Little Big Man (1970)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Stella D

  
  one of the more unusual westerns ever made and one of my favorite films as a kid. starring dustin hoffman as a supposedly 121 yr old man, the only white survivor of the battle of the little big horn. ranging from black comedy to drama to slapstick and back, it's a highly… More
  one of the more unusual westerns ever made and one of my favorite films as a kid. starring dustin hoffman as a supposedly 121 yr old man, the only white survivor of the battle of the little big horn. ranging from black comedy to drama to slapstick and back, it's a highly entertaining picaresque and also one of the first films to address native american rights in any way. a bit dated now and i think dustin is probably miscast (his accent is particularly bad) but i still love it. and chief dan george is awesome! <3

• Michael G

  
  Dustin Hoffman turns out a great but overlooked performance as a 121 year-old man who tells his life story. Little Big Man is a good movie but has a tone that changes way too much for its own good. It hits everything from black comedy to slapstick to heartbreaking. Just like with the… More
  Dustin Hoffman turns out a great but overlooked performance as a 121 year-old man who tells his life story. Little Big Man is a good movie but has a tone that changes way too much for its own good. It hits everything from black comedy to slapstick to heartbreaking. Just like with the movie Little Big Man is a precursor to, Dances With Wolves, I felt completely ashamed to be white. The Bill Hicock scenes were too few but at the same time great. Chief Dan George was amazing and had some of the best lines ("does she show pleasant enthusiasm when you mount her?"), the gay Indian/Native American (whatever your pleasure) was great and Faye Dunaway was very entertaining for the few brief moments she was in this movie.

• xGary X

  
  Essentially a vehicle for Dustin Hoffman, this is the changing face of the west told from the point of view of an old man reminiscing about his life (although you're never quite sure how much of this tall tale is actually true!). Part comedy, part comment on the treatment of… More
  Essentially a vehicle for Dustin Hoffman, this is the changing face of the west told from the point of view of an old man reminiscing about his life (although you're never quite sure how much of this tall tale is actually true!). Part comedy, part comment on the treatment of native americans, it's always entertaining and Hoffman is great as a man caught between two conflicting worlds.

• Richard B

  
  Diluted Medicine, Man, Having just completed the source novel by Thomas Berger, I thought I'd see the film again after all these years. I'm glad I did, though it was not a pure pleasure. The ambition of the film stands out - they really did try to capture the… More
  Diluted Medicine, Man, Having just completed the source novel by Thomas Berger, I thought I'd see the film again after all these years. I'm glad I did, though it was not a pure pleasure. The ambition of the film stands out - they really did try to capture the wonderful, unusual voice of the book - like True Grit, a standout book in the tradition of Twain. Hoffman is the only actor who could carry the part off, and he does it great justice, even if he is a bit mannered at times. Chief Dan George is unforgettable as his 'Grandfather.' Fay Dunaway is a fabulous Mrs. Pendrake -his lusty 'step-mother.' There is a great sense of beauty and calm in the shooting of this terrible tale of Indian massacre, and Penn tries hard to capture the spirit of the book. I'm afraid two things let the enterprise down a bit. One is the script from the normally excellent Calder Willingham (co-author of Paths of Glory and other outstanding films). He makes the Indians too nice, caught up in the revisionist spirit of the times. In Berger's book, make no mistake, the Indians were extremely violent, both to other Indians and white men. You know from the very beginning, when Jack's family is massacred by the Cheyenne and he is abducted - but in the film, by the Pawnee. Guess he did not want too much ambivalence, so the Indians are, pardon the expression, 'whitewashed.' Throughout the movie, white people are portrayed as depraved and crazy and Indians, somehow spiritual and nice (other than eating dog!). He's got Jack Crabb's voice, but not the true plot. The second thing is ketchup. There is too much of the stuff, and it looks terrible. Scenes of violence have become a lot more realistic, and this has more of the red stuff than a busy Saturday night at McDonalds. Nevertheless, it is well worth seeing, but is not a patch on the Coen Brother's new version of True Grit for capturing the era. It is more like the John Wayne version of this wonderful novel.

• Jeffrey M

  
  Before there was Forrest Gump, there was Little Big Man, a film that gives its' satirical take on the wild west and the Indian wars through the eyes of one man, Dustin Hoffman. The tone is wildly erratic, which is to be expected to some extent for a satirical film, as it is part… More
  Before there was Forrest Gump, there was Little Big Man, a film that gives its' satirical take on the wild west and the Indian wars through the eyes of one man, Dustin Hoffman. The tone is wildly erratic, which is to be expected to some extent for a satirical film, as it is part black comedy and part drama, but this does lead to some of the good dramatic moments being lost between the comedic scenes. The performances, however, are really strong all around, and there is some very funny moments and smart satire. The execution is also strong, which makes this strange mix ultimately hold together.

• David S

  
  An odd film that doesn't seem to know whether it should be aiming for comedy or tragedy at certain points. It's almost a mix of 'Forrest Gump' and 'Dances With Wolves' and both those have taken the best moments from this film. Hoffman is clearly enjoying… More
  An odd film that doesn't seem to know whether it should be aiming for comedy or tragedy at certain points. It's almost a mix of 'Forrest Gump' and 'Dances With Wolves' and both those have taken the best moments from this film. Hoffman is clearly enjoying himself in an early star role and although the film goes on a little too long there is a lot to enjoy, as the film is quite episodic and if you don't enjoy one segment they'll be another soon to enjoy. Specail mention to Chief Dan George as Hoffman's 'Grandad'. A great moving and comedy performance. My only big gripe with the film is the sudden ending. Why couldn't the story carry on with Hoffman's character getting older? There is a large gap that demands for a sequel. Little-er Bigger Man?

• Doctor S

  
  Here's the best advice you'll get all day: skip <i>Dances With Wolves</i> and watch this instead. Ahead of its time for its knowledgeable and sympathetic depiction of Indians, unflinching in the underhanded and brutal manner in which white man overran these… More
  Here's the best advice you'll get all day: skip <i>Dances With Wolves</i> and watch this instead. Ahead of its time for its knowledgeable and sympathetic depiction of Indians, unflinching in the underhanded and brutal manner in which white man overran these United States. And yet still sprinkled with humor and grand-scale adventure, delivers the message clearly without sermonizing or using emotionally manipulative tactics, unlike that other Old West epic.

• Audrey L

  
  Little Big Man starring Dustin Hoffman and the great Chief Dan George is a timeless piece of film genius.A film quite ahead of it's time in it's telling the story of how the west was won from the perspective of the Native North Americans.Reflects the tragedy of the American… More
  Little Big Man starring Dustin Hoffman and the great Chief Dan George is a timeless piece of film genius.A film quite ahead of it's time in it's telling the story of how the west was won from the perspective of the Native North Americans.Reflects the tragedy of the American Holocaust almost as well as the book Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee.The film had a great book from which to work-Little Big Man and has elements of Dickensian humor throughout in displaying hypocracy,society in general and the shakiness of "history".A film that runs the gamut of emotions-skillfully blending comedy with tragedy long before it became a Hollywood fad.

• Leo L

  
  Hilarious!

• Wu C

  
  This is the Forest Gump of the 70's. Loved this as a kid and it still holds up.

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