January 12, 2008

Studi on Comanche Moon

Native American actor, Studi, back with host of colorful characters for 'Lonesome Dove' prequelBuffalo Hump and his son Blue Duck, played by Adam Beach, provide a dramatic twist to the story as a disagreeing father and son who eventually butt heads.

"That was extremely intense," recalled Studi of the scene in which Blue Duck and Buffalo Hump square off. "(Buffalo Hump) knows that his own son is definitely off his rocker more or less to put it as nicely as possible. Blue Duck was pretty nuts."

Adding an element of realism to the miniseries was the inclusion of subtitles and the Comanche language, something that, according to Studi, everyone took very seriously when it came to learning their lines.

"It's a matter of knowing key words and understanding more or less what you're actually saying," he continued. "It's really not that difficult except for long passages (and) the flow isn't always as you would expect it to be in English."
A revival of Westerns?Studi hopes "Comanche Moon" will ignite a similar spark as "Dances With Wolves" and fire up the stagnant Western genre.

"Other filmmakers follow in the footsteps of any success that happens and I think 'Dances With Wolves' was a success," said Studi, who played the role of the Pawnee leader in the Oscar-winning film. "A number of other Western-themed films and miniseries' were put together after that. With the success of this one, I think that will happen again and get a lot of Indians more work."
The reality of Buffalo Hump:While there was a great Comanche named Buffalo Hump, the character in McMurtry's story is fictionalized. Studi prefers to think of it as a semi-historical portrayal of the real warrior.

"A lot of (Comanches) say at one point, the guy had kind of a hump on his back which caused that, but others tell you that his name really was in reference to his sexual prowess," Studi said with a laugh. "You know what my pick would be."

7 comments:

writerfella said...

Writerfella here --
Ah, after all this time, the DANCES WITH WOLVES principle still is in operation! Tonight, therefore, will be proof of the pudding in more ways than one...
All Best
Russ Bates
'writerfella'

writerfella said...

Writerfella here --
Oooooh, the first part of COMANCHE MOON kind of sang its way along very much like an epic film rather than a TV miniseries. All of the EuroMen once again were shown displaying their sly and swarthy Thuringen Man roots and the Comanches were shown as a living part of the environment and the landscape. Much enjoyable to watch Val Kilmer literally chew the scenery but sad to see Ryan Merriman (from Oklahoma City!) becoming more like a fat, young Steve Zahn. And Karl Urban must keep that one sharp-nosed pained expression in a freezer because seemingly it never changes.
More to follow...
All Best
Russ Bates
'writerfella'

dmarks said...

Karl Urban? You are so right about that pained expression. Get used to him saying "He's dead, Jim".

Or, "Damn, it, Jim! I'm a doctor, not an actor with a great range of facial expressions!"

writerfella said...

Writerfella here --
Karl Urban also might deadpan his way through that old STAR TREK joke -- "He's dead, Jim. You take his phaser and I'll grab his wallet!"
All Best
Russ Bates
'writerfella'

Rob said...

Which "Dances with Wolves principle" is that?

Yes, Comanche Moon was like any epic Western movie from the 1950s--i.e., full of odious stereotypes. Is that what you meant? For more information, read my review.

writerfella said...

Writerfella here --
Part two of COMANCHE MOON began with a rousing Comanche attack on the flyspeck community of Austin, paralleling the militia ambush on Comanches that began Part one. Then, the episode bogged down with he said - she said and suffered from disjointed plotboiler events, which ordinarily afflict the 'bridge' portions of most tripartite presentations. Still, cultural imperatives both of the Texans and the Comanches were introduced, making for some few striking contrasts. Part two was not as enthralling as Part one but it did stand on its own, inany case. Finale to follow!
All Best
Russ Bates
'writerfella'

writerfella said...

Writerfella here --
Sad to say, writerfella missed segment 3 of COMANCHE MOON and so, unlike other posters here, he cannot comment on something that he failed to see for himself. writerfella and cousin Milton Paddlety spent morning and most of the afternoon Wednesday trimming back trees around TheBatesMotel that were damaged by December's ice storm, in anticipation of a new ice storm Wednesday night. Thus, a tired writerfella fell asleep watching TITANIC and, when he awoke, it was 8:45 pm (CST) and COMANCHE MOON Part 3 well was underway. And his Go-Video had set itself to Ch. 99 instead of Channel 9, so even that wasn't of any help. So, writerfella tuned in The History Channel to watch MONSTER QUEST about The Indonesian Hobbitt and HISTORY'S MYSTERIES about the Loch Ness Monster. So, once COMANCHE MOON emerges on DVD, only then will comment on Part 3 be forthcoming...
All Best
Russ Bates
'writerfella'