For more of my movie reviews, click here to follow me on Letterboxd.
A MAN CALLED HORSE (1970)
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 Stars
This 70s Western hasn’t aged well. It pales in comparison to films that would follow with the same subject matter, especially DANCES WITH WOLVES, and even Richard Harris’s other survival Western, MAN IN THE WILDERNESS.
A MAN CALLED HORSE doesn’t work well because of its performances. Nearly every character is overplayed, especially the native ones. The French character Batise who has assimilated into the tribe is the worst of these, an embarrassing and distracting performance that hurts the film every time he’s on screen. Richard Harris, a great actor in the right role, doesn’t have the charm to make us care about his Englishman in captivity. Instead, it’s a boring trip through native ritual after ritual and the only good scene in the whole thing is the “vow to the sun” moment with human body suspension (this gave me an idea for a future Western of my own).
It’s too bad that A MAN CALLED HORSE isn’t a better film because it has some beautiful cinematography and production design. Out of curiosity, I will still watch the two sequels but certainly with less enthusiasm after this one.
Watched on Tubi.
