Bless the Beasts and the Children

[orleans]

just watched it on indemand (1971)

i was wondering if the footage of the buffalo being killed was real and apparently it was from an acutal "buffalo shoot"



"Veteran film-maker Stanley Kramer, more suited to big budget films like It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World, decided to take on Swarthout's novel, even going so far as to film an actual buffalo shoot. Telling the excited hunters that he was producing a documentary, Kramer was able to capture some horrifying footage of the random slaughter, much of which remains in the film. When the hunters discovered "what was really going on" Kramer and crew were ordered off the reservation. Using a cast of largely unknowns, Kramer faithfully brought the book to the big screen. Although minor changes were made to some of the book's elements and structure, Bless the Beasts & Children as a film was a powerhouse, remaining to this day one of my favorites and certainly one of the more honest films about kids. Considering that it was released in 1971, the film's language and some material were quite startling at the time. It it still as effective today."
http://brokentoyproject_1.tripod.com/id19.html