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Bite The Bullet [DVD] [1975]
 
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Bite The Bullet [DVD] [1975]

DVD ~ Gene Hackman
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
RRP: £19.99
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Frequently Bought Together

Bite The Bullet [DVD] [1975] + Alvarez Kelly [DVD] [1966] + The Professionals [DVD] [1966]
Total RRP: £52.97
Price For All Three: £14.74

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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Bite The Bullet [DVD] [1975]
79% buy the item featured on this page:
Bite The Bullet [DVD] [1975] 4.0 out of 5 stars (3)
£4.98
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The Return Of A Man Called Horse [DVD] [1976]
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Product details

  • Actors: Gene Hackman, Candice Bergen, James Coburn, Ben Johnson, Ian Bannen
  • Directors: Richard Brooks
  • Writers: Richard Brooks
  • Producers: Richard Brooks
  • Format: Dubbed, PAL, Widescreen
  • Language English, Spanish
  • Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Classification: PG
  • Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
  • DVD Release Date: 22 April 2002
  • Run Time: 125 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B00005UWU9
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 39,107 in DVD (See Bestsellers in DVD)

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Reviews

Special Features

2.35 Wide Screen
DVD 9
English
Region 2
Mono English
Mono


Synopsis

Filmed in the classic Western tradition, this tale of a 700-mile horse race in the early 1900s takes its stalwart competitors over some rough western terrain and through various inclement conditions. The wide variety of contestants has differing reasons for entering the grueling race, but each and every one of them has their eyes on the prize: $2,000. The rivals include an honorable Rough Rider (Gene Hackman), a plucky young woman (Candice Bergen), a drifting ex-cowboy (James Coburn), a reckless young bad boy (Jan-Michael Vincent), a wealthy British sportsman (Ian Bannen), and a Pony Express rider (Ben Johnson). As the disparate band of competitors sets out on the harsh and grueling desert ride, each person is forced to respect one another and work together as they endure a wide variety of dangerous conditions. This episodic tale features gorgeous cinematography of miles of barren and lone wasteland shot in contrast to the live-wire pageantry of the race, teeming with gritty scenes of the rough wild West full of hucksters, hustlers, and bawdy barmaids whooping it up until dawn.
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Customer Reviews

3 Reviews
5 star:
 (1)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:    (0)
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Average Customer Review
4.0 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars A surprisingly enjoyable Western!, 5 Jul 2005
By Mr. Stephen Kennedy "skenn1701a" (Doha, Qatar) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)      
This Western has a light touch, without ever being camp or dated.
The plot surrounds a 700 mile endurance horse race, and the varied contestants that enter it. As the movie unfolds, there are themes of 'do as you would be done unto' and also that striving for the best does not have to mean sacrificing the things that are important - in this case, how you treat animals, and indeed people.
Although fun, it is never a comedy, and the superb casting makes for some moments rich in pathos, such as Ben Johnsons excellent turn as the old man wanting to make his mark and become somebody, or Ian Bannen as the wide eyed Englishman who looks up to the ideal of the West and wants to be part of it. The only weaker role is Candice Bergen, in a role that seems inserted for the sake of having a woman present, and does not add a great deal to the movie. Jan Michael Vincent also does well in his role as the brash and thoughtless young cowboy who wants to be somebody and will do anything to get there - though his transformation to nice guys seems somewhat rushed at the end.
The main acting chops go to Gene Hackman and James Coburn who as ever lend genuine gravitas to what could otherwise have been too frothy a concoction. Gene Hackmans character gets the best moments, such as his relating the story of his Cuban wife to Candice Bergen, and the times when he cares for animals or people - the eyes tell the story of him being 'simpatico' as one character puts it.
The scenery is varied - sometimes confusingly so, as the riders trot from desert to green forest in a few screen minutes, and beautifully captured with excellent cinematography. The script is deft, allowing for fun to be had with zingy one liners ('Aint never known a man that can hold liquor the way a bottle can..' and as one girl asks 'Buffalo Bill - aint he the fastest gun in the West?' the brothel madam replies 'only in bed, hon').
The music by Alex North is rousing and effective, riffing frequently on Camptown Races, but not entirely memorable.
Some might find the plot similar to Hidalgo, but this is simultaneously a simpler affair, being a more straightforward Western, and a richer affair, for having the excellent ensemble cast and a deft script which only runs out of steam somewhere near the end of the movie.
Well worth a watch, especially at the reduced price - will fill in a lazy Sunday afternoon! And the moment of 'biting the bullet' might put you off the dentist for a while...
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Exuberant western with stunning cinematography, 5 May 2004
By A Customer
This overlooked 1975 gem set in 1908 deserves much better treatment on DVD. An exuberant story about a punishing 700-mile horse race across stunning, beautifully filmed western landscapes. However, it's the fine screenplay's treatment of character that makes the movie more than a picturesque gallop.

Gene Hackman is Sam Clayborn, the experienced cowboy drawn into the race against his better judgement. After some impromptu dentistry involving a spent bullet casing, a Mexican contestant describes Clayborn as 'simpatico', and that he is: hard as nails, his wisdom and humanity nevertheless bring the competitors together to survive the ordeal. At the heart of the film is a moving speech, delivered by Hackman, which tells of the death of his Cuban wife when he was a young Rough Rider with Teddy Roosevelt. I think it as memorable a piece of storytelling as the great Robert Shaw 'USS Indianapolis speech' in Jaws. But the film is full of well-observed human moments, such as those involving the sick, ageing saddle-tramp Ben Jonson.

Candice Bergen is fetchingly butch, as ever, as the female rider with her own agenda and Jan Michael Vincent the arrogant young buckaroo who is the antithesis of Clayborn's considerateness.

A fine cast in a fine film with, in my opinion, one of the most admirable screen cowboys ever created.

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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Brooks cuts to the quick too often to win this race, 26 Oct 2006
By Trevor Willsmer (London, England) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)      
Bite the Bullet has a solid screenplay and is an often handsome looking picture, but it boasts some of the worst editing I've ever seen in a major studio picture. At times it's so disjointed it's almost as if you're watching an assembly put together before shooting has finished. Certainly the potential of many scenes seems to thrown away in slapdash editing that constantly undermines the film. Considering the troubles other Columbia pictures had at the time in their desperate attempts to avoid bankruptcy, it's possible that the film was cut to the bone from a much longer version, but it looks like they've thrown out the baby with the bathwater.

As a result, Richard Brooks' tale of a western endurance horse race never really connects despite a great cast - Gene Hackman on top form and James Coburn in roles that seem to be virtual reprises of Robert Ryan and Burt Lancaster's characters in The Professionals, and Ben Johnson as a nameless saddle tramp out to make a name for himself before he dies best among them. There's also the problem of animal cruelty: despite the script's compassion for horses, there's no doubting that some of the horsefalls would now be illegal. On the plus side, there's some truly striking use of slow motion and normal speed in the same frame, and when the film isn't in such an all-fired hurry it does throw in some nice character moments. And it's a lot better than Hidalgo.

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