Thunderheart

Thunderheart (1992)

  • 87% of critics liked it
    (15 reviews)

  • 69% of users liked it
    (11,809 ratings)

Actor Robert De Niro started a production company to make films just like this one: stories which were unpopular with the establishment and which are unlikely to make a big splash at the box-office. Even so, this is a first-class production, and the filmmakers were the first to receive permission to… More

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R,
Directed By
Genres
Drama, Action & Adventure, Mystery & Suspense
In Theaters
Apr 1, 1992 Wide
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Critic Reviews

  • Sean Axmaker, Turner Classic Movies Online

    Behind the fiction... is a very real history of conflict between Indian activists and the FBI, which culminated in the Wounded Knee siege of 1973...

  • Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

    A fascinating murder mystery story that at the same time brings to our attention the plight of the modern Indians living on the reservation.

  • Steve Crum, Video-Reviewmaster.com

    Unique film set on Native American reservation and featuring Val Kilmer.

  • Clint Morris, Moviehole

    One of the best films Val Kilmer has done

  • Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice

    Enables us to ponder the validity of both the seen and the unseen powers in this world.

See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

  • Lanning :


    No dead horse should be continually beaten (not to mention that anyone who beats a live horse should be shot). I believe this. But, EVERY time I see this movie I remember that Kilmer is probably most celebrated for his Doc Holliday performance in <i>Tombstone</i>, and I… More

  • Universal D


    An FBI investigation of a murder mystery is made interesting by its unusual locale: a dusty and rundown Native American reservation in the Dakotas. Noirish qualities emerge when the murder, and the investigation, are shown to be cover-ups for something darker, but the… More

  • Jim H


    An FBI agent investigates a murder on a Lakota reservation. <i>Thunderheart</I> is a textbook example of how a skilled filmmaker can use a familiar genre to attempt to make a political point. The mystery and the message are interwoven expertly. However, as much as the… More

  • Tim S


    Not that great.

  • xGary X


    People talk about the "politically charged" story and Val Kilmer's "outstanding" performance, and I wonder if I was watching the same film, because all I saw was yet another glossy cop thriller. The reservation makes an interesting cultural backdrop to an… More

Read all 9 featured audience ratings

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Cast

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