Geronimo: An American Legend (1993)

Despite the creative presence of Walter Hill and John Milius behind it, the movie gets a lot of things wrong. Matt Damon's grating voice-over is handled with little care and is nothing more than the grappling hook that drags the movie from one episode to the next as though we're reading an encyclopedic entry rather than watching a fully fleshed movie. The point-of-view is never allowed to remain within one side or group of characters long enough for them to come alive as anything than cutouts from a history page. We don't stay long enough to learn the actual problems that plagued the Chiricahua (and other Apache bands) in the San Carlos and White River reservations and we don't stay long enough with General Crook and his cavalry to begin to understand the tightrope the sympathetic General (who no less came to the Southwest after slaughtering Cheyennes in the North) has to walk in trying to appease an anxious government in the East while doing his best to save what remains of the Apaches from the encroachment of white settlers into their lands. As a piece of history the movie is naturally inadequate because the Indian affairs in the Southwest were more complex than a movie can afford to depict. As a gritty western action movie (the kind which Walter Hill is the expert) it's too sprawling and incoherent to ever get enough steam. We get the occasional slow-motion gunfight and a pretty good saloon standoff but they're not enough to save the movie from rumbling mediocrity.

Fmovies: "Geronimo: An American Legend" talks upon Geronimo (Wes Studi), chief of Apaches Chiricaguas . The continuous humiliation in reservoir of San Carlos caused the bursting of riots , while reclaiming what is rightfully theirs , being commanded by Geronimo and his group of Indians , then by the government carries out necessary actions against them . As Geronimo and thirty or so other warriors form an attack bunch which humiliates the government by evading capture . They will confront American cavalry in charge of General Crook (Gene Hackman) , but later he'll be replaced by another hardest commander . Two officers (Jason Patrick and Matt Damon) will go out looking for Geronimo to make a peace treatise . A Warrior. A Leader. A Legend. His name would never be forgotten.

This is a "damn good" rendition about Geronimo who is pushed over the edge by broken promises , here there are wonderful outdoors shot on location in Utah territory , and it displays action , shootouts , violence and though is slow-moving , isn't tiring , neither dreary , but entertaining . The picture is based on historical characters : Geronimo , Cohise and general Crook ; though it deals with the men who had caught Geronimo more than Geronimo himself . At the main and supporting cast are the actors who usually play Indian roles : Wes Studi , Rodney A. Gant , Steve Reeves because being native origin .

The motion picture was well and professionally directed by Walter Hill , in his own words he stated there is a longer version to the movie, he was forced to cut it down around 11 minutes . Walter Hill gets too much experience on western genre ,thus : ¨The long riders¨ , ¨Will Bill¨. Besides , he has modern westerns : ¨Streets of fire¨ and ¨Extreme prejudice¨. ¨The Long Riders¨ is deemed to be an excellent movie but ¨Will Bill¨ is considered boring and overlong . ¨Geronimo¨ is similar height to ¨Long Riders¨ . The motion picture didn't obtain success and was a real flop in box office , in spite of the extraordinary sets , glimmer cinematography and atmospheric as well as evocative Ry Cooder's musical score . The movie will appeal to Indian western fans. Rating: good . Well catching. Essential and fundamental watching for Western lovers .

Echoes of John Ford westerns and 'Lawrence of Arabia' abound, both visually and thematically, in this gripping character study of the relentlessly proud Apache. A career high for Walter Hill and John Milius, this is also an excellent introduction to the ambiguous nature of the Indian Wars, where even the Indian heroes are guilty of killing unarmed men. Wes Studi and Robert Duvall give outstanding performances.

Geronimo: An American Legend fmovies. One of the many films which are overlooked, the stark portrayal of the American Army couldn't have been more refreshing. While we are constantly exposed to the goodness of our forefathers, at least this film proved to be a little diligent to a true portrayal. Anyway, this film was excellent in the scope of its cinematography, scope and powerful script. Sadly, while Jason Patric has done little to enhance his career since this film, at least he shined for a few short moments, particularly in this movie. Wes Studi's performance as Geronimo was superb, adding depth to the legend which few people have only heard about through old wives tales and abridged history books. Robert Duvall and Gene Hackman were both excellent in this film. I also felt Matt Damon was excellent in this film, further giving precedence to the idea of him being a superior actor to his terrible actor-friend in Ben Affleck. A Truly excellent movie.

The valiant, if doomed, Chiricahua Apache tried (as did so many other tribes) to be accommodating after being hounded to the breaking point. Their famous chief, Geronimo, gave himself up voluntarily and tried to lead his people onto the reservation. But, as happened so many times, even after capitulation they were attacked in unwarranted fashion and reacted by leaving the reservation whereupon they were hunted, and hunted, and harried. Some people don't like this film because it tells history more like it was than most movies do about the "conquering" of the American west ... it shows both sides of the story, not just one. With this movie, you can't identify with the hero on one side and the villain or the other. Both are sympathetic, both are reprehensible (isn't that the way a historical drama really ought to be played? In my book, this is a plus). As a native of Arizona, where much of the historical action took place, I find it disturbing that the countryside in which the movie was made is either in some other state or in the wrong part of Arizona, that characters seem to be able to get from Tombstone to San Carlos in one day on horseback (either they had multiple horses, or one dead one), and that there is a bit of overstatement about the honor among the various Apache bands (with reference to the reason that members of some Apache groups served as scouts against other groups). All in all, though, I vote for this one over all the other "Geronimo" movies that have been made.

As others have said, this is an excellent example of a revisionist Western, successful both as a 'quest' film and as history. Despite minor examples of the invariable desire of film-makers to embellish events (Al Sieber in fact died years later when a rock rolled on him while he was clearing a road) this is as close as you'll get to a historically and visually accurate movie account of the pursuit of Geronimo.