Spikeopath Son Of The Morning Star is a made for TV movie that's directed by Mike Robe, with the teleplay adapted by Melissa Mathison from the novel of the same name written by Evan S. Connell. It stars Gary Cole (George Armstrong Custer), Rosanna Arquette (Libby Custer), Stanley Anderson (Ulysses S. Grant), George Dickerson (Gen. Sherman), Rodney A. Grant (Crazy Horse), Terry O'Quinn (Gen. Alfred Terry), David Strathairn (Capt. William F. Benteen), Dean Stockwell (Gen. Philip Sheridan) & Sheldon Peters Wolfchild (Bloody Knife).Buffy Sainte-Marie narrates as Kate Bighead and location work is at Badlands National Park, South Dakota, Billings, Montana & Buffalo Gap, South Dakota (Kees Van Oostrum the cinematographer) and the music is by Craig Safan. The story tells of George Custer & Crazy Horse and the events prior to, and encompassing, the battle of the Little Bighorn. It's told from the different perspectives of two women, Libby Custer & Kate Bighead.The name Custer and The Battle Of Little Big Horn has become one of the most famous stories of American/Indian history. Numerous books, films and TV shows have taken it as a source for entertainment or historical teachings. Of the many screen adaptations, Son Of The Morning Star is arguably the most fascinating due to its two pronged approach and willingness to explore all the principal characters from both sides of the War. At only three hours in length it's inevitable that not everything is covered, but when judged as a whole the makers here have evidently achieved remarkable results and kept it well balanced. It covers a ten year period that starts in 1866 when Custer was commander at Fort Riley in Kansas; and culminates with the famous battle that occurred in June of 1876.There's some sloppy editing and not all the cast deliver convincingly in their respective portrayals. But everyone and everything about the piece is professional. Be it with the dissection of Custer the man (brave, arrogant, foolish & driven), or showing the Indian's as a complex race-to intelligently letting us into the government and political aspects of the period; Robe's movie is always narratively strong. The action is very well staged and the scenery (in spite of not yet having the DVD remastering it deserves) is very pleasing on the eye. We may never get the complete story in film form, or even one that will be budgeted to the extent of shaking Hollywood to its foundations. But this will do nicely and it's hoped that more people will not only get to see it, but also to hopefully appreciate its attention to detail. 8/10

Graffiti Man As near as anything has yet got to a true and accurate reflection of the 1876 summer campaign; this film displays not only the history of the white push into Montana after Grant's "hostiles" and the final conflict on the Little Bighorn, but also explores the psychology and personalities of the important members of the 'Custer Story'. If one understands the mental reasoning, then one can have a better overall grasp of the history in a film which is largely liberated of possible romantic nonsense that movies in the past rated viable.Son of the Morning Star also, commendably and thankfully, explores the history, society and feelings of the native peoples. The film removes the tinted image of the Indians being brutal and thoughtless heathen savages, allowing an audience to build sympathies for a people who were being invaded and eradicates the idea that these were a dark and quiet race who would sell their own mothers. And about time too. If that is all that a viewer take from this film, then it has certainly achieved one of it's objectives.Not only is history, society and emotion addressed (the emotional angles are most effective, e.g. Custer's relationship with Libbie, the contrast of Crazy Horse and Custer etc-all very clever, potent and emotionally though provoking), but the filming locations are very good (I have been to the Little Bighorn and Reno's fighting ridge is an exact looking filming location as one could wish for) and the atmosphere created by minor details of dress, action (see Reno's hat in the battle) and background is wonderful.You want a Western? You want Son of the Morning Star.

bullett-3 Good T.V mini-series, but a confused story line that makes the early part of the movie, long convoluted and uninteresting. The characters are not fully developed and as such we dont really care about any of them, besides we already know what is going to happen. The battle sequences are O.K. but one does not get the feel of a large cast engaged in a large Cavalry battle. Most shots have only a few actors in them, and there are no large panoramic shots of a Cavalry Brigade in action. The previous week I had watched TARAS BULBA with Yul Brynner and Tony Curtis. The Cavalry sequences were broad, expansive shots which gave the feel of a Cavalry charge. Here probably due to budgetary concerns there is never a massive Cavalry charge or even feel of Cavalry combat. Perhaps if the film had adressed some of Custers early Civil War heroics this problem might have been cured. But it did not. Still the natural beauty of the Great Plains of the American West comes through. IT would be almost impossible to miss it in any film made there. Here we get the full affect. But the storyline, the plastic characters, the uninteresting battle sequences, and its pure length make this move a very difficult film to sit through at one sitting. AS such its a FIVE.

Quinn-5 "Son Of The Morning Star" is by all accounts and definitions an epic. With a period backdrop, compelling characters, a cast of thousands and a span of ten years, "Morning Star" fits the mold of almost every made-for-tv-mini series. Yet you can't help but feel it's being confined on the small screen like a belt that's too tight on you. It has the look and feel of a theatrical feature, and would seem so much bigger on the big screen. But Mike Robe's gigantic effort is no movie of the week basic network fodder. It's the post-Civil War story of General George Armstrong Custer, his lovely and loyal wife Libbie, and Custer's Indian equivalent Crazy Horse, and the interesting chain of events that lead the two warriors to the gentle slopes of the Little Big Horn, or, more popularly, Custer's Last Stand. But, as the Indian female narrator Kate Bighead tells us, "it was not [Custer's] last stand...it was ours". The first half of the film seems somewhat confused of its real direction, and it's pretty much the movies only flaw. We meet the characters, soak in the rich setting of the western plains of our country, and are led through such happenings as Custer's court martialing for his harsh treatment on deserters, the training of his 7th cavalry, the somewhat flawed presidency of Ulysses S. Grant, who, apparently, is quite the anti-Custer, and to a lesser extent to all of this, the early days of the Cheyenne warrior Crazy Horse, played by underrated Native American actor Rodney A. Grant (Wind In His Hair from "Dances With Wolves", which is what I believe ultimatly helped greenlight this production). But besides that jumbled storyline, which really isn't all that jumbled, there are first rate acting scenes displayed by Gary Cole as our arrogant blond hero, who seems to really know his stuff when it comes to first person impressions. Rosanna Arquette is just going through the motions, and so is Dean Stockwell as Custer's superior in Washington, General Sheridan. But the real reward for sticking through this movie is the heart-wrenching climax of all movie climaxes, the Battle of Little Big Horn. Custer's actual Last Stand isn't until the final half hour, but boy is it worth the wait. Mike Robe really deserves some, heck, A LOT of credit for this logistical nightmare of a production. He takes us through Custer's final moments with true skill and utter authority. Combined with the poetic and professional lens job done by director of photography Kees Van Oostrum, and a lush orchestral score by Craig Safan, "Son Of The Morning Star" is a real piece of work, and should be considered a genuine cinematic triumph in the annals of western and dramatic film. Kudos, guys.