Customer Reviews
Excellent film, but... - By: Ian Armer, 20 Nov 2008 
This is one of my favourite films. It's a brilliantly structured tale of redemption that thrashes the so-so original hands down. Irvin Kershner so impressed George Lucas with this film that he landed the job of directing 'Empire'. It's not hard to see why as Kershner takes full control of his visuals alternating between stunning vista, large scale action sequences & an effective use of close-up to capture the essence of the moment (Harris' face as he realises the awful truth at the beginning of the movie is a classic, understated scene & speaks volumes).
It's a simple tale: The Yellow Hand tribe that Harris' character, Morgan, used to live with have been driven away from their land by settlers. Now living in an arrid wilderness they consider themselves under a curse from an evil spirit & await a sign to free them.
Meanwhile, back in England, Morgan himself is seeking a sign as he has lost himself in restricting english values & social class systems. Escaping his responsibilities he returns to America only to discover his old friends are in ruin. Shattered, Morgan attempts to rouse their spirits but his own frustrations keep getting in the way.
It is here that 'Return' pulls a nifty bit of plotting. The Yellow Hands first save Morgan from himself (at least the first hour is a spiritual journey) & then Morgan helps save the Yellow hands from their enemies. The ending is such an uplifting experience, sans dialogue, with Laurence Rosenthal's beautiful score ably supporting the 'new life' of both Morgan & the Yellow Hands as they ride off into legend.
The only problem with the UK release is that it is cut by 17 seconds. The BBFC don't alllow horse fallls & so some of the scenes cut short or just make no sense. The Region 1 disc is uncut, but the picture quality is so terrible that I'd suffer the one or two moments where the edits are felt & stick with the UK release as the print is exceptional.
One of the greatest sequels ever! - By: Mr. James A. Newton, 25 Sep 2006 I do not think I've ever seen a sequel that surpasses the prequel to such a degree as this film does. The opening quarter of an hour of the film is one of the best ever, that engages the attention of the viewer immediately. Action scenes are poignant & dramaticallly effective at the same time. I believe that the Lakota were far more sensitively portrayed than they were in 'A Man Callled Horse' - when they seemed to do very little than shriek incoherently at each other & everyone else. The scenery & the costumes are great & are very authentic given the detail usuallly given to most films of this era.
The film begins with Harris returning to America, initiallly for a year, to visit the Lakota band that enslaved & later adopted him in the 1820's. He finds that his adoptive Yellow Hand people have been slaughtered by a group of trappers & an enemy tribe; the survivors enslaved or driven from their homeland. Harris eventuallly meets up with the survivors & helps revitalize their spirit enabling them to win back their homeland.
If there is one fault with the film it is this; once again native people need a white man to save the day. If you can disregard this it is an excellent film - my favourite scenes being the Sun Dance & the Yellow Hand women getting the upper hand with the Arikaras!
