La Chevauchée sauvage

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

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.

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.

Sensational Western excellently acted , marvelously photographed and well screen-written with fine eye by Richard Brooks . It deals with some aging riders as Hackman , Coburn and Ben Johnson who get chance redeem themselves along with a young gunslinger , a Brit lord , a Mexican and an ex-whore . The film was based on a real , endurance race at the turn of the century ; it was inspired by the 1908 , 700-mile cross-country horse race from Evanston , Wyoming to Denver , Colorado. It was sponsored by the Denver Post , which offered $2,500 prize money to the winner . At the beginning of the 20th century, a newspaper organizes a grueling horse race : 700 miles to run in a few days . A bunch of ex-rough riders and a gunfighter enter a horse race in the desert . The motley group of disparate adventurers are competing , among them a woman , ex-prostitute (Candice Bergen) , Miss Jones, a Mexican , an Englishman (Ian Bannen) , a young gunslinger (Jan-Michael Vincent) , an old one (Ben Johnson) and two friends , Sam Clayton (Gene Hackman , though Charles Bronson turned down the leading role) and Luke Matthews (James Coburn) . All those individualists learn to respect for each other and develop a grudging and growing friendship .

An overlong and dangerous horse race is the subject of this stunning and grand adventure , an epic in every sense of word . Impressive and breathtaking ending with the finalists terminating the grueling race . Exciting , funny and well acted , especially by Gene Hackman and James Coburn as two tough , two-fisted riders . Special mention to Ben Johnson as a veteran rider in his last feat . Colorfully photographed in Technicolor and Panavison by Harry Stradling Jr in Valley of Fire State Park and its Coyote Pass and Deah Valley (Nevada), Chama, New Mexico , Lake Mead, Taos , Nevada, White Sands National Monument, Alamogordo, New Mexico . Exceptional and thrilling soundtrack by Alex North (Cleopatra, Spartacus) , now a classic score .

Directed and screen-played with magnificent style by Richard Brooks . He was a fine writer/director so consistently mixed the good and average which it became impossible to know that to expect from him next . Firstly he worked regularly as a Hollywood screenwriter . After that , his initial experience of directing was one of his own screenplays called ¨Crisis¨. The Richard Brooks films that have the greatest impact are realized during the 50s and 60s as ¨Cat on a hot tin roof¨, ¨Something of value¨ , ¨Elmer Gantry¨, ¨Sweet bird of youth¨, ¨In cold blood¨ , ¨Lord Jim¨. Brooks was a writer and director of Chekhovian depth , who mastered the use of understatement, anticlimax and implied emotion . His films enjoyed lasting appeal and tended to be more serious than the usual mainstream productions . Richards formerly directed another good Western titled ¨The professionals ¨ also with various tough stars as Burt Lancaster , Lee Marvin , Jack Palance and Robert Ryan , including the same musician , Alex North , and similar outdoors . The ¨Bite the bullet¨ is an authentic must see , not to be missed for buffs of the genre . A magnificent movie , hardly noticed for its theatrical release ; however , being nowadays very well considered . Rating : Above average because of its awesome acting , dialog , score are world class.

"Bite the Bullet" has a lot to chew on, and boasts a fine cast held firmly under control. Hackman gives his usual unobtrusive acting lesson, Coburn twinkles but not too much, and Bergen gives the first decent acting performance of her career (after Hackman chewed her out for her lack of professional skills and she requested his help).

Questions of greed, competition, teamwork, loyalty, betrayal and humanity are all given a good and non-medicinal airing. There's enough action here for the inert, and enough philosophy for the grownups.

There's been discussion in these reviews of the director's use of slow-motion. Slow motion is not used here to make intellectual points, it is an instrument of emotional expression. When one character in real time passes another in slow motion, it conveys to us how they both feel at that moment, and doesn't need to carry any other freight. As an expressive device, it works.

The question of animal abuse has also come up in these pages. In "Bite the Bullet" the horses are always photographed as heroes, often visually overwhelming their riders. Gene Hackman is shown from the beginning as a fighter of cruelty against animals, and every abuse he witnesses he then tries to remedy. The education of the Jan Michael Vincent character is a case in point.

Furthermore, this picture makes you care about the animals, unlike the traditional offhand Hollywood cruelty. Dozens of horses were killed to make the last reel of the Errol Flynn "Charge of the Light Brigade" and the film itself couldn't care less. You can see trip wires being used wholesale as late as in "Khartoum", and when those horses went down, they broke legs and were immediately shot, not pretend, for real.

Hollywood's excuse has always been that horses are expensive and they don't kill them thoughtlessly. Stunts are performed by circus horses, which presumably don't come to harm. We're told the only horses that get killed are old and already destined for the glue factory. Whether this justifies trip wires or not is up to you, but that's what they say.

"Bite the Bullet" comes off as sensitive and responsible by comparison. This is no snuff film. The Oscar-winning sound design makes you really care when the horses are supposed to be in distress.

A lot worse things happen to the human characters in just about every action-adventure film of the last twenty years. Is the "yuck" factor we're now trying to get used to more or less disgusting?

All in all, "Bite the Bullet" is a worthwhile film with content, humor and beauty. There's thousands of worse ways to spend your time than watching this movie.