A very weak Altman film, all the weaker because it came out the year after one of Altman's best works: "Nashville." "Buffalo Bill..." is one of the most savagely satiric films from a director known for savage satire. Unfortunately, it's also a one-joke film, whose joke is given away in the first five minutes, leaving the film nowhere to go. Paul Newman plays Buffalo Bill as a complete buffoon, surrounded by yes-men and lackeys. He practically buys ex-Indian chief Sitting Bull for his Wild West show, and what we suffer through is scene after scene of white men making asses of themselves while native American Indians nobly and quietly observe and judge them. It's two hours of smug finger pointing at oblivious Caucasians for raping and pillaging the American frontier.

All of Altman's films have the feel of coming together in the editing room, and many times this approach to structure results in inspired moments, but "Buffalo Bill" feels even more than usual like a film without a center. There's no narrative thread to hold it together, so it has a wandering and monotonous quality. Also, it doesn't help that Altman's shooting style is uncharacteristically distant. There are virtually no close-ups in the entire picture, so scene after scene is photographed in medium and long shots. Both the screenplay and the camera keep us at a distance; as a result, we never become engaged in the action.

A definitive misfire.

Grade: C

Don't see this film if you don't like sarcasm! It's not as much about the history behind Buffalo Bill and his Wild West show as it is about making fun of the racist attitudes present in many Western films. There are also some good laughs available when Annie Oakley shoots and her "target" flinches with anxiety.

The satire also explores the way Bill runs his show, or the way any CEO might run a company, and whether truth or entertainment is more important to the crowd. The truth Sitting Bull wishes to bring to the people is much less important to Bill than are his ticket sales. The juxtaposition of Sitting Bull's meekness and the way Bill portrays him in the show as a murderous, ruthless warrior is really brilliant.

"Buffalo Bill and the Indians" is a Robert Altman film....and it shows by its style. Altman's films are often typified by being slice of life stories with LOTS of vignettes and little in the way of plot. This is the case with "M*A*S*H*", "Smile" and "The Player", among others, and critics seem to adore his films. As for me, sometimes they work well ("The Player") and often I just find myself bored ("Smile" and "Buffalo Bill and the Indians").

Instead of a traditional plot, the film is like a slice of life AND like walking around a cocktail party silently listening to the various conversations. In this case, it is set at Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show and occurs when he is able to secure the services of Sitting Bull in his production. But it's not just about him and Sittling Bull...it involves lots of subplots that really seem to prevent there being much in the way of plots...just many subplots that never really come together.

Overall, I found the film very boring. The only thing I appareciated is how the film rightfully points out that much of Bill's mystique was built on lies and exaggerations...which was true. Was he actually as awful as he's portrayed in the movie? Perhaps....more likely not. But the film, to me, just seemed disjoint and difficult to like despite having Paul Newman in the lead.