700 Meilen westwärts

"Bite the Bullet" is not just a 70's western, it is the showcase for the closing of the American West. We see a dying breed, the cowboys, and their sense of loss as the world moves beyond.

The performances are great across the board, particularly Gene Hackman, James Coburn, Ben Johnson, and Ian Bannen. Gene Hackman is the former Rough Rider and cowboy, who seems lost in a world he doesn't understand. He can't abide cruelty to an animal, two or four-legged. Coburn is Hackman's friend and former compatriot in the Rough Riders. He's a gambler, but with a sense of honor. Ben Johnson is the old man, who has been on the losing side all of his life. He is looking for his last chance to come out a winner, before he fades away. Bannen is the English sportsman, in awe of the west and the men and women who lived there.

There are great character performances and beautiful scenery. The story is both inspiring and sad. If I were to fault it, I would say it needed the perspective of the black man. We see prejudices against Mexicans, Native Americans, and, to a lesser extent, women. What about the rest of the oppressed?

As far as the cruelty to animals, yes, it is a central part of the story, from the reckless and brutal actions of Jan Michael Vincent's character, to the dead mare that Hackman comes across. Hackman says it best: "What does the horse get?....Broken bones...." The look in Hackman's eyes as he sees what he has done to his horse at the end of the race says it all.

Bite The Bullet, a most unusual western from the pen and the direction of Richard Brooks. It concerns a rather strange camaraderie that develops between the seven participants in a horse race out west.

This is not a race for speed, this is a test of endurance for seven miles through the desert in the American southwest. The seven participants are Gene Hackman, James Coburn, Ben Johnson, Candice Bergen, Jan-Michael Vincent, Ian Bannen, and Mario Artaega.

All these people have their own reasons for wanting the $2000.00 prize offered by the newspaper sponsoring the event. Hackman and Coburn are old friends already and Coburn's hoping Hackman will throw the race his way because he's up over his head in bets he can't pay off should he lose. Ben Johnson's an old timer just wanting to be remembered for doing something important in his life. Ian Bannen is an English Lord who thinks it's all jolly good sport. Candice Bergen is both striking a blow for women and sending money to her jailed husband. She works for madam Jean Willes when not racing. Jan-Michael Vincent is a punk kid with something to prove and Mario Artaega is just a poor guy looking for a stake to feed his family.

It's about the animals as well, this is not the Kentucky Derby for a mile and a quarter. The horses have to be looked after if they make it through a rough 700 miles. They kind of bind the characters together in a strange way.

Bite The Bullet is not long on plot, but very deep in characterization and it works here just like it works in the Sam Peckinpah classic, Junior Bonner. Even those that don't endure develop wellsprings of character they never thought they had. It's a good film and the ending shows something about character and friendship.

In my mind this is almost a perfect movie. Writer-Director Richard Brooks delivered in my mind his best work since his 1960 blockbusters ELMER GANTRY and THE PROFESSIONALS. We have Brook's trademark crisp dialogue driving the epic about an endurance race set in the waning days of the american west. In place of Burt Lancaster and Lee Marvin professionals we have James Coburn and Gene Hackman as the soldiers of fortune thrown into the circumstance of this race. They both give superior performances. Ably supporting them in what should have gotten him a second supporting actor Oscar is Ben Johnson. If there is any quibble at all with the film it is the casting of of Candice Bergen as the prostitute turned contestant. She simply looks too well preserved to have lived the life her character has placed before the audience. One interesting note about the film had the exchange of actors functioning in basically the same part over the course of the film. Paul Stewart who is uncredited starts the film out as the wealthy rancher Parker until about a quarter of the way through the film when with an ingenious use of a looped line Dabney Coleman appears as Parker's son taking over the character's function from that point on.I remember seeing this film in it's initial engagement at Radio City Music Hall and it is still a fresh and rewarding experience. It is a shame that the upcoming DVD release will have no special features. I know Mr Coburn recorded a commentary for THE MAGNIFICENT 7, Ms. Bergen did THE SAND PEBBLES, and Mr. Hackman did the FRENCH CONNECTION discs. It would have been great to hear stories from these fine actors about this shoot. At the very least it would be nice the have Alex North's Oscar nominated score isolated on the disc.

If "Bite the Bullet" sentimentalizes the independence and force of ordinary men without glamor who have to struggle for a prize in a hard, bitter, and lonely environment, it also examines the cruel or inhumane treatment often inflicted on animals…

"Bite the Bullet" is an all-star Western about a 700-mile horse race that takes place in the middle of 'Nowhere, USA' at the turn of the last century, for a chance to win the grand prize of $2000…

At the head of the line is Gene Hackman, an ex-Rough Rider who believes in caring for lame animals, and despises cruelty to horses, ladies in distress, lost kids and lost causes…Hackman has got the heart, and at the film's climax, he is the sleeper—the one to beat…

His old-timer friend from fighting days at San Juan Hill is James Coburn, a natural-born gambler who certainly can't afford to lose… He just bet everything on this race, and got seven-to-one… Coburn and Hackman have a great chemistry together, and their friendly rivalry imposes the name of the game…

Also riding: Candice Bergen, who has 'two thousand reasons' to compete in the race; Ben Johnson who desperately wants to win the prize to be a man to remember; Ian Bannen, the tough Englishman who comes 5,000 miles to beat the best; Mario Arteaga, the cool Mexican who needs the money for his loving family in spite of suffering from unbearable toothache; and Jan Michael-Vincent who brings the lower calibrations of judgment, antagonism, and rage to his interactions... This punk kid certainly has a knack of provoking a man to violence… He soon will be in his own best way to learn some life lessons from 'real' cowboys...

Brooks' movie has the courage to show how beauty can flourish in our treatments for animals… He accomplished a film that is beautifully photographed and expertly put together… Brooks leaves a whole host of abiding impressions through his nine riders' true character

A good cast, some nice photography and an interesting story about a 700-mile horse race make "Bite The Bullet" kind of underrated western. You don't hear it mentioned much in "Favorite Westerns" lists.

The only drawbacks for me were a little too much language and that grundgy-70s feel to it that movies in that decade had to them, even in westerns. Having grown up with "Shane," and a bunch of westerns on TV, I still wasn't quite used to what I heard here when this came out 30 years ago. Nowadays, this is mild stuff.

This is a fairly long film at 131 minutes but it moves fast. Gene Hackman plays the tough-but-humane hero. The rest of the contestants in this race are all interesting, too. Each is given a little profile of themselves and include Candice Bergen, James Coburn, Jan-Michael Vincent, Ben Johnson and Ian Bannen.

In addition, there are some memorable scenes such as a horse literally dropping dead; a man poisoned, a woman with a "different agenda" an old man hanging on and a bad-turned-good kid. It's a nice mixture.