Thunderheart Move Review

Based on a true story (The 1975 incident at Oglala, a documentary by Michael Apted), Thunderheart is the fictionalized story of the rise of the American Indian Movement. Murder on the Sioux Indian reservation has lead to an FBI investigation. Ray Levoi (Val Kilmer) is a "by the book" FBI field agent who happens to have Sioux Indian in his bloodline, but yet knows very little about his Sioux heritage. He is sent to the reservation to assist with the FBI investigation. Ray eventually concludes that the FBI may be hiding some information and are far more bent on intimidating the tribal Indians than conducting any investigation. Through a serious of mishaps, encounters, and conversations with tribal members, Ray finds himself in a state of revelation. 

Filmed in the badlands of South Dakota, director Michael Apted takes us on a journey of intriguing mystery, American Indian heritage, self awareness and the awakening within. 

This is certainly one of Val Kimer's finest roles along with a fine supporting cast, Sam Shepard as FBI agent Frank Coutell, and especially Graham Greene as Walter Crow Horse of the Tribal Police and that of Ted Thin Elk as the Sioux chief Grandpa Sam Reaches. Highly recommended.

Works Cited

Thunderheart. Dir. Michael Apted. Prod. John Fusco. Perf. Val Kilmer, Graham Greene, and Sam Shepard. TriStar Pictures, 1992.

The Life and Times of Hallie Stillwell: A Rancher and Texas Legend

Hallie Crawford Stillwell 

(1897 - 1997)

Hallie C. Stillwell was a West Texas Pioneer who worked as a teacher and then settled down and became a Big Bend legend as a sharp-shooting ranch wife on horseback. As well as being a member of the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame, she authored two autobiographies. Hallie was born in Waco, Texas in 1897 and by 1910 she was in Alpine, Texas. "Six years later she received a teaching certificate, strapped on a six-shooter and set out for the town of Presidio on the Rio Grande, a major crossing point for Pancho Villa's raiders. When her father accused her of going off on a wild goose chase, she stood her ground. ''I'll gather my geese,'' she said, a retort that established her independence and provided the title for an autobiography" (Thomas).

Hallie was a fearless and courageous woman. "As a rough rancher, chatty newspaper columnist, justice of the peace, chili cook-off queen and mistress of a museum devoted to her life, Mrs. Stillwell, who was known as Miss Hallie far beyond the sweeping curve of the Rio Grande, became a Texas tourist attraction" (Thomas). After teaching and fending off drunk soldiers for some time in Presidio, she took a safer position in Marathon, where she decided to marry Roy Stillwell. "Though Mr. Stillwell owned a 22,000-acre spread 45 miles south of Marathon, he was a taciturn, hard-drinking, poker-playing widower more than twice her age. He may not have seemed a suitable husband, but the first time he drove up in his sporty Hudson Super Six, she later explained, ''He decided he liked me, and I decided I liked that car'' (Thomas).

Shortly after their marriage, Hallie moved to Roy's ranch 45 miles south of Marathon where they lived with three misogynist ranch hands. "After her husband died in 1948, she soldiered on alone until 1964, when she turned the ranch over to her two sons and moved to Alpine, where she became justice of the peace for the Connecticut-sized Brewster County" (Thomas).
The end of her life was spent amusing tourists and writing a sequel to her autobiography, "I'll Gather My Geese."

Works Cited

Thomas, Robert. "Hallie C. Stillwell, a Rancher And Texas Legend, Dies at 99."Nytimes.com. The New York Times, 24 Aug. 1997. Web. 4 Dec. 2011. <http://www.nytimes.com/1997/08/24/us/hallie-c-stillwell-a-rancher-and-texas-legend-dies-at-99.html?src=pm>.

A closer look at the theme music from John Ford's "The Searchers"

"The Searchers" starts with four dramatic pieces of music, each distinct and loaded with information. The first piece of music starts as a dramatic fanfare, traditional of the indian sound. After this short attention-getter which establishes the notion that the film may have something to do with indians, we hear the uplifting sound of strings. A sound that you would expect to hear out of a traditional western.  From hearing this theme music, we don't need to see any of the film to know that the film deals with the battle between man and indian. Theme music is powerful in that way. We almost know what's going to happen before it happens. 


After the first piece, we hear an acoustic guitar and a sung ballad. This piece of music is it's own originally composed theme song. It was common for a movie of that era to have it's own theme music. 

The words in this song are spot on in describing the ways of the homeric hero "what makes a man to wander? what makes a man to roam?"

The third musical theme starts "as the white lettering disappears, we realize that the blackness is the dark interior of a house. Its door opens onto the spectacle of a harsh but breath-taking western landscape, and as it does, a solo guitar segues into a string rendition of the gentle, haunting tune “Lorena”—the biggest hit of 1856, and a song still known and honored a century later, when The Searchers was released. A plaintive lament to a lost love, “Lorena” became one of the key songs of the Civil War era, and was especially popular with the soldiers of the Confederacy, with whom it was most associated" (Cumbow).

The fourth and final theme we hear is "Bonnie Blue Flag," which is played in a "melancholic, dirge-like tempo. The war is not only over, it is lost, and this man regrets it—is, in fact, filled with regret" (Cumbow) and then we hear the first words spoken in the film.

Works Cited

Cumbow, Robert C. "“Somebody’s Fiddle”: Traditional Music in “The Searchers”." Rev. of The Searchers. Web log post. Parallax-View. 13 Dec. 2009. Web. 7 Nov. 2011. <http://parallax-view.org/2009/12/13/somebody’s-fiddle-traditional-music-in-the-searchers/>.

A Deeper Look at The Western Film Genre & The Theme Music of Silverado

Westerns are the major defining film genre of the American film industry. They are one of the oldest most enduring film genres of all time. "The popularity of westerns has waxed and waned over the years. Their most prolific era was in the 1930's to the 1960's, and most recently in the 90's, their was a resurgence of the genre" (Dirks). 

"The western film genre often portrays the conquest of the wilderness and the subordination of nature, in the name of civilization, or the confiscation of the territorial rights of the original inhabitants of the frontier" (Dirks).  For example, in the classic American western film, Silverado, the film portrays the conquest of both wilderness in the name of civilization and the confiscation of territorial rights of the original inhabitants of the frontier. 

The typical Western film plot is good vs. bad, virtue vs. evil, man vs. man, the classic simple goal of maintaining law and order on the frontier in a fast paced action story. They typically tend to involve gun fights, shoot-outs, outlaws and sheriffs, breath-taking settings and open landscapes and western costumes. The typical western hero is often a masculine person of upstanding moral integrity who is courageous, tough and self-sufficient. The Western hero usually stands alone to face danger using one of his many skills (roping, gun fighting, etc). 

Sub-genres of Westerns:

• the epic Western 
• the 'singing cowboy' Western 
• the "spaghetti" Western
• the "noir" Western 
• the "contemporary" Western 
• the "revisionistic" Western 
• the "comedy" Western 
• the "post-apocalyptic" Western 
• the "science-fiction" or "space" Western (Dirks).

Western themes are the heart and soul of the American Western film. In Silverado, the theme music can be as majestic as a cowboy and his horse galloping through the frontier or as calming as the open landscape. There is no good Western without it's theme music. The theme music of Silverado only plays when all four of the protagonist's are together. It helps develop a sense of camaraderie between the young men. Between the vivacious horns, majestic flutes and delicate violins there is an uplifting feel to the music, one that makes you feel that everything will work out. Without music in film, you would not feel fully submerged in the action and dialogue. 

Works Cited

Dirks, Tim. "Westerns Films." Greatest Films - The Best Movies in Cinematic History. American Movie Channel. Web. 06 Oct. 2011. <http://www.filmsite.org/westernfilms.html>.