Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (film)

Infobox Film
name = Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee


caption = DVD Cover
director = Yves Simoneau
producer = Tom Thayer
Dick Wolf
writer = Daniel Giat (teleplay)
Dee Brown (novel)
starring = Aidan Quinn
Adam Beach
August Schellenberg
Anna Paquin
music = George S. Clinton
cinematography =
editing = Michael D. Ornstein
distributor = HBO Films
released = May 27 2007
DVD release September 11 2007 (both USA)
runtime = 132 min
language = English
imdb_id = 0821638

"Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee" is a 2007 television film adapted from the book of the same name by Dee Brown. The film was written by Daniel Giat, directed by Yves Simoneau and produced by HBO Films. The book on which the movie is based is a history of Native Americans in the American West in the late nineteenth century. The title of the film and the book is taken from a line in the Stephen Vincent Benet poem "American Names." It was shot in Calgary,Alberta.

Plot

The plot revolves around three main characters: Charles Eastman né Ohiyesa (Adam Beach), a young, Dartmouth-educated, Sioux doctor held up as living proof of the alleged success of assimilation; Sitting Bull (Schellenberg), the proud Lakota chief who refuses to submit to U.S. government policies designed to strip his people of their identity, their dignity and their sacred land—the gold-laden Black Hills of the Dakotas; and Senator Henry Dawes (Quinn), an architect of government policy on Indian affairs.

While Eastman and patrician schoolteacher Elaine Goodale (Paquin) work to improve life for the Indians on the reservation, Senator Dawes lobbies President Ulysses Grant (Thompson) for more humane treatment, opposing the bellicose stance of General William Tecumseh Sherman (Feore). The Dawes Commission develops a proposal to break up the Great Sioux Reservation to allow for American demands for land while preserving enough land for the Sioux to live on. The Commission's plan is held up by the stance of Sitting Bull, who has taken a position of leadership among the Sioux as one of the last chiefs to fight for their independence. Dawes, in turn, urges Eastman to help him convince the recalcitrant tribal leaders. After witnessing conditions on the reservation, Eastman refuses.

Hope rises for the Indians in the form of the prophet Wovoka (Studi) and the Ghost Dance—a messianic movement that promises an end of their suffering under the white man. This hope is obliterated after the assassination of Sitting Bull and the massacre of hundreds of Indian men, women and children by the 7th Cavalry at Wounded Knee Creek on December 29, 1890.

Historical Accuracy

The role of Eastman has been exaggerated to allow him to be a witness to multiple historic events. He was not present at Little Big Horn nor was he involved in drawing up the Dawes plan to allocate land to Indian families.http://friendslittlebighorn.com/buryheartwoundedknee.htm] Eastman first met Dawes as a lobbyist, years after Wounded Knee.

Cast

*August Schellenberg as Sitting Bull
*Eric Schweig as Gall
*Gordon Tootoosis as Red Cloud
*Wes Studi as Wovoka
*Aidan Quinn as Senator Henry L. Dawes
*Adam Beach as Charles Eastman
*J.K. Simmons as McLaughlin
*Colm Feore as General William Tecumseh Sherman
*Fred Thompson as President Ulysses S. Grant
*Anna Paquin as Elaine Goodale
*Nathan Chasing His Horse as One Bull
* Chevez Ezaneh as Ohiyesa / Young Charles
*Eddie Spears as Chasing Crane

Awards

The film received 17 nominations at the 59th Primetime Emmy Awards, [http://www.emmys.org/awards/2007pt/59thnominations.php Retrieved 2007-09-22] earning more nominations than any other nominee. It won 6 Emmy Awards:cite web|url=http://www.emmys.org/downloads/2007/pte59emmywinners.pdf |title=59th Primetime Emmy Awards Winners |accessdate=2007-09-22 |date=2007-09-16 |format=PDF |publisher=emmys.org |pages=11]

*Outstanding Made for Television Movie
*Outstanding Cinematography for a Miniseries or Movie
*Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Miniseries, Movie or Special (tie)
*Outstanding Makeup for a Miniseries, Movie or Special (Non-prosthetic)
*Outstanding Sound Editing for a Miniseries, Movie or Special
*Outstanding Single Camera Sound Mixing for a Miniseries or a Movie

It also received 3 nominations at the 65th Golden Globe Awards:
*Best Miniseries or TV Film
*Best Actor - Miniseries or TV Film (Adam Beach)
*Best Supporting Actress - Mini(series) or TV Film (Anna Paquin)

It also won the 2007 Broadcast Film Critics Award for Best Picture Made for Television.

References

External links

* [http://www.hbo.com/films/burymyheart/ Official website]
* [http://friendslittlebighorn.com/buryheartwoundedknee.htm Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee review at the Friends of the Little Bighorn website]
*imdb title|id=0821638|title=Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
*rotten-tomatoes|id=1179878-bury_my_heart_at_wounded_knee|title=Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
*amg movie|id=1:387034|title=Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee