It's not likely you'll catch a Western like this again, good guys and bad guys have little meaning here. Martin Sheen and Sam Waterston are pitted against each other as an ex-foot soldier versus a Kiowa warrior, and the mismatch is palpable throughout. There's a great innovative scene where White Bull (Waterston) emerges from a waterhole to ambush Pike (Sheen), in the tradition of your best horror film surprises. That's one of the highlights in a story that ofttimes meanders back and forth with little action. At one point, Waterston is featured in a great Iron Eyes Cody profile that attests to his regal bearing, which director Anthony Harvey uses to tease a possible romantic involvement between the Indian and his captive blonde beauty (Caroline Langrish). That story line goes nowhere, but draws on more than a single exchange of amorous glances between the two.
Martin Sheen gets to inject some humor into the cat and mouse game with some of the few lines of dialog the film actually uses; for his part, White Bull remains entirely silent throughout. It complements his mysterious nature, and the ruse with the tricked out dagger that takes out the thieving Mexican was a nice touch. Sheen does a remarkable job convulsing from that arrow to the leg from White Bull, so much so that you feel his pain.
In the set up for the horseback duel finale, one expects a decisive outcome without knowing who'll win, but again, your standard Western conventions don't bear out. White Bull acknowledges Pike's temerity and allows him to live, and his thundering dust cloud ride into the sunset sets both men free. The ending though, managed to elicit an unintended chuckle just like Vincent Price does in the closing sequence of "The Fly", when Judith and Pike separately plead their case to the heavens - "Please, help me".
Martin Sheen gets to inject some humor into the cat and mouse game with some of the few lines of dialog the film actually uses; for his part, White Bull remains entirely silent throughout. It complements his mysterious nature, and the ruse with the tricked out dagger that takes out the thieving Mexican was a nice touch. Sheen does a remarkable job convulsing from that arrow to the leg from White Bull, so much so that you feel his pain.
In the set up for the horseback duel finale, one expects a decisive outcome without knowing who'll win, but again, your standard Western conventions don't bear out. White Bull acknowledges Pike's temerity and allows him to live, and his thundering dust cloud ride into the sunset sets both men free. The ending though, managed to elicit an unintended chuckle just like Vincent Price does in the closing sequence of "The Fly", when Judith and Pike separately plead their case to the heavens - "Please, help me".