View source for A Man Called Horse

{{Movie
|moviename = A Man Called Horse
|coverimage = ManCalledHorse-Boxcover.jpg
|director = Elliot Silverstein
|runtime = 114 mins
|country = USA
|language = English / Sioux
|rating = USA: M (original)<br>USA: R (re-rating)<br>UK: AA (original)<br>UK:15 (video)<br>Australia PG
|genre = Western / Adventure / Drama
|year = 1970
|dvd = 2003
|IMDB = http://imdb.com/title/tt0066049/
}}

'''A Man Called Horse''' is one of the first (and only) Hollywood movies to graphically showcase [[Flesh Hook|flesh hook]] suspension. It was released in [[1970]] and based on the novel ''Indian Country'' by [http://www.umt.edu/journalism/special_projects/hall_of_fame/johnson.html Dorothy M. Johnson]).

Set in 1820s America, it tells the story of an English Aristocrat, Lord John Morgan (starring [http://imdb.com/name/nm0001321/ Richard Harris), who is captured by the Sioux while hunting in America. Morgan is brutally treated by the tribe, and is given to the Chief's mother as if he were a horse. Eventually, Morgan learns to understand and appreciate the tribe's behaviour, gaining the respect of the tribe and falling in love with the Chief's sister.

In order to prove his worth to marry into the tribe, Harris must undergo a series of [[ritual]] tortures and trials, including an [[O-Kee-Pa]]-style chest [[suspension]], before eventually joining the tribe and taking the name Horse. Throughout the movie, the Chief's own [[scar]]s are openly displayed, illustrating the prominence of the ritual in the tribe's society as well as showing the Chief's status.

The [[1976]] sequel, '''The Return of a Man Called Horse''' sees Morgan grow tired of his aristocratic life and travel back to America to rejoin his tribe. He finds that the tribe has been devastated through a a fur trading war with settlers, and he must "regroup" them. During the course of the movie, tribe members do a [[Sun Dance]]-style [[pulling]] ritual.

There was a third and much less acclaimed sequel in [[1982]], '''Triumphs of a Man Called Horse''', with Richard Harris again reprising his role as Morgan. It's listed as not being a 'true sequel' to the original, instead telling the story of Morgan's warrior son Koda, trying to keep greedy European settlers and prospectors from destroying the tribe's way of life.

While, today, these films are less well-known due to their age, they were the first contact many people in the West had with suspension, years before the [[suspension subculture]] existed like it does now.

It should also be pointed out that while excellent attention to detail and accuracy has been paid, and they are very convincing even to those who've seen the real thing, the suspensions in this movie are not real.

== Stills from ''A Man Called Horse'' ==
{{ISBN|B00008CMR5}}

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| [[Image:ManCalledHorse-2.jpg|A Man Called Horse|thumb|150px]]
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|[[Image:ManCalledHorse-7.jpg|A Man Called Horse|thumb|150px]]
|[[Image:ManCalledHorse-8.jpg|A Man Called Horse|thumb|150px]]
|[[Image:ManCalledHorse-9.jpg|A Man Called Horse|thumb|150px]]
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== Stills from ''The Return of a Man Called Horse'' ==
{{ISBN|B00005LOL1}}

{|align=center
| [[Image:ReturnOfAManCalledHorse-1.jpg|The Return of a Man Called Horse|thumb|150px]]
| [[Image:ReturnOfAManCalledHorse-2.jpg|The Return of a Man Called Horse|thumb|150px]]
| [[Image:ReturnOfAManCalledHorse-3.jpg|The Return of a Man Called Horse|thumb|150px]]
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| [[Image:ReturnOfAManCalledHorse-4.jpg|The Return of a Man Called Horse|thumb|150px]]
| [[Image:ReturnOfAManCalledHorse-5.jpg|The Return of a Man Called Horse|thumb|150px]]
| [[Image:ReturnOfAManCalledHorse-6.jpg|The Return of a Man Called Horse|thumb|150px]]
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| [[Image:ReturnOfAManCalledHorse-7.jpg|The Return of a Man Called Horse|thumb|150px]]
| [[Image:ReturnOfAManCalledHorse-8.jpg|The Return of a Man Called Horse|thumb|150px]]
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==External Links==

*[http://imdb.com/title/tt0066049/ A Man Called Horse] at IMDB.com
*[http://imdb.com/title/tt0075132/ The Return of A Man Called Horse] at IMDB.com
*[http://imdb.com/title/tt0084826/ Triumphs of A Man Called Horse] at IMDB.com

[[Category: Movies]]