Cheap Custer of the West [Region 2] (DVD) (Robert Siodmak) Price

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Customer Reviews of Custer of the West [Region 2]

MOST BIZARRE TELLING OF THE CUSTER LEGEND
It was once said that you shouldn't get your history or your religion from the movies, and this is a GREAT example why! It would have you think that ALL the battles of the U.S. Civil War were fought with about a dozen Confederates and a handful of Federal cavalry. There were even scenes of unmanned cannon firing themselves -- not an artilleryman (or anyone else) anywhere in sight! In fact, throughout this movie all cavalry battle sequences were anemic, lethargic and DULL! The Little Big Horn battle is a laughing stock. The warrior's charge is weirdly setup then staged -- probably the biggest historical inaccuracy in the whole sad world of historic inaccuracies. To make matters worse, it was shot mostly from long distance. Any detail of action you get will remind you of a bad-guy-indian raid on a wagon train in some obscure "B" western matinee. The story of Custer between these "battles" is BORING! You couldn't care less about the main characters! To be fair though, Mr. Shaw as Armstrong (very miscast) does his best with this weak script. In a couple of the early scenes he almost "channels" Errol Flynn. Jeffrey Hunter, Robert Ryan (who turns in the BEST performance here -- but brief) and Ty Hardin were all wasted in this project. BUT the MOST glaring fault of the movie: the 7th Cavalry's anthem of "Garry Owen" was never, ever played! Not once! Speaking of tunes, the odd soundtrack lends nothing to the flick at all. The music rarely matches up to what is happening on the screen. All-in-all, it is easy to see why this never made a splash (or dull thud) in the U.S. movie circuit. Vastly better films are: THEY DIED WITH THEIR BOOTS ON (historically off, but the Last Stand battle is probably the closest to the scope and intensity of the real fight); LITTLE BIG MAN (essentially an Old West history lesson that includes the Last Stand, Custer is portrayed as a total nut-case mostly for comedic relief -- but nice overall presentation of the Battle of Little Big Horn); and SON OF THE MORNING STAR (probably the most accurate of the Hollywood Custer stories). After all is said and done, CUSTER OF THE WEST is not worth the purchase, rent or trouble. Who could EVER fall asleep when the command "CHARGE!" is given? You will!

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Custer of the West
CUSTER OF THE WEST (1967) might be a good movie, although it's definitely not a very good or great one. I say it might be a good movie because the version I watched was the Simitar Video release from 1998, which is the full screen, pan-and-scan version. Sorry, you just aren't supposed to watch an action movie that's missing more than a quarter of the image. <
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> Robert Shaw plays Custer in this biopic, director Robert Siodmak's last American film and the weakest one of his I've seen. The movie follows Custer from the Civil War to his Last Stand at the Little Big Horn. Most of the film is devoted to Custer fighting the Cheyenne, warning Congress of government corruption, and leading his small host to its appointment with destiny. Episodic and detached, about the only high point in the movie is a short segment in the middle with the marvelous Robert Ryan playing an Irish calvary man who wants to leave the service to take up gold mining. Physically Shaw looks enough like Custer to pass, but he doesn't have the theatrical flair, the bigger-than-life quality that the role demands. Even if I'd seen this in a widescreen format I don't think I would have liked it much more than I did seeing it in its butchered state. You might want to rent this one before you consider buying it. <
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Completely Bland. Seek a better movie.
Robert Shaw as Custer ??? Yes, he was miscast. The scenes at Little Big Horn were laughable. I viewed this film in an attempt to find the most factually correct depiction of the events leading up to the battle of the Little Big Horn. This film was perhaps least satisfying of all. "Son of the Morning Star" still stands as the best effort to date, but it is also flawed. No film shows us the truth about Deep Ravine.... an extremely important aspect of the battle.