Fails the Bechdel test
Thunderheart
1992. Directed by Michael Apted, written by John Fusco.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
1 / 3
Fails
-
Yes
1. At least two women
The film has at least two women characters. -
No
2. Who talk to each other
Our parser found no scene where two women talk to each other. -
No
3. About something besides a man
Not reached: the film fails an earlier rule.
Second opinion
Not rated bechdeltest.com readers haven't rated this film.
The film
An FBI man with Sioux background is sent to a reservation to help with a murder investigation, where he has to come to terms with his heritage. Slowly he rejects the intimidating tactics of his fellow FBI agents, who are not so interested in solving the crime as covering up an incriminating situation with the locals, and as he becomes more tuned to his heritage, the locals begin trusting him. Based on actual Reservation occurrences of the '70s.
- Released
- 03 Apr 1992
- Genres
- Crime, Mystery, Thriller
- Rated
- R
- IMDb
- 6.8 / 10
- Metascore
- 58 / 100
- Awards
- 2 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Ray 270 lines, man
- Cooch 142 lines, man
- Crow Horse 140 lines, man
- Maggie 27 lines, woman
- Yellow Bird 22 lines, man
- Radio 18 lines
- Tully 13 lines, man
- Clear Moon 11 lines, man
- Sherman 10 lines, man
- Carl 8 lines, man
Full cast, 44 people
- Val Kilmer as Ray Levoi
- Sam Shepard as Frank Coutelle
- Graham Greene as Walter Crow Horse
- Fred Ward as Jack Milton
- Fred Thompson as William Dawes
- Sheila Tousey as Maggie Eagle Bear
- Ted Thin Elk as Grandpa Sam Reaches
- John Trudell as Jimmy Looks Twice
- Julius Drum as Richard Yellow Hawk
- Sarah Brave as Maisy Blue Legs
- Allan R.J. Joseph as Leo Fast Elk
- Sylvan Pumpkin Seed as Hobart
- Patrick Massett as Agent Mackey
- Rex Linn as FBI Agent
- Brian A. O'Meara as FBI Agent
- Duane Brewer as Ranger
- Lewis C. Bradshaw as Ranger
- Dennis Banks as Self
- Candy Hamilton as School Teacher
- Jerome Mack as Maggie's Kid
- Tom M. LeBeau as Ray's Father
- Bridgit P. Schock as Ray's Mother
- Terry Graber as Doctor
- David Crosby as Bartender
- Jerry Allan as Drunken Brawler
- Gordon Patterson as Helicopter Pilot
- Robin J. Saderup as Helicopter Pilot
- Buddy Red Bow as Man at Powwow
- Sam Adams as Lakota Singer
- Robin Black Bird as Lakota Singer
- Floyd Charging Crow as Lakota Singer
- Elroy Cross as Lakota Singer
- Charles Davis as Lakota Singer
- Ernest Red Elk as Lakota Singer
- Kenneth J. Richards as Lakota Singer
- Severt Young Bear Sr. as Lakota Singer
- Carlin Orville Morrison as Powwow Singer
- Verland Theodore Phelps as Powwow Singer
- Calvin Timothy Red Elk Sr. as Powwow Singer
- Tim Owen Taggart as Powwow Singer
- Melvin Young Bear as Powwow Singer
- Mike Breyer as Army Private (uncredited)
- Tony D. Head as FBI Agent (uncredited)
- Jason R. Lone Hill as (uncredited)
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 3 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 5% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 100
Hover, tap or tab to a bar to see those scenes: where they happen and who's talking.
Show the numbers
| Scenes | Women's lines | Men's lines |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 to 6 | 0 | 28 |
| 7 to 9 | 0 | 29 |
| 10 to 12 | 0 | 77 |
| 13 to 15 | 0 | 5 |
| 16 to 18 | 0 | 20 |
| 19 to 21 | 1 | 47 |
| 22 to 24 | 0 | 36 |
| 25 to 27 | 0 | 29 |
| 28 to 30 | 0 | 29 |
| 31 to 33 | 12 | 34 |
| 34 to 36 | 0 | 26 |
| 37 to 39 | 0 | 45 |
| 40 to 42 | 0 | 24 |
| 43 to 45 | 0 | 8 |
| 46 to 48 | 16 | 47 |
| 49 to 51 | 0 | 7 |
| 52 to 54 | 0 | 16 |
| 55 to 57 | 0 | 7 |
| 58 to 60 | 0 | 42 |
| 61 to 63 | 0 | 0 |
| 64 to 66 | 0 | 9 |
| 67 to 69 | 0 | 33 |
| 70 to 72 | 0 | 4 |
| 73 to 75 | 0 | 9 |
| 76 to 78 | 0 | 20 |
| 79 to 81 | 0 | 2 |
| 82 to 84 | 0 | 2 |
| 85 to 87 | 0 | 7 |
| 88 to 90 | 0 | 2 |
| 91 to 93 | 0 | 6 |
| 94 to 96 | 0 | 4 |
| 97 to 99 | 0 | 21 |
| 100 to 100 | 0 | 1 |
The evidence
- Straight from the script
- Counted from the script and the credits
Tap an exhibit to open it.
Exhibit A: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 4 are women's.
29 lines from women, 676 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit B: who's in it
1 women and 15 men in the cast. 1 women and 5 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 207 of 746.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 206 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 7% of the words (624), men 93% (8,506). Women have 4% of the lines, so their lines run longer than men's.
Exhibit D: the test the other way
Two named men talk to each other about something besides a woman. It passes the reverse test.
Conversations between two named characters
Two women
0
Two men
58
Exhibit E: behind the camera
2 of the 11 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 20% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Michael Apted (man)
- Written by
- John Fusco (man)
- Produced by
- John Fusco (man), Robert De Niro (man), Jane Rosenthal (woman)
- Shot by
- Roger Deakins (man)
- Edited by
- Ian Crafford (man)
- Music by
- James Horner (man)
- Production design by
- Dan Bishop (man)
- Costumes by
- Susan Lyall (woman)
- Cast by
- Lisa Clarkson (gender not listed)
The crew, department by department
-
Other crew
1 women, 14 men, 13 not listed
-
Sound
4 women, 8 men, 5 not listed
-
Camera
0 women, 7 men, 5 not listed
-
Production
3 women, 5 men, 2 not listed
-
Directing
1 women, 6 men
-
Art
1 women, 4 men, 1 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
2 women, 0 men, 3 not listed
-
Editing
0 women, 1 men, 1 not listed
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit F: how old the stars were
Women: 31 on average. Men: 48 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Sheila Tousey 31
Men
Val Kilmer 32, Graham Greene 39, John Trudell 46, Sam Shepard 48, Fred Ward 49, Fred Thompson 49, Ted Thin Elk 72
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 100 scenes and 746 lines of dialogue. How the test works
