"Little Big Man" (1970) - Director Arthur Penn's Underrated Inspiration for Forrest Gump (Really!), Starring Dustin Hoffman

[DonRocks]

I'd heard about "Little Big Man" since it was released in 1970, but had never seen it until the past two days. After having seen it through, I can say that it's one of the finest, little-known American films, post-1970, that I'm aware of. It's a magical story, and yes, I truly believe that it was a major inspiration for "Forrest Gump"; I don't see how it could have possibly been otherwise.

Dustin Hoffman plays 121-year-old Jack Crabb - the oldest man in the world, and the only white survivor from the Battle of the Little Big Horn, i.e., "Custer's Last Stand."

Hoffman's grotesque makeup is mercifully shown for only the small parts of the movie; the rest of it is shown in flashback, and what magical flashback it is, too - Hoffman's "right place at the right time" tendencies were surely an inspiration for "Forrest Gump" - once you see it, you'll notice the same thing.

You'll meet General George Custer (nailed by Richard Mulligan) and Wild Bill Hickok (Martin Balsam) along the way.

This fairly long film (about 2'20") is well-worth the time to watch, and is a wonderful "yarn" (as Roger Ebert puts it). This has a 96% critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and it deserves it.

It is an *extremely* progressive film, dealing with Native Americans as intelligent, philosophical people, and even introducing what surely must be the first-ever gay native-American role in cinematic history (does anyone know of any earlier than this?) Bigamy plays a large role in one scene, and I suspect the two of these really pissed off some conservative critics, but not any more.

This is a fine movie, that may be one of the better movies, post-1970, that you've never heard of - do yourself a favor and watch it.

[DIShGo]

I really enjoyed "Little Big Man." Two of my favorite performances were by Chief Dan George as Old Lodge Skins, and Faye Dunaway as Louise Pendrake (aka Lulu Kane). I love the way the film ended. The director deviated from the book's finale, and the result perfectly suits the movie's tone.

Chief Dan George received a well-deserved Academy Award nomination for his work in this film. Dunaway, who impressed me with her dramatic roles in "Bonnie and Clyde," "Chinatown" and "Network," shows off her comedic skills in "Little Big Man" as the sexually frustrated wife of a minister who later turns to prostitution.

I certainly see how this film influenced "Forrest Gump," and perhaps "Orlando" as well. This is an entertaining movie that I highly recommend.