Review of Bite the Bullet (1975) by Rob C — 14 Jun 2008

Strange western about a 1906 horse race across the Nevada desert is an ensemble with colorful characters - Gene Hackman as an underdog-loving cowboy, Candice Bergman as a woman with a past and a hidden agenda, James Coburn, Jan-Michael Vincent (very pre-Airwolf), gentlemanly Ian Bannen and the great, great Ben Johnson.

Film is unusual due to its relatively slow pace, and being one of the last "real" Westerns (film was made in 1975) before more "post-modern"-Westerns like Silverado and Pale Rider came into the '80s.

Similar to Sydney Pollack's brilliant They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (about a 1930s dance competition), these are all down-on-their-luck losers trying for a shot at fame, glory and money -- except Hackman, who joins after he's accused of being anti-American for not caring about competitive sports.

Film is critical of the American competitive drive to win, as well as the manipulative nature of yellow journalism (the race is held by a newspaper). In this sense, film is prescient in depicting the way media controls situations pitting unrelated citizens against each other for the sole purpose of building an audience -- ie.

reality television. Despite its old-fashioned filmmaking style, this strong film is largely forgotten today, due I think to the non-auteur status of director Richard Brooks (whose other fine films include In Cold Blood and Cat On A Hot Tin Roof), and a cast who are not known for Westerns.

Beautifully shot by Harry Stradling, Jr., who use of slow-motion and flare is rather daring for a fairly conservatively-styled film.