Soldier Blue
It was an assignment doomed from the outset by arrogance and overconfidence, a convoy travelling through the Colorado Territory towards Fort Reunion, warned of the possibility that hostile Cheyenne tribesman could be in the area but paying little heed as they head out under the desert sun, saddlesore and dusty and swiftly slaughtered when they are inevitably ambushed, ill-prepared for what they wrongly assumed would be a simple trip.
The only two survivors, Cresta Maribal Lee and Private Honus Grant could not be more different, he a patriotic soldier on his way to join his division, she having lived among the Cheyenne and learned their ways and language and how they have been treated by the invading settlers, and it is Honus whose strongly-held opinions will change as they make their way across dangerous ground to supposed safety.
Released in 1970 and directed by Charly‘s Ralph Nelson, Soldier Blue was adapted by John Gay from the novel Arrow in the Sun by prolific Western writer Theodore V Olsen, itself based upon the events of the Sand Creek massacre of 1864 where the Third Colorado Cavalry attacked a village of Cheyenne and Arapaho natives, starring The Magus’ Candice Bergen and Spacehunter’s Peter Strauss alongside Circus of Horrors’ Donald Pleasence as arms dealer Isaac Q Cumber.
A change from the bravado of the classic Western of the previous decades where even when filmed in Technicolour the characters were most often written in black and white, its title the nickname Cresta gives to her naïve travelling companion, she’s a woman but she ain’t no lady, understanding the task they have ahead of them while Honus is out of his depth; thinking pretty words and his notion of honour will count for something among the blackened branches under the blue sky where the ambush took place he initially sees her as unsympathetic, not realising she has witnessed far worse at the hands of the white man.
The setting historical, the context of the film upon release was the ongoing Vietnam War which had lasted fifteen years already and would continue for another five, undoubtedly in the minds of contemporary audiences during the notorious final scenes as the soldiers bray with laughter as they mutilate and murder women and children who were seeking shelter away from the fighting, Soldier Blue still raw and powerful even though there are frustrating aspects which have dated less well.
Roy Budd seemingly composing for a different film altogether, a more traditional Western where the vanquishing of the enemy is celebrated rather than a tragedy, the awkward relationship between Cresta and Honus feels like a Hollywood expectation which cheapens the whole though cinematographer Robert B Hauser ensure the landscapes of Mexico never looks less than glorious, StudioCanal’s new restoration supported by an audio commentary by film critics Steve Mitchell and Howard S Berger and a new interview with Bergen.
