fbpx
Wikipedia

Windwalker (film)

Windwalker is a 1981 Western film directed by Kieth Merrill and written by Ray Goldrup, based on a novel by Blaine M. Yorgason. It stars Trevor Howard and Nick Ramus.

Windwalker
Theatrical release poster
Directed byKieth Merrill
Written byRay Goldrup
Produced byArthur R. Dubs
Thomas E. Ballard
StarringTrevor Howard
Nick Ramus
James Remar
CinematographyReed Smoot
Music byMerrill Jenson
Distributed byPacific International Enterprises
Release date
  • January 1981 (1981-01) (limited)
Running time
108 min.
CountryUnited States
LanguagesCheyenne, Crow, English
Budget$3 million[1]
Box office$6.4 million[2]

Plot edit

Windwalker is an aged Cheyenne warrior. As a young husband and father, he had watched helplessly as his wife, Tashina, was killed and one of their twin sons kidnapped during a raid by rival Crow warriors. After many years of searching unsuccessfully for this son, Windwalker dies during the winter of 1797 in what will become the state of Utah.

After Windwalker's funeral, his remaining son, Smiling Wolf, leads his family south to rejoin the rest of the tribe; on the way they are attacked by a band of Crow warriors and after fighting them off, Smiling Wolf is badly injured and the family is forced to hide.

The Great Spirit reawakens Windwalker, and after battling the forces of nature and his own physical frailty, he rejoins his family. Using Cheyenne medicine to heal Smiling Wolf's wounds, Windwalker leads the family to a sacred Cheyenne hiding cave. From there, he and Smiling Wolf's two young sons prepare booby traps for the Crow raiding party, all of which work perfectly, leaving only the raiding party leader and one other warrior.

The Crow warrior is captured and taken to the cave, where he is revealed to be Windwalker's long-lost son. With his family safe and his son restored to him, Windwalker confronts his old enemy and offers him peace, but the Crow refuses, forcing a final battle. The restored son fights the Crow leader in his father's place and is victorious. With his family safe and restored, Windwalker is now free to proceed to the afterlife, where he is reunited with Tashina.

Main cast edit

Production and release edit

Windwalker was a co-production between Pacific International Enterprises and Santa Fe International.[1] It was shot in various outdoor locations in Utah including the Wasatch and Uinta Mountains.[3][1] Production was impacted by the eruption of Mount St. Helens.[1] For authenticity, the film's dialogue is spoken in the Cheyenne and Crow languages, with English subtitles. Chief Dan George had been tapped to play Windwalker but became ill, apparently leading Merrill to ask Trevor Howard, an English actor, to take the role. James Remar was already slated to play the main character as a young man. Thus, while Native American languages were used to impart authenticity, both young and old Windwalker were played by white actors.

Reception edit

Famous movie critics Siskel and Ebert both gave the film an enthusiastic review, with their signature two thumbs up.

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d "'Ash Not What Your Country...'". Variety. June 25, 1980. p. 6. Retrieved December 2, 2023 – via Internet Archive.
  2. ^ Donahue, Suzanne Mary (1987). American film distribution : the changing marketplace. UMI Research Press. p. 292. ISBN 9780835717762. Please note figures are for rentals in US and Canada
  3. ^ D'Arc, James V. (2010). When Hollywood came to town: a history of moviemaking in Utah (1st ed.). Layton, Utah: Gibbs Smith. ISBN 9781423605874.

External links edit

windwalker, film, windwalker, 1981, western, film, directed, kieth, merrill, written, goldrup, based, novel, blaine, yorgason, stars, trevor, howard, nick, ramus, windwalkertheatrical, release, posterdirected, bykieth, merrillwritten, byray, goldrupproduced, b. Windwalker is a 1981 Western film directed by Kieth Merrill and written by Ray Goldrup based on a novel by Blaine M Yorgason It stars Trevor Howard and Nick Ramus WindwalkerTheatrical release posterDirected byKieth MerrillWritten byRay GoldrupProduced byArthur R DubsThomas E BallardStarringTrevor HowardNick RamusJames RemarCinematographyReed SmootMusic byMerrill JensonDistributed byPacific International EnterprisesRelease dateJanuary 1981 1981 01 limited Running time108 min CountryUnited StatesLanguagesCheyenne Crow EnglishBudget 3 million 1 Box office 6 4 million 2 Contents 1 Plot 2 Main cast 3 Production and release 4 Reception 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksPlot editWindwalker is an aged Cheyenne warrior As a young husband and father he had watched helplessly as his wife Tashina was killed and one of their twin sons kidnapped during a raid by rival Crow warriors After many years of searching unsuccessfully for this son Windwalker dies during the winter of 1797 in what will become the state of Utah After Windwalker s funeral his remaining son Smiling Wolf leads his family south to rejoin the rest of the tribe on the way they are attacked by a band of Crow warriors and after fighting them off Smiling Wolf is badly injured and the family is forced to hide The Great Spirit reawakens Windwalker and after battling the forces of nature and his own physical frailty he rejoins his family Using Cheyenne medicine to heal Smiling Wolf s wounds Windwalker leads the family to a sacred Cheyenne hiding cave From there he and Smiling Wolf s two young sons prepare booby traps for the Crow raiding party all of which work perfectly leaving only the raiding party leader and one other warrior The Crow warrior is captured and taken to the cave where he is revealed to be Windwalker s long lost son With his family safe and his son restored to him Windwalker confronts his old enemy and offers him peace but the Crow refuses forcing a final battle The restored son fights the Crow leader in his father s place and is victorious With his family safe and restored Windwalker is now free to proceed to the afterlife where he is reunited with Tashina Main cast editTrevor Howard as Windwalker Nick Ramus as Smiling Wolf Crow Brother Narrator James Remar as Windwalker as a young man Serene Hedin as Tashina Dusty McCrea as Dancing Moon Silvana Gallardo as Little Feather Emerson John as Spotted Deer Bart the Bear as The Bear film debut Production and release editThis section needs expansion You can help by adding to it September 2017 Windwalker was a co production between Pacific International Enterprises and Santa Fe International 1 It was shot in various outdoor locations in Utah including the Wasatch and Uinta Mountains 3 1 Production was impacted by the eruption of Mount St Helens 1 For authenticity the film s dialogue is spoken in the Cheyenne and Crow languages with English subtitles Chief Dan George had been tapped to play Windwalker but became ill apparently leading Merrill to ask Trevor Howard an English actor to take the role James Remar was already slated to play the main character as a young man Thus while Native American languages were used to impart authenticity both young and old Windwalker were played by white actors Reception editFamous movie critics Siskel and Ebert both gave the film an enthusiastic review with their signature two thumbs up See also editHollywood Indian Portrayals of Native Americans in filmReferences edit a b c d Ash Not What Your Country Variety June 25 1980 p 6 Retrieved December 2 2023 via Internet Archive Donahue Suzanne Mary 1987 American film distribution the changing marketplace UMI Research Press p 292 ISBN 9780835717762 Please note figures are for rentals in US and Canada D Arc James V 2010 When Hollywood came to town a history of moviemaking in Utah 1st ed Layton Utah Gibbs Smith ISBN 9781423605874 External links editWindwalker at IMDb nbsp Windwalker at Rotten Tomatoes Windwalker at AllMovie Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Windwalker film amp oldid 1221583807, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.