Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #183091 in DVD
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 1.77:1
• Format: PAL
• Original language: German, French, Italian, Spanish, English
• Subtitled in: English, French, German, Polish, Czech, Hungarian, Turkish, Arabic, Danish, Swedish, Finnish, Dutch, Norwegian, Icelandic, Portuguese, Greek, Hebrew, Spanish, Italian

Amazon.com
Walter Hill's revisionist take on the American cavalry's campaign to capture renegade Chiricahua Apache warrior Geronimo (Wes Studi) is, like Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven, a dark tale that both celebrates and critiques myths of the American West. Despite its title, Geronimo is really about the American cavalry officers who undertake the responsibility of recapturing the warrior, in particular the young narrator Lt. Charles Gatewood (Jason Patric), a Civil War hero who respects the great Geronimo and brokers a treaty with the Chiricahua, only to see it collapse when the army kills the tribal medicine man. Gene Hackman plays Gen. George Crook, the proud but sympathetic officer charged with bringing in the renegades who take to hills after the killing. Robert Duvall, the tough, racist army scout and Indian fighter Charlie Sieber, practically steals the picture with his cagey, underplayed performance. More complex and complicated than most Westerns, this is a Walter Hill film through and through: lean, ironic, beautiful to look at (it was shot on location against the astounding landscape of southeastern Utah), and driven by a wonderful Ry Cooder score. Don't confuse this with the 1993 TNT cable film by the same name; it confounded many viewers at the time of its release and may have been at least partially responsible for its box-office disappointment. --Sean Axmaker

From The New Yorker
Walter Hill's film about the famous Apache renegade moves with a stately self-assurance, a confidence that seems eerie, unfamiliar. The movie's serenity feels strange only because it has been so long since anyone has dared to make a Western in the ample, leisurely, classical style of John Ford. The screenplay, by John Milius and Larry Gross, is unambiguously sympathetic to the suffering of the Indians, but it doesn't oversell the case by presenting the Apaches as an idyllic community of spiritually superior innocents and the Army as an aggregation of bloodthirsty racists. There's a genuine, unforced dignity about this picture's approach to history: the facts are allowed to speak for themselves, and they're more than eloquent enough. The carefully developed narrative, detailing the intricate dance of suspicion and misunderstanding between the Army and Geronimo's band of guerrillas, is studded with breathtakingly edited action sequences; the cinematography, by Lloyd Ahern, is ravishing; and Wes Studi gives a terrific performance in the title role. Hill uses the conventions of the Western genre lovingly; like his hero, he's a defiant traditionalist. Also with Jason Patric, Gene Hackman, Robert Duvall, and Matt Damon. -Terrence Rafferty
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

An under-rated movie
I share the opinion of several other reviewers that "Geronimo" is an outstanding -- but undervalued -- Western. Let me tick off some of the reasons why this is such a good movie.

First, the scenery and the cinematography are fabulous. Some of the photography deliberately imitates great scenes from other Westerns in the past. I was overcome with deja vu at the scene in which a file of mounted Apaches is silhouetted on the skyline. This is right out of John Ford's "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon" if memory serves me right.

Secondly, the performances of Gene Hackman, Robert Duvall, and Wes Studi, as Geronimo, were outstanding. Matt Damon and Jason Patric were fine as young cavalry officers, and I liked the performance of Steve Reevis as Chato, a friendly, trusting -- and ultimately disillusioned -- Apache scout. Third, the movie was reasonably true to fact and avoided the "noble savage" philosophy that made movies such as "Dances with Wolves" tiresome. Nor did the movie gloss over the perfidy of U.S. policy toward the Apaches.

The story of the long pursuit of Geronimo and his tiny band of Apaches by thousands of soldiers and Apache scouts is an American epic. Perhaps what "Geronimo" the movie doesn't have, and thus didn't capture the attention of the critics and the public, is a blockbuster scene that raises you out of your seat. But I thought "Geronimo" was an honest, informative, well-made film that should be rated among the top twenty Westerns of all time.

Terrific cinematography only adds to a fine film
Sometimes, stunning camera work adds significant value to a film's overall merit. Case in point is 2001: A SPACE ODDYSSEY, in which the visuals (and musical score) contributed to make it one of the great films of all time. (I saw it 8 times when originally on the big screen.) Yet the acting and storyline were so nondescript that who can remember who the actors or their characters were beyond Hal? Although certainly not carrying the same weight as 2001 in the evolution of movie making, the 1993 release GERONIMO: AN AMERICAN LEGEND is elevated for the same reason, and the acting is much better besides.

Matt Damon plays 2nd Lt. Britton Davis, newly commissioned out of West Point, who arrives in Arizona in the mid-1880's just in time to accompany the savvy 1st Lt. Charles Gatewood, played by Jason Patric, on a mission to accept the surrender of Geronimo, and bring the Apache leader to the reservation. Eventually, Geronimo abandons the reservation to again take up arms against the white man, ultimately fleeing into Mexico. The local Army cavalry command led by Gen. George Crook, played by Gene Hackman, and which includes Davis and Gatewood, must then go retrieve the war chief and his followers. Robert Duvall has the role of Al Sieber, the army unit's Chief Scout.

As I've indicated, the cinematography in GERONIMO is absolutely gorgeous, the film being shot in the scenic expanses of southeastern Utah. Moreover, the acting doesn't deserve the reproach it's received. The Crook character, criticized as too bland, is played just right. By that time in his long military career, Gen. Crook had seen it all when it came to battling the Indians, and his unflappability, evenhandedness, and strength of character were fully established. There is no need for flamboyant theatrics on his part. The moody reserve of the Gatewood character is perfectly understandable. He came from a patrician Virginia family and, had it been 30 years previous, would have fought for the Confederacy. Fighting for the victorious Federals against another oppressed people (as the Southerners saw themselves) was certain to cause much self-examination. As Sieber put it to Gatewood, "You don't love who you're fighting for, and you don't hate who you're fighting against." Duvall, as Sieber, plays a role somewhat reminiscent of his Gus McCrae in LONESOME DOVE, but without the easygoing humor. In any case, his on-screen time is way too short. Wes Studi as Geronimo is more than adequate. I can't think of another Native American actor - and how many of those are there? - who could have done better. Matt Damon, as the likable Britton, serves as the film's narrator for the viewers' perspective. True, the plot incorporates no dramatic, climactic battles. That's because there weren't any in the real-life Geronimo saga, and Hollywood mercifully refrained, for once, from the unashamed embellishment of history. Rather, the story is portrayed for what it was - the inexorable, relatively low-key subjugation of one people by another - with all its attendant moral and ethical issues. The ending is particularly poignant.

Maybe I just like westerns, but I think this a wonderful, haunting film. It's definitely worth seeing, especially if you have one of those home entertainment centers that aspires to be a big screen theater.

Excellent true sory concerning the Apache Chief Geronimo
Walter Hill's film is full of action and drama concerning the Apache Chief Geronimo. Wes Studi should have got an Academy Award nomination for his portrayal of the Apache Chief. Also outstanding performances by Robert Duvall as Al Siebur the Indian Scout, Jason Patric as Lt. Charles Gatewood, Gene Hackman as Gen. Crook, and Steve Reevis as Apache Scout Chato. Jason Patric's horsemanship is showcased in a scene where an Apache warrior is charging at him on horseback, firing a pistol. A standout scene. A must see for Western Fans. This is an eye opening look at how the Apache were treated by the U.S. government. A truly sad part of American history.