schless74
This is a powerful, emotional, and entertaining telling of major events of the settling of the West, and the clash between white settlers and the various Native tribes spread throughout the Western half of the United States. I stumbled upon the series on youtube, I hadn't previously heard of it, which seems astounding since there are so many well known actors/actresses, and the involvement of Steven Spielberg.One of the things I like about the series is the mysticism and spirituality surrounding the medicine wheel and the buffalo. I know it sounds cliché, but I think it was well done, to have as a central theme the stone medicine wheel of the Sioux and the coming of the wheeled wagons across the west. These wagons really did leave permanent scars on the Earth- where I lived in Wyoming there are still remnants of the Oregon Trail and wagon footprints.And I think many Native tribes did have prophecies about the coming of white people and settlers. The use of native languages is particularly appealing to me- I think to truly understand native cultures of the time you need to hear expressions done in their languages. Some of the prophecies have yet to be decided. It was only 20 years after Wounded Knee that the first world war started, followed by the second. We're now engaged in wars in the middle east which have sometimes been prophecied by natives.So many characters, Thunder Heart Woman and Jacob Wheeler standing out in my opinion (many people did not like the actor portraying Wheeler, but I enjoyed his narration and heart centered actions). The violence of the crow raid, the amazing scenes of the bison hunt, the western scenery, and the telling of important historical events are crucial to the tale. Many Americans are still not knowledgeable about the events.The only criticism is that one family might have been around to see and participate in all the historical events. Otherwise, there of course is creative license, but this is one of the best movies/series about the West I've seen.Recently John Trudell, native artist/activist passed away. I highly recommend his spoken word to those who are interested.
BigLaxFan94
I just got this DVD and I waited the longest time to finally see it. Very well made and produced .... then again, anything that Steven Spielberg helps produce is great.But there was a couple of little flaws I noticed that wasn't correct. They would be minor details to some but the scene where the Ghost Dancers were dancing from within the Agency itself ... in real life, that wouldn't have happened since the Agency officials wouldn't have allowed the dancing to occur. Furthermore, the Agency people would not have needed to call in the Army to stop the Ghost Dancing.Other than these 2 minor blemishes, I'm shocked that this series never won any major TV awards because it seriously should have. That's just my scoop.
shly_gordon
Me and my Grandma got to see this on TV. It was so good we decided to record it. The cast was perfect and so was the scenery. I think Steven Spielberg did a great job. My favorite actors were Christian Kane, Christopher Tyler. Reason I liked this a lot was because it told the fascinating story of the Indians. Being from OKC my grandma knows Chief Black Kettles grandson. I think this will truly open up the peoples eyes who want to see about the Indian lifestyle. I just think that it was a great TV Show Movie. I wish that Steven Spielberg would do more movies like this. I hope a lot of people get to see this and understand the Indidan life and ways that helped shape our future.
sweet_lil_chick77
does anyone know if naomi is in any other scenes after the birth of her Indian baby with her Indian husband. Do we see this child grow up or is that it for Kerri Russell's character. Does her Indian village get destroyed like the rest of the villages? I have the DVD but think i have missed any more scenes with her family in it. On the DVD boxed set there is also a picture with her holding a toddler's hand who is Indian which makes me think that she is in the movie more or it could be in deleted scenes. Her character is very interesting and I would have liked to known what happened to their family and how this new life affected her and if any of her family ever heard from her again.If anyone knows the answers to these questions please answer them for me!!! Thanks!!!