The Outsider is not your average movie. It is not your average war film and it is not even your average biopic. It is a very dramatic true story that really makes you think.
The Outsider tells the true story of the Indian that raised the flag on Iwo Jima with the five other marines. He is Ira Hayes, one of the most reluctant heroes you will ever see. As a young Pima man on the reservation, Ira decides to enlist in the Marines. He talks it over with his chief and then he is off to honor his tribe. I don't think they make the Marine Corps look tough enough, but the scenes are good when he is writing home to his family, telling them how great things are, even when they could be better.
Along the way, Hayes makes a friend, Sorenson. There is a scene when Sorenson and some of the other marines get drunk. When they are literally pouring liquor down Ira's throat, a brawl ensues. The fight scene between Hayes and Sorenson plays out very realistically. When they're through beating the hell out of each other, they're sorry. Hayes keeps the drunk Sorenson out of trouble and the two bond. Their time under fire on Iwo Jima only strengthens their bond. Sorenson is even there to raise the flag with Ira and the others. Knowing the impact that flag raising had and what it symbolized, you would assume it was a high point in Ira's life. But it actually leads to his downfall.
After Sorenson is killed, Ira Hayes and the two other flag raisers that are left, Rene Gagnon and Doc Bradley, are shipped home. Upon arriving they receive a hero's welcome. They are there to go on a tour around the country to sell war bonds. Ira hates the whole idea. He can't stomach being called a hero. Hayes is riddled with guilt for cashing in on, what he feels, is a lie. It is also eating him up inside that he survived and all of his friends were killed. In Ira's book, they were better men than him.
After a while it is more than he can bear. Ira takes up drinking and his life goes downhill. He drinks and drinks his life away to escape all of his sadness and guilt. At one point in the movie, Ira Hayes is mentioned alongside Jim Thorpe, another Indian hero. The saddest thing about that is they both became alcoholics and died young.
I actually found this to be a well-made film. Tony Curtis' acting was great. I think Curtis was even better than Adam Beach in the role of Ira Hayes. I would definitely call it one of his best performances. I've seen Flags of Our Fathers, but I'd have to say the portrayal of Hayes in The Outsider is much better. Thanks to Tony Curtis and the great script, I actually found it to be more believable. This movie really shows you Ira's guilt and anger. One of the best scenes is the one when his friend Jay comes to visit him. The great Indian hero of Iwo Jima is now working as a janitor. Jay can see how much Ira has changed. Jay asks Ira what happened to the Pima boy he used to know. Ira yells that he never came back. Ira also says that he's got no right to be there. Another great part is the part when Ira meets Sorenson's mother. It is a very heartwarming scene and it kind of reminds you of the scene in Flags of Our Fathers when Hayes meets Mike Strank's mother.
Before I saw this movie, I wondered why they called it The Outsider and then I realized it was because Ira Hayes could not find a place he belonged when he got back from the war. They never do tell you in the movie that Hayes has Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, but it's plain to see all of the screams on that island of men dying really weighed on him. The Outsider isn't even a violent movie. You are left to use your imagination.
I didn't like how they only talk about one of Ira's friends in the movie, Sorenson, who wasn't even a real person. The movie should've talked more about his other friends and it should've talked more about his interaction with Gagnon and Bradley. I also think there should've been more battle scenes. It would've added a lot more to the film. The ending was a little inaccurate too. They showed Ira Hayes losing his guilt and finding his way back home, only to lose all hope when he isn't elected on the council. The truth is, his feelings never did change. After attending the ceremony portrayed in the movie, Ira never did find hope. He did however go back to the reservation. But the part about not getting elected isn't true. One night Hayes drank himself to death. In reality, Ira Hayes passed out in a hut and he ended up dying from exposure. In the movie they really dramatize his death. Instead, they show him climb to the top of a mountain of despair. He realizes that he doesn't belong anywhere anymore. He gets drunk and passes out on the mountaintop. It is inaccurate, but one of the most original death scenes I've seen. It was very well shot. As he's passing out you can see the camera in a first person view going out of focus.
Overall, The Outsider is a great movie and a classic that deserves more recognition and a DVD release. Don't miss this one. If you can get a hold of it, definitely see it.
The Outsider tells the true story of the Indian that raised the flag on Iwo Jima with the five other marines. He is Ira Hayes, one of the most reluctant heroes you will ever see. As a young Pima man on the reservation, Ira decides to enlist in the Marines. He talks it over with his chief and then he is off to honor his tribe. I don't think they make the Marine Corps look tough enough, but the scenes are good when he is writing home to his family, telling them how great things are, even when they could be better.
Along the way, Hayes makes a friend, Sorenson. There is a scene when Sorenson and some of the other marines get drunk. When they are literally pouring liquor down Ira's throat, a brawl ensues. The fight scene between Hayes and Sorenson plays out very realistically. When they're through beating the hell out of each other, they're sorry. Hayes keeps the drunk Sorenson out of trouble and the two bond. Their time under fire on Iwo Jima only strengthens their bond. Sorenson is even there to raise the flag with Ira and the others. Knowing the impact that flag raising had and what it symbolized, you would assume it was a high point in Ira's life. But it actually leads to his downfall.
After Sorenson is killed, Ira Hayes and the two other flag raisers that are left, Rene Gagnon and Doc Bradley, are shipped home. Upon arriving they receive a hero's welcome. They are there to go on a tour around the country to sell war bonds. Ira hates the whole idea. He can't stomach being called a hero. Hayes is riddled with guilt for cashing in on, what he feels, is a lie. It is also eating him up inside that he survived and all of his friends were killed. In Ira's book, they were better men than him.
After a while it is more than he can bear. Ira takes up drinking and his life goes downhill. He drinks and drinks his life away to escape all of his sadness and guilt. At one point in the movie, Ira Hayes is mentioned alongside Jim Thorpe, another Indian hero. The saddest thing about that is they both became alcoholics and died young.
I actually found this to be a well-made film. Tony Curtis' acting was great. I think Curtis was even better than Adam Beach in the role of Ira Hayes. I would definitely call it one of his best performances. I've seen Flags of Our Fathers, but I'd have to say the portrayal of Hayes in The Outsider is much better. Thanks to Tony Curtis and the great script, I actually found it to be more believable. This movie really shows you Ira's guilt and anger. One of the best scenes is the one when his friend Jay comes to visit him. The great Indian hero of Iwo Jima is now working as a janitor. Jay can see how much Ira has changed. Jay asks Ira what happened to the Pima boy he used to know. Ira yells that he never came back. Ira also says that he's got no right to be there. Another great part is the part when Ira meets Sorenson's mother. It is a very heartwarming scene and it kind of reminds you of the scene in Flags of Our Fathers when Hayes meets Mike Strank's mother.
Before I saw this movie, I wondered why they called it The Outsider and then I realized it was because Ira Hayes could not find a place he belonged when he got back from the war. They never do tell you in the movie that Hayes has Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, but it's plain to see all of the screams on that island of men dying really weighed on him. The Outsider isn't even a violent movie. You are left to use your imagination.
I didn't like how they only talk about one of Ira's friends in the movie, Sorenson, who wasn't even a real person. The movie should've talked more about his other friends and it should've talked more about his interaction with Gagnon and Bradley. I also think there should've been more battle scenes. It would've added a lot more to the film. The ending was a little inaccurate too. They showed Ira Hayes losing his guilt and finding his way back home, only to lose all hope when he isn't elected on the council. The truth is, his feelings never did change. After attending the ceremony portrayed in the movie, Ira never did find hope. He did however go back to the reservation. But the part about not getting elected isn't true. One night Hayes drank himself to death. In reality, Ira Hayes passed out in a hut and he ended up dying from exposure. In the movie they really dramatize his death. Instead, they show him climb to the top of a mountain of despair. He realizes that he doesn't belong anywhere anymore. He gets drunk and passes out on the mountaintop. It is inaccurate, but one of the most original death scenes I've seen. It was very well shot. As he's passing out you can see the camera in a first person view going out of focus.
Overall, The Outsider is a great movie and a classic that deserves more recognition and a DVD release. Don't miss this one. If you can get a hold of it, definitely see it.