jeremyisaac

I agree pretty much with the comments already posted, but still feel the film is worthy of interest. I watched this film when it came on satellite TV because of an interest in the First World War in general and Bosnia-Herzegovina history in particular, and I believe my prior knowledge of the subject made it less inaccessible than it might be to other viewers. Yes, it's low budget to say the least, and the writing and acting is for the most part wooden. However there is some interesting location shooting in Bosnia, both in town and country, and there is also a sensitive performance by Macedonian actress Sinolicka Trpkova, who was previously seen in the Yugoslavian mini-series-turned-TVmovie 'The Time of the Gypsies'. So while agreeing for the most part with my fellow reviewers, I feel the film is worthy of investigation, and can take its place among other films on the wider subject of Yugoslavian history such as 'Time of Miracles', 'Pretty Village, Pretty Flame', 'Before the Rain' and 'Underground'. By the way, the prison doctor Dr Levin was not played by Bruno Ganz, but by the late French actor Philippe Léotard.

Underrated, Very good, Shyamalan's best, Brilliantly-nuanced, Wonderful, Moving, Entertaining, Great, Beautiful, Amazing, Excellent – these are just a few of the phrases used by the very many people posting here who liked this film. Those more discerning victims who weren't so keen on it observed that the movie was Boring, Pointless, Awful and a Snoozefest. Here's another word for it – Pants! And, as IMDb has informed me that this comment is too short to be accepted, here are some more… Funereally slow, Ridiculously-plotted, Woodenly-acted, Mind-numbingly and irritatingly-scored and Stultifyingly-derivative. At a mere one hour 43 minutes, it's still just about the longest movie I have ever sat through, and makes Abel Gance's 378-minute 1927 silent epic Napoleon feel a commercial break. Advice? Don't . . .

I agree with other critics here about the very silly buffalo effects, which are poor, even for 1977 - perhaps they'd have done better in these days of CGI. I also agree that there are some great location scenes, although these are balanced by some very creaky 'indoor-outdoor' shots, such as those while Crazy Horse is stalking the stagecoach and in the final buffalo scene. And there are great supporting performances from Hollywood troopers Jack Warden, Kim Novak, Clint Walker, Stuart Whitman, John Carradine and Slim Pickens. But that's not what does it for me.

I went to see this film in 1977 because I'd seen newcomer Will Sampson in 'One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest' a year or two earlier. For me what makes this film is the wonderful rapport between the virtually unknown Sampson as Crazy Horse and studio veteran Charles Bronson as Wild Bill Hickok. Their scenes together are impressive and sensitive and certainly are a very good reason to forgive the film's other flaws. While appearing in some very dodgy pictures such as 'Orca' and 'Poltergeist II', Creek Indian Sampson also gave great performances in movies such as 'The Outlaw Josey Wales' before his tragic death in 1987. His performance in 'The White Buffalo' sees him on top form as a true thesp and stands tall beside that of 'Cuckoo's Nest'.