The Return of a Man Called Horse

In what we'd now dismiss as just another example of corny “white savior” historical revisionism, this 1976 sequel to 1970's A Man Called Horse finds Richard Harris reprising his role as the English gentleman turned honorary Sioux Indian tribesman John “Horse” Morgan. In the midst of a whopper of an existential crisis, Morgan leaves England again for the American West in order to lend his martial talents to his old buddies in the Yellow Hand tribe. This endlessly persecuted people now find themselves being stripped of their land and possessions by a greedy, murderous gang of U.S. government-backed trappers led by Zenas Morre (Geoffrey Lewis). But the Yellow Hand chief is now less than enthusiastic about having Morgan around; so he orders his people to reject the Englishman's gifts of guns, clothing, and other accouterments that symbolize paleface oppression. Morgan is confronted with the choice of either abandoning the tribe he loves or offering the people “his suffering” in solidarity: this means old “Horse” is subjected to an agonizing trial period of ritualistic mind-altering mumbo jumbo and self-torturing induction rites. Although the climactic clash between the native warriors—led by Morgan—and the enforcers of U.S. Manifest Destiny is an impressively choreographed melee (rendered even more voluptuous with this new HD transfer)—the overall pacing of the film drags, and Harris's “Horse” is too self-possessed to come off as truly heroic. Still, consider this a strong optional purchase. (M. Sandlin)