Pocahontas - The Legend (1995)

POCAHONTAS: THE LEGEND They Risked Everything for a New World...and For Each Other Most came to the New World seeking their fortunes, but John Smith, MILES O’KEEFFE (Tarzan, Silent Hunter and Zero Tolerance) arrived in 1607 to embrace adventure in the unexplored wilderness of the Americas. He found more than he bargained for. Captured by the Powhatan Confederacy, John Smith has been sentenced to die. As the knife is raised to take his life, Pocahontas, a Powhatan princess SANDRINE HOLT (Rapa Nui and Black Robe) speaks. She will adopt him, according to tribal tradition, the only way to save his life. Her act of love stirs the anger of her tribesmen, and in the eyes of the English, particularly his enemy, Sir Edwin Wingfield, TONY GOLDWYN (Ghost and The Pelican Brief), John Smith is a traitor. The growing hatred between the Indians and settlers can only lead to bloodshed...and at last, war. Pocahontas and John Smith...their love spans cultures and continents. They risked everything for a new world and for each other. Can they have both? GOODTIMES ENTERTAINMENT and ALLIANCE RELEASING Present A PROTOCOL ENTERTAIMENT Production A Film by DANIÈLE J SUISSA Starring SANDRINE HOLT as "POCAHONTAS: THE LEGEND" TONY GOLDWYN * GORDON TOOTOOSIS and MILES O’KEEFFE as John Smith Director of Photography RICHARD LEITERMAN, CSC Edited by BRETT C. SULLIVAN Music Composed by JACK LENZ for THE EINSTEIN BROTHERS INC. Vocals and Chants by BUFFY SAINTE-MARIE Executive Producers JOE CAYRE, SETH WILLENSON, STEVE LEVITAN, PAUL BRONFMAN, and MARK PRIOR Written by DONALD MARTIN and DANIÈLE J SUISSA Producers STEVE LEVITAN, DANIÈLE J SUISSA, and DONALD MARTIN Directed by DANIÈLE J SUISSA ©1995 GoodTimes Entertainment. All Rights Reserved. Credits Not Contractual. Approximately 101 minutes Color

Beautifully Romantic!

This is one of my favorite movies of all time. It is so romantic! It's an idealized version of the Pocahontas story. (Hence, the title "the Legend) It's the type of movie us women swoon over. Miles O'Keefe is incredibly sexy and charming as John Smith. Seeing him scantily clad is nearly reason enough to buy this. Sandrine Holt is a youthful, energetic Pocahontas, both innocent and beautiful. She is different from her tribe and her fascination with John Smith is understandable. Great film!

November 4, 2005

"Prepare For The Third Invasion"

An ancient prophecy foretold three coming invasions against the Indian nation. The first invasion would come from the North, the second would be the "black robes" from the West. They have survived the first two, now the third was about to begin. So we are told in the opening sequence to 'Pocahontas - The Legend.'

Definitely not a masterpiece, but does succeed as a rather enjoyable, simplistic rendering of the famous love story of Pocahontas and John Smith. Sandrine Holt is absolutely beautiful as the Native American princess Pocahontas and the much maligned Miles O'Keefe is really quite good as the handsome and stalwart Englishman John Smith.

The problems with this film stem from budget limitations and shoddy production values. One of the first drawbacks I noticed was that everything was shot in closeups, so you never saw any beautiful panoramic views of the natural beauty to be found in the American wilderness. This indicated to me that their budget didn't allow them the opportunity to travel to any remote locations to get capture those vistas.

Secondly, I found the choice of clothing worn by the Indians somewhat disconcerting. Everything was exactly the same color and texture. It looked like the entire wardrobe for the tribe had been cut from one large piece of material. I'm not an expert in Native American clothing but I would've expected to see a variety of colors, shades and skins in keeping with the various types of animals that would have been indigenous to the area in 1607. There were other glaring discrepancies, such as the unauthentic look of the English fort that only hampered viewers imagination and ability to become immersed in the storyline.

If you're a Sandrine Holt fan or you have young children who like Pocahontas you'll certainly want to add this DVD to your collection. If not, it's a decent watch as a rental. September 27, 2005

WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?

If I had been paying attention, I would have realized that with Miles O'Keeffe in this film (Tarzan, the Ape Man, Sword of the Valiant - The Legend of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight), it wasn't going to be Last of the Mohicans. Actually, I was watching it to see Tony Goldwyn, who usually turns in a solid performance. Unfortunately, the same wig mistress who got hold of Miles in Sword of the Valiant - turning him into the Little Dutch Boy and totally distracting from the rest of the film - must have worked on Tony in this one, making him look ludicrous and again distracting from the film. Which only goes to prove, even though clothes don't make the man, a bad wig can ruin a performance and even an entire film.

Which makes me wonder, what were the filmmakers thinking? Couldn't they see? But then, I could ask that question concerning pretty much everything in this film. I can't believe it was ever made. From the very beginning, when the first Englishmen set foot on land and are met by native Americans who already speak English, you know this is not going to have high, or even believable, standards. And were those boards making up the walls of the fort sawed at the local sawmill, or just picked up at Home Depot?

Now, the excuse of low budget can be used to explain a lot of things; but it can't explain a poor script, poor directing and poor acting. There are plenty of great films out there that were made on shoe string budgets. But I think the motivation here is not to produce a great film, but just to have an excuse for Miles O'Keeffe to take off his shirt and a beautiful woman to gush over him. Which, in addition to everything else, cheapens the story of Pocahantas and John Smith.

If you want to watch a movie about Pocahantas, watch Disney's version; or, better yet, Last of the Mohicans, which is still the best movie about native Americans and the settlement of this country. If you want to watch a bad wig destroy a performance (Tony Goldwyn's - although I think his accent, the director and the script all helped), watch this movie. Then follow it with Sword of the Valiant and just make it a bad wig/bad movie night.

Waitsel Smith September 7, 2005

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