Thunderheart
Short description
Thunderheart is a crime mystery set largely on a Sioux reservation in South Dakota, where a murder draws a young FBI agent named Ray Levoi. Levoi is sent to work the case alongside a seasoned, jaded investigator, Frank Coutelle. He was picked for the assignment because of his Native American ancestry, a part of himself he has long kept at a distance. As the inquiry proceeds, he grows close to a tribal police officer, Walter Crow Horse, and becomes less certain that the man suspected of the killing is responsible.
The film is directed by Michael Apted, the ninth of the nineteen features he made in chronological order, arriving between Class Action and Blink. John Fusco wrote the screenplay and produced with Robert De Niro and Jane Rosenthal. Val Kilmer plays Levoi, with Sam Shepard as Coutelle, Graham Greene as Crow Horse, Fred Ward, Fred Thompson and Sheila Tousey in supporting roles. The production cost about 15 million US dollars and returned roughly 23 million worldwide.
On IMDb it holds a rating of 6.8 from about 19,000 votes, while on TMDB it sits at 6.4 from a much smaller base of 332 votes. A critics' rating of 6.7 from 22 reviews places professional appraisal near the audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- At the beginning of the film, William Doz shows Ray LeVoy a video. It was filmed during riots staged by Native American activists in Custer County, South Dakota. These were triggered by the death of a Native American at the hands of a white man, whose charge in court was reduced to a lesser offense. During the riots, there was a fight with the police, the courthouse was set on fire, and private property was damaged.
- The film tells about the events that took place in the Pine Ridge Reservation. On February 27, 1973, the reservation was seized by followers of the American Indian Movement (the Native American rights movement).
- 250 Native Americans participated in the mass scenes in the film.
- While gathering material for the screenplay, John Fusco lived in the Pine Ridge Reservation for 5 years. It was then that he met a tribal elder who became the prototype for Sam Richis's grandfather.
- Actor Ted Tin Elk (1919-1997), who played Grandpa Sam Richis, was himself an elder of the Lakota tribe.
- Filming took over 10 weeks. The actors had to perform in temperatures exceeding 37 degrees Celsius.
- When Ray places the wounded boy in the car, a round bloodstain can be noticed on the right side of his shirt. However, upon arrival at the hospital, this stain disappears, leaving only a mark on the left side.
- The film is based on true events.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
