Solemplex To me, this movie is perfection.

Tedfoldol everything you have heard about this movie is true.

Kimball Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Cristal The movie really just wants to entertain people.

thefinalcredits 'Don't you know Sam Clayton? Defender of dumb animals, damsels in distress. Champion of lost causes.'Potentially, this project held out the promise of writer/director, Richard Brooks, adding to the list of critical successes from earlier in his career. This was especially the case as his last venture into the western, the 'Professionals', nine years earlier, was acclaimed as having revitalised the genre, earning him Academy Award nominations as both director and writer. Yet, the main flaw of this feature is in the weak structure of the overall narrative - an area in which Brooks would normally excel. This is surprising, given the rich vein of material he was exploring. Based on the real-life 700 mile endurance race organised by the 'Denver Post' newspaper in 1908, the story-line held out great promise, but suffers in various respects. The first of these concerns a common pitfall of ensemble casts in that by attempting to flesh out each character in turn, the risk is run that none is fleshed out sufficiently. This is even true of Gene Hackman's central protagonist, former 'Rough Rider' and animal lover, Sam Clayton. The second allied weakness of this feature comprises the lack of logical character arcs. As such, some protagonists undergo completely inexplicable emotional or psychological changes. An illustration of this is how the young, headstrong wannabe, played capably by Jan-Michael Vincent in one of his rare better performances, suddenly becomes a willing gofer for Clayton and his friends. Yet, this is nothing compared to the transformation undertaken by Hackman's lead character. The opening scenes clearly establish how Clayton abhors unnecessary suffering to animals. Moreover, despite being hired to ensure the champion steed backed by the newspaper tycoons reaches the starting line, he questions the integrity of a race where a winning horse endures far more physical hardship but the rider takes all the glory. Therefore, his decision to not just take part but to drive his own horse to the point of being dead on its feet - an act for which he had earlier handed out a brutal thrashing to Vincent's character - defies any logic. A third flaw with the plot is the clumsy incorporation of the sub-plot centred on Candice Bergen's character's hidden motive for participating in the race. Not only does this lead to an incongruous, almost comical, motorbike versus equine chase, but her culpability in events nearly costing the life of a fellow participant is treated with complete disinterest. Finally, the race itself appears disjointed with the finale tacked on without any real build-up of tension. In terms of the acting, Hackman gives a creditable performance with what little he is given in a genre which would not serve him well till his collaboration with Eastwood in the early nineties. In addition, both James Coburn, as Clayton's gambling former Rough Rider companion, and Ian Bannon, as the competing English aristocrat, ably support, though their characters remain one-dimensional. Yet, stealing the show in a supporting role, which should have earned an Academy Award nomination, is Ben Johnson as the anonymous 'Mister', a veteran 'Jack-of-all-trades' seeking to make a name for himself before he dies. If the poor continuity of the film reflects badly on the writer-director, Brooks does show glimpses of his talent with some well-crafted dialogue. Perhaps, best of these centres on Clayton's honest account of serving in the Rough Riders in Cuba alongside Teddy Roosevelt: 'We didn't charge up there...We crawled up there on our scared bellies.' Another saving grace for the feature is the splendid cinematography of Harry Stradling Jr, which so brilliantly captures the majestic landscape of New Mexico. By contrast, the upbeat soundtrack by Alex North is out of harmony with the general tenor of the film, and way too standard fare for a Western to be singled out for an Oscar nomination as it was. Overall, a muddled project, which even when experimenting. such as with the use of 'slow-mo', lacks any cohesive rationale or plot.

LeonLouisRicci Ambitious Revisionist Western with Great Dialog delivered by some Seasoned Pros and a few Newcomers. Backdropping it all are some very Picturesque Vistas of the Changing West circa 1906 where a 700 Mile Horse Race is Big News.Writer-Director Richard Brooks has Crafted an Interesting and Thought Provoking "New" Type of 'Sensitive" Western with attention to more Empathy about Horses and Man's Plight in a Harsh and Insensitive World.One could say that Brooks' Answer is to "Bite the Bullet" and Soldier On because there's Not Much One Can Do. Gene Hackman, James Coburn, and Ben Johnson are the Wisdom Wielders and Jan Michael Vincent and Candice Bergen are of the New Breed. Mario Arteaga is along for some Ethnic Flavor. All are Effective in Their Western Attire and Ride Horses like They do it Every Day. There is a Lot of Horse Riding, Obviously, and the Race takes up most of the Long Running Time and it all Looks Sharp and Believable as They Ride Toward Victory, or not, Taking time out now and then to Philosophize.Overall, it is a very Good Exercise in Seventies New Found Freedom of Expression and the Professional Cast and Crew make it a Cerebral Counterpoint to Most Westerns. The Ending seems Rushed and there are Jarring Jump Cuts that are Jagged and the Film Loses Something because of Rickedy Montage. But, the Movie Manages for the Most Part to be a Different Diversion from the Usual Genre Fare.

Robert J. Maxwell It's not a bad Western, as far as that goes, but it's hard to imagine why some people feel it's the best Western ever made.Half a dozen or so diverse character enter into a brutal week-long horse race across the Southwestern desert, encountering numerous tribulations and conflicts along the way. Is that original? Well, in a way I suppose it is. Here we have six horses. In "Sahara", Humphrey Bogart and his companions only had one tank between them.The musical score borrows from Aaron Copeland and Maurice Jarre's "Lawrence of Arabia," and indeed the scenery is exquisite, even if not as dramatically handled as in "Lawrence." (It was partly shot in White Sands National Monument in New Mexico.) Except for one or two effective slow-motion scenes of horses being ridden half to death -- or all the way -- Richard Brooks' direction is competent without being notable.The plot. It's as if a committee had sat around a table drinking café lattes mit Schlag and made a lot of notes about what can happen to people who are riding horses through a colorful but forbidding Western landscape.Let's see. A man can be bitten by a rattlesnake, or almost. In this instance they killed the rattlesnake on screen, for real, which is terrible treatment for a handsome reptile who wants only to be left alone. (I'll bet the wranglers kissed the horses' rumps.) A man can get shot in the back by an escaping prison gang. A woman can be almost raped by a duo of greasy no-goodniks who just happen to be hanging around in the middle of nowhere as she rides past. Of course, if the woman is Candice Bergen, it's understandable that they should notice her presence, but is it really necessary for them to try to do more than simply squeeze and bite her, as any normal man would do? Then there is Jan Michael Vincent as the hot-dog fanfaron strutting around and challenging strangers to draw on him, "trying to earn a reputation," a convention of only the earliest TV Westerns.An old man can die of a heart attack from all the stress, and Ben Johnson gets to give a great speech about how important it is to be SOMEBODY and have people shake your hand. Johnson at least is given his due in one long take in which he directly addresses the camera. The guy is an icon.Another extended monologue is given to Gene Hackman, a former Rough Rider, describing the way good old Teddy Roosevelt led the charge up San Juan Hill. (Kids: This is the Spanish-American war we're discussing here, 1898.) But he gets the destination wrong. It was Kettle Hill, not San Juan Hill.Let me think of some other things that can go wrong during the race. A man can be poisoned by villains or by mistake, and, man, is this a mistake. After Gene Hackman imbibes some whiskey he takes a couple of gulps of laudanum, an opium compound, clutches his belly in agony and ululates his pain like a wounded animal. In reality, such a cocktail would put you into a soft, furry, tangerine-colored sleep in two minutes.Oh. And can an upper-class British twit have his beloved horse break a leg and can he be force to commit a merciful equicide, even while drowning in his own tears? You bet.

Claudio Carvalho When a newspaper sponsors 700-mile endurance horse race, a group of adventurers is attracted by the grand prize of US$ 2,000.00 for the winner.Among the participants are the former Rough Rider Sam Clayton (Gene Hackman), who fought in the Spanish-American War, and protects the animals from cruelty; his friend Luke Matthews (James Coburn), who has also fought in the war, and now is a gambler; the ex-prostitute Miss Jones (Candice Bergen) that has a hidden agenda to run the race; a Mexican (Mario Arteaga), who has toothache, and needs the money to help his poor family; the young bully Carboa (Jan-Michael Vincent) that does not respect anybody; the anonymous Mister (Ben Johnson) that wants to be famous; the Englishman Sir Harry Norfolk (Ian Bannen) that has traveled a long distance expecting to win the race.Along the days of competition, greed and betrayal affect the contestants' performances. But in the end, the survivors learn lessons of friendship and teamwork."Bite the Bullet" is an unusual western with a good adventure and interesting characters. Candice Bergen is in the top of her beauty but her character disappoints in the end, double-crossing and causing the death of the participants. Unfortunately the lame conclusion is too dramatic and unreasonable, since in accordance with the competition's rules, each horse plus horseman and gear should not weight more than a certain wight. When Sam and Luke unsaddle their horses and lead them to the finish line, it is not clear whether they have broken any of the foregoing rules and did not win the race. My vote is seven.Title (Brazil): "O Risco de uma Decisão" ("The Risk of a Decision")