Bite the Bullet (1975)

Directed by Richard Brooks. Starring Gene Hackman, James Coburn, Candice Bergen, Jan-Michael Vincent, Ben Johnson, Ian Bannen, Dabney Coleman, Jean Willes, Mario Arteaga, Robert Donner, Sally Kirkland, John McLiam, Walter Scott, Robert Hoy. [PG]

Sprawling turn-of-the-century Western detailing a 700-mile cross-country horse race across deserts and badlands that has sparked interest in the expected grab-bag of genre archetypes, such as a cowhand old-timer (Johnson), a canny gambler (Coburn), a hot-headed kid (Vincent), a sporting woman and sometimes-prostitute (Bergen), and so on. Starts out splendidly, but its episodic, ambling nature down the stretch leads to a lot of lost steam; for such a big and dangerous race, excitement is in surprisingly short supply, leaving most of the brightest moments to tender character interaction. Hackman’s in good restrained form as an ex-Rough Rider with a humane fondness for horses, and the film’s sympathetic treatment toward animals (contrasted by Vincent’s casual cruelty) is one of the pic’s most uniquely intriguing angles. Worth watching just for all the vast and rugged scenery on display (sequences shot at the White Sands National Monument in New Mexico are particularly picturesque). Arteaga’s toothache-afflicted Mexican is the one who literally performs the titular act. Willes’ final film.

72/100