bkoganbing I'm sure that there is a story behind the casting of Trevor Howard as the old Cheyenne Indian who has led quite a life in Windwalker. We already know that Chief Dan George was originally supposed to be cast in the title role and that would have made rational sense certainly. Still Howard brings a certain noble dignity to the part of the old Cheyenne warrior though film fans on both sides of the pond are used to seeing him as ardent lover in his youth and barracks roisterer in his middle age in British films.As a young man Howard saw his wife killed and one of his two twin sons kidnapped by the Cheyenne hereditary enemy the Crow. Later on in old age Howard is as custom has, put while not quite dead on the funeral pyre. When he doesn't die being out there in the cold it occurs to him that their might be some higher purpose for him being kept alive. He rolls off that pyre and goes back to his family. And the rest of Windwalker is Howard learning why the Great Spirit has kept him alive.Windwalker is one of those sleeper films that people enjoy discovering. It is a film about Indian culture out in the plains and Rocky Mountains before the white man arrived. It is caringly and lavishly photographed in some rugged terrain the more realistic to make this film. It was what Dances With Wolves came to be later, the ultimate film about Indian life and lore. Nick Ramus and James Remar are wonderful as the two sons.This film came and went very quickly. Back in the day in 1980 when it first came out. I met a young man in one of our fabulous gay bars back then named Tommy Barker who had lived on a reservation though he was not an American Indian. He was quite steeped in the culture and we went to see Windwalker. It was great to see it with someone who really appreciated the film and its authenticity. I lost track of Tommy shortly after that. He was a great person and I certainly hope that he's not in the past tense for good. This review is dedicated to him.The phrase that Charles Dickens used in describing Dr. Manette in A Tale Of Two Cities "Recalled to Life" is how I think of Windwalker. I think you'll be blown away when you see it.

tabest84 My father wrote the book Windwalker so I am privy to a few facts you might find interesting. First of all to all those who objected to Trevor Howard, the director of this film wanted to have all Native American actors and had arranged for Chief Dan George to play the title role, but he became really ill just before shooting. There wasn't any other actors available who were Native Americans, and they were lucky to get Trevor Howard, who in most opinions did an amazing job. Every part of this film was authenticated and was extremely well received by the Native American communities. It may seem slow but then you are missing the point. It was not billed as an adventure movie and I am afraid you are comparing it with those that are. This movie was quite simply the story of a family that finally brought some respect to Native Americans who for years had been portrayed as awful cookie cutter images that were neither flattering nor accurate. Another interesting fact is that the committee that nominates films for Academy Awards did want to nominate this film but they had a dilemma. The movie had to be in the category of foreign films as it had subtitles, but a movie that is in that category has to be nominated by the country it represents. This made it a catch 22 and at the time they could see no way to circumvent the rules and so the nomination fell through.

BigLaxFan94 I remember seeing this one when it first came out in 1980. I have to say that it was way too slow, there was hardly any action and life for it to be considered a good film. As a matter of fact, I don't know how this one even made it to the big screen! The film's portrayal of the Crow and Cheyenne Nations were respectable enough. But I'm afraid that's the only highlight of it. Most people who saw this one may think it was like any other typical Hollywoodish film where Indians are seen as the bad guys ... (today is a different matter altogether since Native people are seen much differently than they were back then.) But.... anyways...... I love ANY film dealing with Native people, but not the ones that depict them with the negative stereotypes! Fortunately I never saw a lot of those bad stereotypes. I just thought the story probably wasn't very well planned. Other than that, it was OK but not the kind that would earn any Oscars or anything along those lines.That's why I gave this one a 6.

tasinaska This exceptional movie is now in the long-awaited dvd format. It was a pity about the vhs original being poor quality--this "little gem" didn't deserve that sort of treatment--evidently the video was recorded on long-play to keep costs down and the clarity suffered. Now that this film is on dvd,it should be even popular than before.