Back to trending
Flaming Star

Flaming Star

Western · 1960

Pacer Burton, a young man of mixed Kiowa and white heritage, is caught between two worlds as conflict erupts between Native Americans and white settlers in Texas.

Movie details

Flaming Star

“CHOOSE!... Between your white father and your Kiowa mother !”

1960 Western 1h 32m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.5 / 10

Community rating

Pacer Burton, a young man of mixed Kiowa and white heritage, is caught between two worlds as conflict erupts between Native Americans and white settlers in Texas.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Flaming Star?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

Ramrod

Ramrod

Western · 1947

A cattle-vs.-sheepman feud loses Connie Dickason her fiance, but gains her his ranch, which she determines to run alone in opposition to Frank Ivey, "boss" of the valley, whom her father Ben wanted her to marry. She hires recovering alcoholic Dave Nash as foreman and a crew of Ivey's enemies. Ivey fights back with violence and destruction, but Dave is determined to counter him legally... a feeling not shared by his associates. Connie's boast that, as a woman, she doesn't need guns proves justified, but plenty of gunplay results.

Bonanza: The Return

Bonanza: The Return

Western · 1993

A man with a grudge against the late Little Joe seeks revenge on the Cartwrights and attempts to take over the Ponderosa.

Nevada Smith

Nevada Smith

Western · 1966

Nevada Smith is the alias of Max Sand, the son of an Indian mother and American father. When they are killed by three men over gold, Nevada sets out to avenge them. The young man is taken in by a gun merchant who shows him how to shoot, on time and correctly.

Duel at Diablo

Duel at Diablo

Western · 1966

In Apache territory, a supply Army column heads for the next fort, an ex-scout searches for the killer of his Native wife, and a housewife abandons her husband to rejoin her Apache lover's tribe.

Day of the Outlaw

Day of the Outlaw

Western · 1959

Blaise Starrett is a rancher at odds with homesteaders when outlaws hold up the small town. The outlaws are held in check only by their notorious leader, but he is diagnosed with a fatal wound and the town is a powder keg waiting to blow.

Firecreek

Firecreek

Western · 1968

A peace-loving, part-time sheriff in the small town of Firecreek must take a stand when a gang of vicious outlaws takes over his town.

True Grit

True Grit

Western · 1969

The murder of her father sends a teenage tomboy on a mission of 'justice', which involves avenging her father's death. She recruits a tough old marshal, 'Rooster' Cogburn because he has 'true grit', and a reputation of getting the job done.

Return of the Gunfighter

Return of the Gunfighter

Western · 1967

A gunfighter and a cowboy help a Mexican girl avenge the land-related murder of her parents.

The Dead Don't Hurt

The Dead Don't Hurt

Western · 2024

In the 1860s, fiercely independent French-Canadian Vivienne Le Coudy embarks on a journey with Danish immigrant Holger Olsen, attempting to forge a life together in the dusty town of Elk Flats, Nevada. When Holger decides to go fight for the Union in the burgeoning Civil War, Vivienne must fend for herself, which isn't easy in a town controlled by a corrupt mayor.

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee

Western · 2007

Beginning just after the bloody Sioux victory over General Custer at Little Big Horn, the story is told through two unique perspectives: Charles Eastman, a young, white-educated Sioux doctor held up as living proof of the alleged success of assimilation, and Sitting Bull the proud Lakota chief whose tribe won the American Indians’ last major victory at Little Big Horn.

Where it lives

Watch in your region.

Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.

Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.

Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Don Siegel

Written by

Clair Huffaker · Nunnally Johnson

Elvis Presley

Elvis Presley

Pacer Burton

Barbara Eden

Barbara Eden

Roslyn Pierce

Steve Forrest

Steve Forrest

Clint Burton

Dolores del Río

Dolores del Río

Neddy Burton

John McIntire

John McIntire

Sam Burton

Rodolfo Acosta

Rodolfo Acosta

Buffalo Horn

Karl Swenson

Karl Swenson

Dred Pierce

Court is in session

Put Flaming Star on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Auteur Devotee

“Patience is part of the point.”

Duration becomes texture. The film asks you to inhabit its world instead of merely processing its plot.

The prosecution The Adrenaline Seeker

“A test of endurance, your honour.”

Stillness keeps submitting itself as meaning. At some point, contemplation needs something worth contemplating.