soldier Blue is rated R.
Soldier Blue is a Western, Drama, War film.
Soldier Blue has an audience rating of 7 out of 10.
Soldier Blue had a budget of $1.2M.