Geronimo: An American Legend (1993), directed by Walter Hill - 5/22/2018

[Lincoln6Echo]

Yeah, this film along with Open Range are two great Westerns that have been neglected on home video format. Yeah, they got DVD releases but have somehow not been given HD treatment yet, at least not in the Region A market.

I too have been on a Western kick lately since Hostiles was released. Bought a handful of these home video releases lately. And a few of them have been pretty good. That Ethan Hawke and John Travolta film "Into the Valley of Violence" is not bad, and "Diablo" with Scott Eastwood ain't bad either. "Duel' with Walton Goggins and Liam Helmsworth is not too bad either.

[Aclea]

Originally Posted by Kamelot121

Didn’t realise this had been released in France on Blu?

By a label that's notorious for unremoveable French subtitles on the English language versions of their westerns.

[oildude]

Pre-order date: Wednesday, May 9th at 4 pm EST

Where to buy (or pre-order):

• Twilight Time website: http://www.twilighttimemovies.com

• Screen Archives Entertainment: http://www.screenarchives.com

Special Features: Isolated Music Track / Original Theatrical Trailer

[SeanJoyce]

TT dropped the ball on the features (as usual), but I'm curious to read reviews on the A/V presentation.

Great art btw; 'bout time the titular character was prominently featured on the cover as opposed to the floating, poorly-shopping mugs of everybody else.

[Talal86]

Jason Patric sucks the life out of this movie

[jarrod_inf]

Originally Posted by Talal86

Jason Patric sucks the life out of this movie

I haven’t seen this yet so I’ll watch with an open mind but I tend to agree that Jason Patric doesn’t do this any favors for me. (However he was suprisingly fantastic in Narc which needs a ****ing release sometime this century)

[Aclea]

As with so many other films he's definitely the glaring weak spot here (at one time Harrison Ford was up for the part, possibly when it was originally developed at Carolco in 1988: I'm assuming Patric was chosen simply because he was cheaper), but the rest of the film is more than good enough to compensate for his relentless dreariness and a few other problems:



"No guns, No bullets could ever kill me. That was my power... Now my time is over."

There's a lot wrong with Walter Hill's Geronimo: An American Legend. For a start, there's far too little of the magnificent Wes Studi and far too much of the unconvincingly one-note (and an off-key note at that) Jason Patric and a milquetoast Matt Damon when we want to spend more time with Geronimo. As John Milius said, "I wrote a script about a mighty warrior chief. They made a film about a ***king white male model." Not to mention film critic Larry Gross' rewrite is overly partial to other movies, particularly The Magnificent Seven and Alan Sharp's script for Ulzana's Raid. And, like all historical manhunt movies, it winds down as attrition wins over courage. Yet despite its flaws it's still one of the most impressive American Westerns of the past few decades.

Geronimo may be sidelined for much of the picture, but when Wes Studi is allowed centerstage, he burns with the intensity of a supernova in a performance at once ferocious yet controlled, giving a sense not just of the rage and calculated violence but of the sadness that drives it. He's a proud man, but also a constantly disappointed one. When he's on screen, everyone else might as well not be there. When he isn't, Gene Hackman's General Crook and Robert Duvall's tracker Al Sieber provide enough believable old-school professionalism to compensate for Patric and Damon.

Then there's the film's extraordinary visual sense. Unlike most modern films (including Hill's own subsequent Western, Wild Bill) it really embraces the landscape and isn't afraid of strikingly composed extreme long shots to give a real sense of scale to the picture. Ry Cooder's score, a mixture of sparse and plaintiff Native American airs and lightly ragged American hymnals, is another major feather in its cap: on paper it sounds like cliché, but put to picture it's absolutely right.

It's perhaps easy to see why it flopped: it's a tragic story without any winners, only losers and the action scenes are often more brutal lightening strikes than enjoyable action setpieces. But it's certainly a film well worth rediscovering even if it's better seen on the big screen than the small one.

[MJD64]

I'll admit that Jason Patric's overly earnest and humorless approach to many roles and films comes across as downright petulant at times (I can still recall how painful his hosting of Saturday Night Live was to watch around the time of Geronimo's release). I do have to say though, that I consider his Lt. Charles Gatewood in Geronimo to be among among his very best performances. He has a quiet dignity and intelligence here, and is clearly conflicted about the job he has to do and how ignoble he considers that job to be. For all his experience and empathy he knows this won't end well, for either the Apache people or himself.

I honestly don't believe there's a bad performance in this film; it really is a great showcase for some terrific actors, both old and young.

Walter Hill, ever the student of history, shows America as the country in conflict it was at that time. The mistreatment of Native Americans combined with the still open wounds of the recent Civil War (alluded to in several scenes, and embodied in Gatewood's character in particular) gives the proceedings a tragic air, even as America is expanding to become the powerful nation it would ultimately become.

Though I'm certainly not surprised TT hasn't provided supplements, I am disappointed. This is a criminally underrated film that was clearly a labor of love for Walter Hill and I would have liked an interview where he discussed both its themes and its making. I also would've liked input from Wes Studi on the film and what the role meant to him personally (I recently watched him in the film Hostiles and damn, the man simply doesn't seem to age!).

[Tibor Lugosi]

I usually don't pre-order TT releases, but this will probably be an exception... glad they nailed that cover art, it's perfect!

[MAUL xx]

Got interested when I saw John Milius in writing credits.

[captainsolo]

I've been wanting to see this for some time. Nice to see it will finally hit BD and I'm wondering if it will get a 5.1 track since the previous editions were only 2.0.

[postman79]

I have been patiently waiting for this movie to come out on bluray. Just received my preorder from screenarchives yesterday and watched it last night. The picture and sound quality are excellent. The transfer is in immaculate condition. I wouldn't hesitate on picking this up if you are a fan of this film.

[Aclea]

Great to hear (but not too surprising since Sony's remasters are usually top-notch): this is a film that could do with some love.

[leeza]

Originally Posted by Aclea

Great to hear (but not too surprising since Sony's remasters are usually top-notch): this is a film that could do with some love.

So this is really a remaster? Concerned about edge enhancement and the contrast running hot.

[MassiveMovieBuff]

As a major Walter Hill fan (seriously, I'm addicted to Walter Hill films and go through some serious withdrawals if I don't get my dose of Walter Hill films) I blind bought this and just got done watching it. What a great treat! I loved it. Outstanding cast and gorgeous cinematography. I also thought Jason Patrick was great. I was worried about the PG-13 rating at first but wow that was taken care of right away. This is possibly the most graphically violent western I've ever seen (excluding The Hateful Eight). It's shocking that it's not rated R.

It's really strange how most of Hill's films never got the recognition they deserve with Geronimo and Trespass inadvertently bombing at the box office due to bad luck with the TV version of Geronimo being broadcast 5 days prior to Hill's version's theatrical release and Trespass due to it's delayed release because of the L.A. Riots and getting lost in the 1992 holiday shuffle with a Christmas day release.

Luckily The Warriors got it's massive cult following after the unfortunate incidents with gang violence at the cinemas during that film's theatrical run.

[The Rider]

Could someone make Screencaptures?
It this a new transfer, maybe 4K scan from Sony?

[Talal86]

Originally Posted by MassiveMovieBuff

As a major Walter Hill fan (seriously, I'm addicted to Walter Hill films and go through some serious withdrawals if I don't get my dose of Walter Hill films) I blind bought this and just got done watching it. What a great treat! I loved it. Outstanding cast and gorgeous cinematography. I also thought Jason Patrick was great. I was worried about the PG-13 rating at first but wow that was taken care of right away. This is possibly the most graphically violent western I've ever seen (excluding The Hateful Eight). It's shocking that it's not rated R.

It's really strange how most of Hill's films never got the recognition they deserve with Geronimo and Trespass inadvertently bombing at the box office due to bad luck with the TV version of Geronimo being broadcast 5 days prior to Hill's version's theatrical release and Trespass due to it's delayed release because of the L.A. Riots and getting lost in the 1992 holiday shuffle with a Christmas day release.

Luckily The Warriors got it's massive cult following after the unfortunate incidents with gang violence at the cinemas during that film's theatrical run.

this post is making me want to give this movie another watch

I didn't think it was bad btw, but the main character was one note, and very very boring. I know that he's conflicted between his duty and guilt, but that didn't make for anything remotely interesting

I watched Hostiles earlier, and enjoyed that one more

[SeanJoyce]

Originally Posted by Talal86

this post is making me want to give this movie another watch

I didn't think it was bad btw, but the main character was one note, and very very boring. I know that he's conflicted between his duty and guilt, but that didn't make for anything remotely interesting

I watched Hostiles earlier, and enjoyed that one more

Making one of the white characters the lead was a catastrophic mistake; Studi should have been front and center, with the Americans giving ancillary support.

Milius (the screenwriter) wasn't too pleased himself, basically saying that the movie he wrote about a mighty war chief was distilled into a sermon on white guilt.

As a Walter Hill devotee, Geronimo has its merits and it certainly isn't less than serviceable, but it falls a far level short of The Long Riders. That said, I am anxious to revisit it in HD in its proper aspect ratio.

[jtrinc]

Does anybody know if there are other editions out there besides the Twilight Time? If so, are they region free?

[hagios]

Plan on getting Geronimo: An American Legend (1993), directed by Walter Hill if/when they have it on their fantastic $15 sales (along w/several other coming soon/recent releases)!