Geronimo, the flick

[bubbabod]

Yesterday I watched the movie about Geronimo with Jason Patric, Wes Studde and Matt Damon. It was shown in HD on my 55" big screen. I'd forgotten what a really good and beautifully-filmed movie that was. For those of you who have seen it--and I bet that's almost everyone--my favorite seen is when an Apache breaks from his line of warriors and charges out to meet Lt. Gatewood one-on-one, and Jason Patric dismounts, gets his horse to lay down, takes aim and takes the Apache out, and calmly kicks his horse in the rump and mounts it as it rises. I'd just never seen anything like that before and thought it was really cool. It is a great movie. At the end of the movie, in the narrative by Matt Damon, he says something like Geronimo was sent away and imprisoned for the rest of his life and was never allowed to return to his home. That is basically true, as I understand it; but what was not said was how Geronimo kind of got the last laugh as he settled in in Oklahoma, and sold his autograph for a buck a piece, and became fairly popular in his own right. Anyway, great flick I never get tired of.

[stevewilk]

This movie had a number of historical inaccuracies such as:

Britton Davis was with the 3rd Cavalry, not the Sixth. He did not arrive in Arizona as a shavetail from the Point. He was transferred from Wyoming; Davis graduated in 1881; he arrived in AZ in 1882. The Third was sent to Texas in 1885 so Davis wasn't there for the final pursuit/capture of Geronimo. He left the army in June of 1886 to pursue mining interests in Mexico.

General Crook was not in Arizona at the time of the Cibicue mutiny. He was in Omaha; Col. Orlando Willcox, 12th Infantry, commanded the Dept. of Arizona.

Al Sieber wasn't in AZ in 1881 either.

Crook did not resign from the army as the film depicts. He simply requested to be relieved, being tired of dealing with Apaches and, most likely, Sheridan as well.

Gatewood, after nineteen years in the army, died only a First Lt. But he was not, as the movie depicted, banished to Wyoming. He even served on Miles' staff from 1886-1890, and was involved in the Ghost Dance campaign.

It's a shame that he was not given the credit that he earned for the surrender of Geronimo; Miles liked to promote his man Henry Lawton as the architect of same. Army politics.

Those are some of the errors; haven't seen this flick in years but I'm sure there are more. It is a decent movie though; the scenery is spectacular and the uniforms and all are authentic. Except Jason Patric could have used a haircut to appear more soldierly.

Lt. Gatewood's Apache war memoirs are out in a new book edited by Louis Kraft (wrote Custer and the Cheyenne); published by University of Nebraska Press.

[Diane Merkel]

Geronimo's wife Ga-ah died of Bright's (kidney) Disease while incarcerated in Pensacola. We have photos of her grave which I will try to find and post. She is buried in the Barrancas National Cemetery.

[shatonska]

the film is good , but historically is bad to many errors , at the end is a very good fictional movie , very good images and locations
among the biggest errors there is that Al Sieber DIDN'T DIE IN A DUEL IN THE MEXICAN CANTINE

[crzhrs]

I highly enjoyed the movie . . . it was well done, beautifully photographed . . . and did have some MAJOR inaccuracies . . . but Robert Duvall was excellent as were most of the other actors.

Geronimo was considered a Prisoner of War up until the day he died! He even had to be "escorted" to various events . . . apparently the US military stilled feared he would break-out again!

Most of his followers, including women and children were also considered Prisoners of War up until 1912! The last I heard there was one woman still alive (she was a young child at the time) and I have seen her on a PBS documentary.

PS: There was a TNT bio on Geronimo also, it was told from his side and included the famous "revenge" battle with the Mexicans and other events in his life . . . I highly recommend that also.