Last of the Dogmen (1995)

Great Escape Flick
What a delight it was viewing this movie! the characters came across as genuine people you might actually know. The scenery was breathtaking. The story realistic yet fanciful. I've often driven through certain regions of the U.S. and imagined the lost Indian tribes that inhabited them. This movie brought my imagining to life. A hidden band of Cheyenne Indians still living as their ancestors did well over 100 years ago. It's "Lost Horizons" and "Brigadoon" of the native American world.

I love the outdoors, but must live in the real world to make a living. This movie provides an escape into today's wildnerness in which one is able to meet face to face Indians as they once lived. A bit fanciful and escapist, but heck, isn't that what you want when you view a movie?

SPOILERS!!! It's been a while...
... since I saw this movie, but a few things keep bothering me (in random order):

If the "Dogmen" were supposed to be the last ones standing and fight until the bitter end, how come any were left?

It took Hershey and Berenger several days to reach the Indians, but when Berenger has to go to town for medicine, he gallops right on down the mountain, zooms into the pharmacy, and gallops right back up. Yeah. Right!

Which reminds me: Horses are plains animals and of very limited use in steep terrain. Indians hunting on horseback in those woods and mountains? Extremely unlikely!

Why does Berenger bother to blow up the passage behind the waterfall after the sheriff and his cronies have just been on top of him in a helicopter? What was the purpose? There was no way those guys could NOT have seen the Indians, so the whole dynamite scene was pointless.

Last but not least, I found the characters annoyingly stereotypical: the archaeothropologist is swooning over the "noble savages"; the Indians are stoic; the white loner is rough because he's suffered a tragic loss, but that's just a facade anyway; whereas the sheriff is really arrogant and hateful - to name just a few.

There was no chemistry between Hershey and Berenger whatsoever, and her character's ability to speak fluent Cheyenne was annoying.

Overall I keep wondering what the point of this movie was - other than producing some sort of "Dances With Wolves" spinoff with a pseudo-dramatic end when she decides to stay with the Indians and he rides off into the sunset.

I'm glad I watched this on cable and didn't spend any money on it!

I haven't bought this DVD, but I like the movie a lot!
I haven't bought this DVD, but I like the movie a lot! But then again I like movies where someone finds a people or a place that are unknown to the rest of the world. This is kind of a Sci-Fi western in that sense. It's a good movie and most people will like it once or twice.