Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

The movie runs out of plot and jokes well before the end of a two-hour running time, long for a light comedy.

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

RELEASED TO TV IN EARLY 1991 and directed by Mike Robe, "Son of the Morning Star" chronicles the story of George Armstrong Custer (Gary Cole) after the Civil War and to his death at Little Bighorn on June 25, 1876. The story is narrated from the different perspectives of two women: Custer's wife (Rosanna Arquette) and a Cheyenne woman, Kate Bighead (Buffy Sainte-Marie/ Kimberly Guerrero). This was originally shown in two parts on TV 2.5 months after the theatrical release of 1990's "Dances with Wolves." Kevin Costner, the star of "Dances," was even the first choice to play Custer, but he opted for the superior project. Speaking of "Dances with Wolves," "Son of the Morning Star" is very similar in tone, as well as other realistic Westerns of the general era, like "Conagher" (1991). But, despite the gushing of fans, it ain't no "Dances with Wolves." It's just nowhere near as absorbing; and is more akin to semi-tedious history lessons like "Gettysburg" (1993) and "Geronimo: An American Legend" (1993). If the creators would've cut out at least an hour of material it would've made for a more compelling watch, but they HAD to fill out two 2 hour spots (with commercials) to make it a 2-part "mini-series."Still, it's a fairly interesting history lesson and superior to absurd Westerns that tackle the same subject, like "Custer of the West" (1967). Everything leads up to the Battle of Little Bighorn in the last quarter of the movie and it's worth the wait. At a certain point you can see on Custer's face the horror that there were just too many fired-up Indians and he & his men weren't going to make it out alive. It's as if he was thinking: "What the **** did I get us into?" The humbled man was 36 years-old. THE MOVIE RUNS 3 hours 7 minutes and was shot on private property near the Little Bighorn National Monument in Montana close to Billings, where a fort was built for $200,000, and South Dakota at Buffalo Gap and Badlands National Park. ADDITIONAL MAIN CHARACTERS: Crazy Horse (Rodney A. Grant), Capt. Benteen (David Strathairn), Ulysses S. Grant (Stanley Anderson), Gen. Sherman (George Dickerson) and Gen. Philip Sheridan (Dean Stockwell). WRITERS: Evan S. Connell (book) and Melissa Mathison (teleplay). GRADE: B-/C+

I enjoyed this movie. It seemed to provide a fairly accurate illustration of the history of this event. They seemed to be trying to produce something with substance. But, I did not think the casting was even remotely correct for this story. Gary Cole may be excellent at his trade, but he does not have a battle hardened look in this movie and gives the impression of not being used to violence. This is just the look in his eyes, his mannerisms and speaking voice. David Strathairn may also be an excellent actor, but does not have the look of someone who rode through a war and had become battle hardened, as his character Capt. William F. Benteen appeared. He gives an almost intimidated appearance throughout the movie. The real Benteen had a childlike appearance, but looked as ruthless as a snake. Major Marcus Reno was portrayed by Michael Medeiros, who has done fine work for years. In this movie he has a permanently fixed expression of terror and bewilderment throughout the entire film. These characters were all men who had seen death, were used to violence and were ready for battle, but in the movie they all look like pampered business men facing a task they are not qualified to perform. Although I liked the film, I would enjoy a story of this nature, which would have a cast of people whose "vibes" were more in line with the story. That being said, it is an enjoyable film and presents a fairly accurate representation of what history tells us actually happened.

To All Son Of The morning star fans"this is a great war movie especially one made exclusively for TV. It needs to be released on DVD soon!!!!!! What needs to be done to have this film released on DVD? Very few films have capture the historic facts of this time period while also creating a very exciting film. We all really want this movie released on DVD! what's the problem? is Republic pictures still a viable entity? Is there someone we can contact to encourage them to release this film on DVD? What about the actors and actresses that were in this production possibly they could use their influence to persuade the producers to release this movie on DVD are there any plans from Hollywood to create different movies from the same time period? That would be exciting and something to look forward to.We hope it gets released very soon!!!

A very good bio-pic as it closely follows the facts. Based upon the Book "Son of the Morningstar" by Evan S. Connell (1984). Gary Cole does a good job in a drama role as opposed to the many comedy roles he's done more recently. The bleakness of the plains and the futility of the events leading up to the Little Bighorn drag the movie down in its tone at times, but then this is a Last Stand saga. It presents the Native American Point of View and presents Custer's demise as a combination of his own folly and bad decisions by the US government. More time could have been spent on Custer's life up to and during the Civil War, he was at Appomattox, received Lee's flag of surrender and was present at the signing of the surrender (and rode away with the table General Lee signed the surrender on!). He remains the US Army's youngest general to date. The movie rather focuses on Custer's life as an Indian fighter.Noted historian Stephen Ambrose (who wrote "Crazy Horse and Custer") supported the possibility that Custer may have fathered a child out of wedlock with an Indian woman, a point covered in the movie and a major plot element. Robert Utley, former superintendent of the Little Bighorn Battlefield, noted a letter in his book "Cavalier in Buckskin" by one of Custer's own officers that asserted such a relationship existed (Capt. Benteen, one of Custer's officers at the Little Bighorn). This is still a debatable point and Custer may have been sterile as a result of acquiring a STD during his West Point Days, according to some historians.