Well, that was pretty wild.
It was only a couple of weeks ago that I even learned that the director of (among other things) 'Happy Birthday to Me' was responsible for an adaptation of a Western novel by the screenwriter/director of several films (starring people like Betty Grable, Jane Russell, Frank Sinatra, and Marilyn Monroe) (and who also wrote for pulp magazines like Argosy) which, in turn, was based on Melville's 'Moby Dick,' and which starred Charles 'Death Wish' Bronson as Wild Bill Hickok and Will 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' Sampson as Crazy Horse.
Well, 'The White Buffalo' is that film and it's just about everything you could imagine it is.
There are weird soundstages, majestic mountain scenes, animatronic cattle, dream sequences, massacres, double-dealing, two-fisted fighting, and loads of completely unrealistic-looking red paint in lieu of blood. But if that wasn't enough for you there's all sorts bizarre slang terms about which I've no idea the historical accuracy but are so prevalent that half the time it's actually hard to understand what people are saying, let alone meaning, and a wardrobe (at least for Bronson) that at times rivals Beatty's insane coat from 'McCabe & Mrs. Miller' (apparently Jamie Foxx's the style of sunglasses in 'Django Unchained' are lifted from this film).
I'm, frankly, at a bit of a loss to say any more. I need to watch it again without the jaw-on-floor effect of a first watch. Utterly bananas. It was great. Rating may fluctuate upon a revisit.
Well, that was pretty wild.
It was only a couple of weeks ago that I even learned that the director of (among other things) 'Happy Birthday to Me' was responsible for an adaptation of a Western novel by the screenwriter/director of several films (starring people like Betty Grable, Jane Russell, Frank Sinatra, and Marilyn Monroe) (and who also wrote for pulp magazines like Argosy) which, in turn, was based on Melville's 'Moby Dick,' and which starred Charles 'Death Wish' Bronson as Wild Bill Hickok and Will 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' Sampson as Crazy Horse.
Well, 'The White Buffalo' is that film and it's just about everything you could imagine it is.
There are weird soundstages, majestic mountain scenes, animatronic cattle, dream sequences, massacres, double-dealing, two-fisted fighting, and loads of completely unrealistic-looking red paint in lieu of blood. But if that wasn't enough for you there's all sorts bizarre slang terms about which I've no idea the historical accuracy but are so prevalent that half the time it's actually hard to understand what people are saying, let alone meaning, and a wardrobe (at least for Bronson) that at times rivals Beatty's insane coat from 'McCabe & Mrs. Miller' (apparently Jamie Foxx's the style of sunglasses in 'Django Unchained' are lifted from this film).
I'm, frankly, at a bit of a loss to say any more. I need to watch it again without the jaw-on-floor effect of a first watch. Utterly bananas. It was great. Rating may fluctuate upon a revisit.
