Cheyenne Autumn

For his final Western, John Ford returned to his preferred location of Monument Valley in 1964 and shot the breathtaking landscape in Super Panavision 70. The film is based on the novel by Mari Sandoz and depicts the exodus of the Northern Cheyenne from the reserve in Oklahoma allocated to them. Robbed of any basis to live and without winter clothing or medical supplies, many Cheyenne died from hunger and disease in the barren area. After the responsible authorities rejected their appeal to return to their original settlement area in Montana, the barely 300 survivors led by Little Wolf and Dull Knife set off on their own steam on the 1500 mile journey back in September 1878. Captain Archer (Richard Widmark) from the US cavalry was supposed to stop them. The Cheyenne in the film were played by the Navajo living in the region – with the exception of the protagonists, who were played by Mexicans based on the studio’s wishes. (Hans-Joachim Fetzer)