Windwalker (film)

Windwalker
He conquered love and death...now he walks the winds of eternity!
Directed by Kieth Merrill
Produced by Arthur R. Dubs
Thomas E. Ballard
Written by Ray Goldrup
Starring Trevor Howard
Nick Ramus
James Remar
Music by Merrill Jenson
Cinematography Reed Smoot
Distributed by Pacific International Enterprises
Release date
  • January 1981 (1981-01) (limited)
Running time
 108 min.
Country United States
Language Cheyenne, Crow, English

Windwalker is a 1981 western film directed by Kieth Merrill and written by Ray Goldrup, based on a novel by Blaine M. Yorgason. It is starring Trevor Howard and Nick Ramus.

Plot

Windwalker is an aged Cheyenne warrior. As a young husband and father, he watched helplessly as his wife, Tashina was killed and the one of his twin sons kidnapped during a raid by rival Crow warriors. After many years of searching for his lost son unsuccessfully, Windwalker dies during the winter months of 1797 in what will become the state of Utah. After Windwalker's funeral, his remaining son Smiling Wolf leads his family south to rejoin the rest of the tribe; on the way they are attacked by a band of Crow warriors, and despite fighting them off Smiling Wolf is badly injured and the family is forced to hide.

The Great Spirit reawakens Windwalker, and after battling the forces of nature and his own physical frailty he rejoins his family. Using Cheyenne medicine to heal Smiling Wolf's wounds, Windwalker leads the family to a sacred Cheyenne hiding cave. From there, he and Smiling Wolf's two young sons prepare booby traps for the Crow raiding party, all of which work perfectly leaving only the raiding party leader and one other warrior.

The Crow warrior is captured and taken to the cave, where he is revealed to be Windwalker's long-lost son. With his family safe and his son restored to him, Windwalker confronts his old enemy and offers him peace, but the Crow refuses, forcing a final battle. The restored son fights the Crow leader in his father's place and is victorious. With his family safe and restored, Windwalker is now free to proceed to the afterlife, where he is reunited with Tashina.

Main cast

Production and release

Windwalker was shot in various outdoor locations in Utah including the Wasatch Mountains.[1] To maintain authenticity to the story, the film's dialogue is subtitled in English with Cheyenne and Crow languages spoken. Chief Dan George was going to play Windwalker, but became ill, leading Merrill to get Howard to take the role

See also

References

  1. ↑ D'Arc, James V. (2010). When Hollywood came to town: a history of moviemaking in Utah (1st ed.). Layton, Utah: Gibbs Smith. ISBN 9781423605874.
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