Remember those bloodthirsty savages that rode the warpath in dozens of ancient cut-rate Westerns? They`ve finally followed the dusty trail to Hollywood`s happy hunting ground.
In the wake of the massively acclaimed ”Dances With Wolves,” the cinematic world is treating the heritage of the American Indian with some long-overdue respect, presenting politically correct-and surely more historically accurate-images far removed from the snarling braves of the old oaters.
Two additions of 1991 films to the video shelves underscore this transition.
Set in Quebec around 1634, director Bruce Beresford`s ”Black Robe”
chronicles the perilous journey of a Jesuit priest who leads an expedition deep into the woods. His mission is noble if misguided: to convert a tribe of illness-plagued Hurons to his sect`s religious beliefs.
These Indians aren`t forced by scriptwriters to deliver such time-dishonored inanities as ”How” and ”Ugh,” speaking instead in their native tongue (subtitles are provided). Their proud rituals and the attempts of the priest, or ”black robe,” to understand (their belief that dreams signify more than reality is a recurring theme) lie at the heart of the film. ”At Play in the Fields of the Lord,” due on video in May, argues that things haven`t changed much over the centuries when it comes to meddling missionaries. Modern-day zealots invade the steamy Amazonian forest in a pigheaded quest to save a few souls among the Niaruna tribe, with predictably dire consequences.
Tom Berenger is a half-Cheyenne drifter who parachutes into the tribal settlement and is hailed as a god, much to the dismay of pompous evangelist John Lithgow and his bombshell wife, Daryl Hannah, as well as Aidan Quinn as the only intruder with a halfway open mind.
The scenery and tribal rites are fascinating throughout the three-hour film, the missionary melodrama less so.
”Dances With Wolves,” the 1990 Academy Award winner for best picture, magnificently salutes the frontier exploits of the American Indian.
Oscar-winning director Kevin Costner also stars as a decorated Union lieutenant who is dispatched to a deserted fort and strives to win the trust of the neighboring Lakota Sioux, eventually renouncing his identity to join the tribe.
It`s the cavalry soldiers who resemble savages in this Civil War-era epic, ignorantly killing and pillaging everything in their path.
Although unusual in vintage Westerns, the theme of erasing cultural barriers between whites and Indians has been explored before.
”Broken Arrow,” made in 1950, contains several parallels to ”Dances With Wolves,” and may have been the first Hollywood feature to
sympathetically portray Indian culture.
James Stewart meets with the mighty chief Cochise (Jeff Chandler) in search of peace and finds him more honorable than the local settlers. And, like Costner`s character, Stewart takes an Indian wife. Although our hero makes it a point to learn the Apache language, everyone converses in perfect English.
Foppish British aristocrat Richard Harris is kidnapped by the Sioux and yanked around on a rope like a wild animal in the brutal ”A Man Called Horse” (1970). Harris proves his manhood by undergoing a torturous ceremony called the ”Vow to the Sun” and ends up leading the warriors into battle.
Dustin Hoffman stars as Jack Crabb, a wily codger well past the century mark who spins incredible tales of life among the Cheyennes in the warmhearted 1970 feature ”Little Big Man.” Chief Dan George movingly plays Hoffman`s stoic adopted grandfather during the Indian adventures.
Way back in 1922, director Robert Flaherty took a fascinating documentary approach for the filming of ”Nanook of the North.” The pioneering effort starkly captures the frosty simplicity of Eskimo life amid the icebergs, complete with footage of a spirited walrus hunt.
On the traditional Western front, seasoned soldier John Wayne does what he can to keep peace with Cochise in director John Ford`s 1948 classic ”Fort Apache,” only to have his efforts undermined by a racist and resentful commanding officer (Henry Fonda). Ford`s grizzled repertory company is softened by precocious Shirley Temple as Fonda`s daughter.
Wayne is considerably less sympathetic to the Indian cause in Ford`s celebrated 1956 epic, ”The Searchers.” This time, the Duke`s an ex-rebel who tenaciously trails a pack of Comanches to rescue his kidnapped niece.
The flinty hero`s die-hard hatred of ”Injuns” is viewed as little more than a minor character flaw-proof positive that things have changed over the years.
