Time passes – and our perception of how impactful something can be varies.
SOLDIER BLUE, directed by Ralph Nelson and released originally in 1970 with much brouhaha, understandable given that the film is one of several released at a time when the censorship boards were having to deal with the effect of films like THE WILD BUNCH, THE DEVILS, A CLOCKWORK ORANGE and STRAW DOGS.
Historians note that these types of films emerged with the softening of the American MPAA ‘Production Code‘, but also can be interpreted as what film-makers needed to express in the context of what was happening during the Vietnam War at the time.
SOLDIER BLUE, adapted from ‘Arrow In The Sun‘ by Theodore V. Olsen, is set against the backdrop of the 1864 ‘Sand Creek Massacre‘ in which Arapaho and Cheyenne Indians were massacred by American troops during the ‘Colorado Wars‘.
The film is getting a 4K Restoration as part of the Studio Canal ‘Cult Classics’ series.
Like THE WILD BUNCH, if you were to take away the more violent elements of the story, you would be left with a more standard form of Western that millions loved in previous decades. SOLDIER BLUE does at times drift into a more traditional than revisionist Western, but it is not less shocking at the end and makes you think about the power and effect of violence consequence on humanity.
Our guides through this story are a troubled Calvalry Private, Honus (Peter Strauss) who is on a drive with other soldiers and in a wagon is a woman, Cresta Lee (Candice Bergen), catching a ride to be reunited with her fiance. Out of the plains comes a Cherokee group and all of the soldiers save for Honus and Cresta are more or less slaughtered.
Cresta is wise to the world of the seeming savage and Honus is struggling understandably to adapt to the situation. Their goal is to reach a Fort where her fiance is to get some sense of safety. On their travels, they come across Cumber (Donald Pleasance) who seems to be in possession of some weapons which he wants to give to the Natives, something that Honus is conflicted with given his loyalty to the cause.
The bond between Honus and Cresta grows, but there is still the need to survive and endure….
Understandably, given how much time has passed, SOLDIER BLUE is nowhere near as savage a film as it was perceived to be on its’ original release. Audiences have been weaned on more extreme moments of gore and violence since then and film scholars and students are more averse to analysing the deeper themes and meaning of a film. That said, the climax of the film still yields some very discomforting and sudden shocks that will still leave you wide-eyed.
Strauss and Bergen are excellent in their roles, juxtaposing their own inner conflicts and worth, coupled with a great supporting performance from the ever-reliable Pleasance who always hit home runs in these types of roles. The movie also attempts to highlight the regret that the American Government had about the incident.
SOLDIER BLUE is out from July 15th, 2024 on Digital, DVD and Blu-Ray.
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