Bite the Bullet (1975)

Simply A Masterpiece

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

I saw this picture for first time in 1992 with a low grade,right now seen that they made with the horses l stayed upset by such stupid suffering and cruelty,today this movie could not ever possible to be made in this way as did....Hachman who always was against any kind of violence in the movie make something about that....apart this brutality the movie has an original screenplay indeed,with nice landscape along the picture,some jokes from James Coburn and a great performance of Ben Johnson as an old man looking for glory...Candice Bergen already made a best performance in Blue Soldier that is infinitely better than this...anyway the movie is good but with will be honored by horse's blood!!

Nine hardy, adventurous individuals set out on a 700-mile endurance horse race during the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt, the rough rider himself. Written and directed by Richard Brooks, "Bite the Bullet" profiles the eight men and one woman, who are refreshingly less stereotypical than usual. Gene Hackman's Sam Clayton has a tough exterior, but an inner kindness and a love of animals. James Coburn as Luke Matthews is equally tough, but, with less scruples, is eager to win, even if the race has to be fixed. The impeccably beautiful Candice Bergen as Miss Jones hides an ulterior motive behind her flawless make-up. Ben Johnson as an old timer, Jan-Michael Vincent as a newbie, Ian Bannen as an English man, and Mario Arteaga as a Mexican family man with a toothache are good, but more types than characters. The cast is uniformly excellent, with the arguable exception of Bergen, who is too cool to be a former prostitute in the Old West and too refined and proper to compete in a wild horse race through mountains and deserts.And oh those mountains and deserts! The location cinematography by Harry Stradling Jr is stunning. Stradling's striking work captures all the dazzling beauty of the Arizona, Nevada, and New Mexico shooting sites; the scenes filmed in White Sands National Monument are awesome, in the original sense of the word. Alex North's Oscar-nominated score is another major asset, especially when backing Stradling's scenic landscapes.Compared to Brooks's earlier western, "The Professionals," "Bite the Bullet" has less action and lower star wattage. However, Brooks focuses on character in "Bullet" and provides enough action to sustain viewer interest throughout. To his credit, Brooks does not shy away from the suffering of the horses or from the needless cruelty towards them; a news reporter covering the race rides an early motorcycle, which heralds the end of horses as the primary means of transportation and to much of their mistreatment. Although "Bullet" is a bit long and pales in comparison to "The Professionals," the film is nevertheless quite entertaining, and Brooks provides a literate script, fleshed out characters, and a decent pace. A somewhat neglected, seldom seen western from the 1970's by an award-winning writer-director, "Bit the Bullet" merits rediscovery and re-evaluation.

This movie is geared for those 12and older. This movie is a modern day western, cowboys, hats, horses, and guns. Bite the Bullet is action packed. It even has a flavor of humor in the film (it is not just all serious). I was surprised to find that Gene Hackman was playing a cowboy (and doing it well). I am used to his modern day soldier or city slicker roles. James Coburn can play just about everything well. Candice Bergen is just eye candy for your guys. The musical scores are perfectly complementary with what is going on in the movie. It is a little long in places, but over all, the movie provides a night of good entertainment. I give it five thumbs up.

By the 1970s, the western genre was virtually exhausted and many of the westerns made around that time were either cheaply-made, badly-dubbed European offerings, or depressingly violent revenge westerns (e.g The Hunting Party, The Revengers, The Deadly Trackers, The Last Hard Men, etc.) Bite The Bullet, however, is a happy exception. Not only does it resist the '70s urge to show gore and brutality, it also manages to come up with a plot that is actually quite novel. It also marks an example of the "third-time-lucky" adage for Gene Hackman.... for this was his third western of the '70s, and the first of real quality (his previous two - The Hunting Party and Zandy's Bride - being pretty terrible if truth be known).At the turn-of-the-century, various riders gather in a Wild West town to compete in an endurance horse race of some 700 miles or so. Among those seeking the glory and the romance are English gentleman Norfolk (Ian Bannen); young show-offy hot-head Carbo (Jan-Michael Vincent); a rugged old man in search of a final moment of honour (Ben Johnson); a poor Mexican with serious dental problems (Mario Ateaga); feisty female entrant Jones (Candice Bergen); former Rough Rider Luke Matthews (James Coburn); and introspective horse-lover Sam Clayton (Gene Hackman). As they ride through forests, deserts and mountains toward the finishing line, the riders get involved in various adventures and tragedies. Some lose their horses along the trail; others are even less fortunate and lose their lives.Bite The Bullet is a very good western, with convincing performances from its all-star cast and luscious cinematography from the great Harry Stradling Jr. The opening quarter of the film is fairly slow, with time given over to the character introductions and a little probing into the motivations of each rider. However, this proves worthwhile later as the fate of each rider gains significant power because the audience has come to understand - to know, if you like - the various characters. On the whole, the period detail and the dialogue seem impeccable. Alex North's score is good, and adds an extra dimension to the proceedings. The only flaw worth mentioning is that the film's structure - perhaps inevitably - is rather episodic.... every few minutes, the narrative jumps to another rider and follows their adventures for a scene or two before jumping again to another character. There was probably no way to avoid this, but it is occasionally tedious and frustrating for the viewer (because just as they are "getting into" the plight of one rider the action cuts away to the plight of another). Aside from this minor flaw, Bite The Bullet is a highly impressive film and easily earns a spot on the top-ten-westerns-of-the-'70s list.