New Online Film 'Bighorn' Explores General Custer's Super Bowl Connection

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Alfred Thomas Catalfo and Glenn Gardner

Jan 27, 2011, 07:25 ET

BOSTON, Jan. 27, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Did a last-minute decision by George Armstrong Custer at the fateful Battle of the Little Bighorn affect the outcome of a Super Bowl?

That's the strange but intriguing premise behind "Bighorn," a 15-minute, supernatural historical fantasy based on a true story: In 1876, General Custer's bandmaster Felix Vinatieri -- an Italian immigrant and the great-great-grandfather of NFL kicker Adam Vinatieri -- was ordered to stay behind at the 7th Cavalry's Powder River camp and missed the Battle of the Little Bighorn where Custer and his entire regiment were annihilated.

The Twilight Zone-ish tale takes place in 2002 -- when the New England Patriots won their first Super Bowl on Adam Vinatieri's last-second, 48-yard kick -- and in 1876.

"Bighorn" can be viewed free online at http://www.BighornMovie.com

"Had Felix Vinatieri died at the Little Bighorn, Adam would never have been born," said writer/director Alfred Thomas Catalfo. "I thought that was a poignant commentary about how tenuous life is, and that a path taken, or not taken, by a person can have an effect even generations later."

"Bighorn" is the latest from award-winning filmmakers Catalfo, writer/director of the Internet hit "The Norman Rockwell Code" and winner of 21 major screenwriting competitions, and Glenn Gardner, producer of the film, "Sniffer," that won the prestigious Palm d'Or, the top overall award at the Cannes Film Festival.

"I remember saying that my next film would be simple and easy," said Catalfo, a personal injury attorney. "The next thing I know I'm directing Custer's Last Stand with mounted cavalry charging, soldiers firing period weapons, arrows flying, and a very ornery herd of buffalo -- on a film with a $5000 budget."

After a script review and several months of negotiations, the NFL granted the filmmakers permission to use footage of Adam Vinatieri's game-winning field goal in the 2002 Super Bowl. Vinatieri, now with the Indianapolis Colts, is widely regarded as the greatest clutch kicker of all time.

Custer is portrayed by Steve Alexander, honored by the United States Congress as "the foremost Custer living historian." He has appeared as Custer in the annual Real Bird Native American re-enactment of the Battle of the Little Bighorn on the original battlefield, on the History Channel, and at West Point. Alexander lives in Custer's former home in Monroe, Michigan.

"Though the story is primarily fiction, Custer enthusiasts talked to us about the importance of historical accuracy," Catalfo says. The filmmakers made sure that everything from Custer's twin Webley British Bulldog revolvers to Felix Vinatieri's period cornet to Native American Bill Watkinson's Lakota singing were authentic.

Catalfo's previous film "The Norman Rockwell Code" made The Must List in Entertainment Weekly, had more than one million hits on the Web in less than three months, and was selected by the Library of Congress for inclusion in its Film Collection that features works by American filmmakers chosen on the basis of their historical, cultural or aesthetic significance.

Catalfo and Gardner have several feature film projects in development.