Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Winner the most underrated..., 17 Mar 2005
Michael Winner is the most underrated filmaker of his generation! (Wow, gasps of shock all round). Those today who know him only as a portly food critic and car insurance salesman would do well to remember a few salient facts. In the sixties he directed a quartet of seminal movies that essentially reflected and defined the period - "The System," "The Jokers," "Hannibal Brooks" and "I'll Never Forger Whatsisname." All starred Oliver Reed in career-establishing performances and "Whatsisname" was probably the Sixties most scathing yet subtle critique of the decade in a tale of capitalism and selling-out to the fat cat media moguls set against a backdrop of new freedoms, free will and free love. The opening sequence where Reed strides through the commuter-crowded early morning London streets with an axe over his shoulder is never to be forgotten.It's a classic.In the seventies Winner redefined the action/thriller with Charles Bronson as his leading player in "The Mechanic," "Cold Sweat" and (most influentially and controversially) "Death Wish." In addition he gave us a kinetic spy thriller ("Scorpio" with Burt Lancaster) and a brace of philosophically grim and savage westerns - "Lawman" (again with Lancaster) and "Chato's Land." "Chato's Land" is a violent fable of frontier injustice, terrorism, torture and revenge. It establishes the Native American as a proud, intelligent and noble warrior at odds in the world of the white man (through no fault of his own) yet chillingly in control in his native environment. Bronson's character is relentless, stoic and unforgiving and so is this film. If you're a western fan, this is a rare treat. And a reminder that although his film career may have slid into decline after the early seventies, Mr Winner was a filmaker with a rare vision and unique talent and his back catalogue is well overdue for re-appraisal. Forget what came after, appreciate what went before.
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27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
"Apache don't leave tracks unless they got a reason", 6 Sep 2004
In this tough and unrelenting Western, Charles Bronson plays Chato, an Apache who shoots a sheriff in an ugly bar dispute, and then finds himself being hunted by a posse, led by Jack Palance, who is the menacing, bigoted Capt. Quincey Whitmore.
Chato turns tables on the posse, who become the hunted, as Chato leaves signs to make it easy for them to track him, and draws them into his territory, where things go from bad to worse.
There is a lot of brutality in this film on both man and beast, but for those of us who are Bronson fans, violence is to be expected, and this is a marvelous performance, with Bronson in superb physical condition, as he stealthily moves about on suede-booted cat-like feet.Jack Palance is terrific, and the supporting cast consists of seasoned, excellent character actors, like Richard Basehart, James Whitmore, Simon Oakland and Richard Jordan.
Directed by Michael Winner, who also did the editing under the alias of Arnold Crust Jr., and who was to work with Bronson on another fascinating film the following year, "The Mechanic", and of course their big success with "Death Wish" in 1974, keeps the pace fast. Cinematographer Robert Paynter shot the film on location in Spain, and Jerry Fielding adds to the atmosphere with his score.
I've seen this film numerous times, and though it's not for the squeamish, it's a must for Bronson fans.
DVD extra is the theatrical trailer, and total time is 1 hour and 40 minutes.
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3.0 out of 5 stars
Better than most Westerns., 23 May 2009
Watching this movie, it is hard to believe that Charles Bronson was not actually an Apache of the nineteenth century. He is splendid in the part of an American Indian unjustly treated. An exaggerated tale of racial prejudice, the story does at least give one the satisfaction of seeing some really nasty characters get what they deserve. The trouble I have with the film is that the baddies are over-blown, it is hard to credit the mindless cruelty, the murderous brutality of the whites, even given the insight into American values revealed by the Iraq War: and the depiction of one or two whites with a sense of justice does not counter-balance these portrayals. A good movie for those with a taste for violence but perhaps distasteful for the more discerning. Not one of Michael Winner's best.
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