Educational Media Reviews Online

William Cody earned his nickname of Buffalo Bill with his remarkable marksmanship on buffalo hunts in the Old West. He shot an average of 12 per day. Cody once remarked, however, that the hide hunters were the real culprits who brought the great buffalo herds of over 40 million down to less than 1500 by the turn of the century. In fact, Cody owned a significant number of these 1500 bison for his Wild West show.

Buffalo Bill embodied the mythical, perhaps fanciful, hero of "winning the Old West." He performed reenactments of his experiences as a Civil War scout, a scout in the Indian Wars, and as a buffalo hunter in theaters and in his own outdoor spectacle, the Wild West Show. Cody was also represented in dime novels of the day. He became a global superstar when he brought his show and his accompaniment of American Indians to Europe. Europeans had never seen anything like it. American Indians, including Sitting Bull, participated in this show to exhibit and glorify their way of life which was now disappearing. Cody also introduced the sharpshooter Annie Oakely to the world.

This film is a well-done documentary which offers narrated pieces of memoirs, letters, etc. It adequately addresses criticisms of Cody, such as his buffalo hunts and battles with Indians. The film provides a good profile of Cody's personality. Recommended for any library and for audiences high school age and up.