Cheyenne Autumn
A sweeping, elegiac western follows a starving Cheyenne community's perilous return home and the cavalry officer whose pursuit becomes an act of conscience.
Overview
A poignant journey of resilience and dignity unfolds as a proud tribe seeks to reclaim their heritage.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Slow
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Moderate
- elegiac
- somber
- passionate
- classic western marathon
- historical cinema viewing
What critics said
Critics broadly admired the film's magnificent cinematography, historical seriousness, and elegiac ambition while faulting its excessive length, episodic structure, and uneven dramatic writing.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The Cheyenne leave a barren reservation after government agencies fail to provide treaty supplies and attempt to return to ancestral hunting grounds.
The 1,500-mile journey and cavalry pursuit are presented through broad western landscapes and energetic massed movement.
The plot treats government neglect and military policy as causes of the Cheyenne crisis while giving Capt. Archer an evolving moral perspective.
The central action follows the Cheyenne's sustained trek from the southern reservation toward their ancestral northern grounds.
Films like Cheyenne Autumn, and why
The Searchers
shared classical western form, indigenous displacement, cavalry conflict, and elegiac historical tone
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
shared expansive western spectacle, moral reckoning with westward expansion, and revisionist treatment of conquest
The Last of the Mohicans
shared historical western setting, Native American resistance, and large-scale cavalry adventure
Little Big Man
shared anti-colonial western perspective, institutional injustice, and somber frontier atmosphere
Movie Details
- Director
- John Ford
- Release Date
- 1964-10-15
- Runtime
- 157 min
- Rating
- 6.7 / 10 (152)
Cast
- Richard Widmark
- Carroll Baker
- Karl Malden
- Sal Mineo
- Dolores del Río
- Ricardo Montalban
- Gilbert Roland
- Arthur Kennedy
- James Stewart
- Edward G. Robinson
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- TCM
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Cheyenne Autumn about?
- A sweeping, elegiac western follows a starving Cheyenne community's perilous return home and the cavalry officer whose pursuit becomes an act of conscience.
- What is Cheyenne Autumn like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Cheyenne Autumn as slow, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Cheyenne Autumn violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in Cheyenne Autumn as moderate.
- What did critics think of Cheyenne Autumn?
- Critics broadly admired the film's magnificent cinematography, historical seriousness, and elegiac ambition while faulting its excessive length, episodic structure, and uneven dramatic writing.
- Which films are like Cheyenne Autumn?
- Films with a similar feel include The Searchers, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The Last of the Mohicans, and Little Big Man.
- How long is Cheyenne Autumn?
- Cheyenne Autumn runs 157 minutes.
- Where can I watch Cheyenne Autumn?
- In United States, Cheyenne Autumn streams on TCM.
