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Little Big Man (1970)

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Average Rating: 7.9/10
Reviews Counted: 25
Fresh: 24 | Rotten: 1

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Average Rating: N/A
Critic Reviews: 2
Fresh: 2 | Rotten: 0

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Average Rating: 3.8/5
User Ratings: 16,088

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Movie Info

Recounting how the West was won through the eyes of a white man raised as a Native American, Arthur Penn's 1970 adaptation of Thomas Berger's satirical novel was a comic yet stinging allegory about the bloody results of American imperialism. As a misguided 20th-century historian listens, 121-year-old Jack Crabb (Dustin Hoffman) narrates the story of being the only white survivor of Custer's Last Stand. White orphan Crabb was adopted by the Cheyenne, renamed "Little Big Man," and raised in the

PG-13, 2 hr. 19 min.

Western, Action & Adventure, Classics

Directed By: Arthur Penn

Written By: Calder Willingham

In Theaters: Dec 14, 1970 Wide

On DVD: Apr 29, 2003

Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment

Little Big Man Trailer & Photos

Cast

Dustin Hoffman
Jack Crabb
Faye Dunaway
Mrs. Pendrake
Martin Balsam
Merriweather
Richard Mulligan
Gen. George A. Custer
Chief Dan George
Old Lodge Skins
Jeff Corey
Wild Bill Hickok
Kelly Jean Peters
Olga
Carol Androsky
Caroline
Cal Bellini
Younger Bear
Ray Dimas
Young Jack Crabb
Alan Howard
Adolescent Jack Crabb
James Anderson
Sergeant
Jack Bannon
Captain
Don Brodie
Stage Passenger
Emily Cho
Digging Bear
Bert Conway
Bartender
Lou Cutell
Deacon
Thayer David
Rev. Silas Pendrake
Aimee Eccles
Sunshine
William Hickey
Historian
Phil Kenneally
Mr. Kane
Ken Mayer
Sergeant
Ruben Moreno
Shadow that Comes at Ni...
Jack Mullaney
Card Player
Herbert Nelson
Alan Oppenheimer
Major
Steve Shemayne
Burns Red In The Sun
Robert Little Star
Little Horse
M. Emmet Walsh
Shotgun Guard
Jesse Vint
Lieutenant
Helen Verbit
Madame
Leonard George
Crow Scout
Bud Cokes
Man at Bar

Critic Reviews for Little Big Man

All Critics (28) | Top Critics (4) | Fresh (26) | Rotten (2) | DVD (11)

Might it be a serious attempt to right some unretrievable wrong via gallows humor which avoids the polemics? This seems to be the course taken; the attempt at least can be respected in theory.

June 11, 2008 Full Review Source: Variety

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Variety

Top Critic

An endlessly entertaining attempt to spin an epic in the form of a yarn.

October 23, 2004 Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times

| Comment

Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

Top Critic

Arthur Penn offers a new take of the culture clash between the White men and Native Americans in this revisionist. satirical, tone-shifting Western starring Dustin Hoffman and Faye Dunaway.

September 30, 2010 Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com

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Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com Source: EmanuelLevy.Com

Penn seems to have little feel for the Western genre, but despite that the amazing thing is that this mock epic Western came out as well as it did.

April 21, 2008 Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews

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Dennis Schwartz

Ozus' World Movie Reviews

This outraged reconfiguration of an all-American genre may be set in the Wild West, but it's also very much a bulletin of its time.

August 30, 2003 Full Review Source: PopMatters

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Elbert Ventura

PopMatters

Easily one of the most entertaining (and presently overlooked) Westerns of the early 1970s.

August 26, 2003 Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com

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Scott Weinberg

eFilmCritic.com

More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Little Big Man

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one of the more unusual westerns ever made and one of my favorite films as a kid. starring dustin hoffman as a supposedly 121 yr old man, the only white survivor of the battle of the little big horn. ranging from black comedy to drama to slapstick and back, it's a highly entertaining picaresque and also one of the

November 2, 2007

Stella Dallas

Super Reviewer

Dustin Hoffman turns out a great but overlooked performance as a 121 year-old man who tells his life story. Little Big Man is a good movie but has a tone that changes way too much for its own good. It hits everything from black comedy to slapstick to heartbreaking. Just like with the movie Little Big Man is a precursor

November 5, 2006

Michael Gildea

Super Reviewer

Little Big Man Quotes

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1. Shotgun Guard: Goodby, Hello.
– Submitted by Tim R (25 days ago)
1. Old Lodge Skins: Sometimes the magic works, sometimes it doesn't.
– Submitted by Geoff B (2 months ago)
1. Burns Red In The Sun: There is a pain between my ears that I do not understand.
– Submitted by Geoff B (2 months ago)
1. Jack Crabb: Might I ask who I are addressin'?
– Submitted by Geoff B (2 months ago)

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