Buffalo Soldiers

From the title, I expected a good overview of the Buffalo Soldiers. Instead, we get a drawn out, soap-opera-ish tale of hunting down a single Indian villain. Since I missed the first minute or two of opening credits, this script may have been pure fiction for all I know. As one complaint, there is no mention of John Pershing's (of World War I fame) association with these troops.

As could be expected, the wrongs and conflicts from racism are well set forth. Nonetheless, the Buffalo Soldiers, many ex-slaves, proudly risk their lives and stay in the cavalry by choice.

The acting is commendable, particularly that of Danny Glover as the central character. Some '90s idioms (the 1990s, that is) find their way into the dialog.

Given the title and the general ignorance (myself included) about the Buffalo Soldiers, this tv movie was very disappointing. Surely, these men did a lot more on the frontier than they are credited with here.

In the post-Civil War world, Texas Rangers track Apache war chief Victorio across the border to the federal New Mexico Territories. Sgt. Washington Wyatt (Danny Glover) leads the all negro US Cavalry H Troop. He arrests the Rangers for trespassing and murder. Commander Gen. Pike looks down on the colored troops and their command abilities. He puts southerner Maj. Robert Carr (Timothy Busfield) in charge despite his unwillingness to lead them. Col. Benjamin Grierson is a more supportive officer. John Horse (Carl Lumbly) is the native guide. Victorio is on the loose and on the attack.

This is an interesting and little told American history. There are compelling stories to be told. It would have been more interesting to have more diverse personalities in the colored troops. They are almost all stoic which leaves the group rather flat. I would also love to see the other side of the story from Victorio's point of view. Of course, that may make it too complicated. This is still a very compelling TV movie.

I'm always up for watching a Civil War movie, especially when it seeks to educate audiences on lesser known facts that might not be found in all the classic textbooks. Buffalo Soldiers focuses solely on an all-black Cavalry unit, which I thought would be fascinating.

Rather than show any of the blue vs. Gray battles, the fighting in this movie is exclusively set in the Wild West. So technically, I got exactly what I asked for: you won't find any of this in your textbooks. The setting and plot were interesting, and I appreciated all the characters' frustrations that they weren't allowed to participate in the "real fighting", but there was too much graphic violence for my taste. Yes, I realized I was watching a war movie; but I didn't find it entertaining to see an Indian child hanging from a tree.

With that disclaimer out in the open, if you think you'll enjoy this tv-movie, give it a shot. You'll see Danny Glover, Carl Lumbly, and Clifton Powell in the cast, and you'll see a much different take on cowboys vs. Indians than you usually see in the movies.

DLM Warning: If you suffer from vertigo or dizzy spells, like my mom does, this movie might not be your friend. In the battle scenes, there is quite a bit of handheld camera movement, and it will make you sick. In other words, "Don't Look, Mom!"

Kiddy Warning: Obviously, you have control over your own children. However, due to violence, I wouldn't let my kids watch it.

All the usual whiners about "political correctness" are, of course, missing the point. Buffalo Soldiers doesn't suffer for showing the truth about racial disparity. It suffers for only showing some of that truth while at the same time being dramatically weak.

For instance, it's obvious the Whites are for the most part either outright hostile to the Black and Native Americans -- which is historically accurate -- or else treating them as invisible -- which is also historically accurate. The whiners may not like that, but maybe they need to take that up with their culture.

Where the story falls down is in not fully examining the combined racism toward the Native Americans. Now, it's historically true that there was less animosity among the minorities toward each other in the old west, including the Black, Asian, and Native Americans stuck there. That doesn't mean there was universal peace, but minorities were allowed to marry one another, for instance, while they were shunned or forbidden to marry someone who was not a minority. But this film, in focusing on the racial tensions between the Whites and Blacks, generally overlooks their combined hostility toward the Native Americans.

The other problem is the script is wildly uneven, lacking much dramatic weight. Oh, yes, there are some tense scenes, but they're also frequently undermined by melodramatic dialogue that reminds you you're watching a TV movie. The pacing is not like a film but more like a few episodes of a TV series hastily patched together.

As with a lot of film and television of the past 40 or so years, more attention is paid to the technical aspects than the artistic ones. So, for instance, they get the uniforms and weapons basically right. They film on location. If as much time and effort were spent on polishing the script and editing the finished product, it might have been much better.

Can't understand why so many dislike and are genuinely appalled at this incredible movie. It's not meant to be 100%factual. Its meant to show the spirit of these incredible men back then,their relentless courage, bravery and some of the moral dilemmas they no doubt faced. Great cast,well directed,,a must see,in my humble opinion.