BITE THE BULLET

This 1975 Western is so obscure that even an addict of the genre such as I had never heard of it, but it's written and directed by Richard Brooks and stars Gene Hackman and James Coburn so it had to be worth a view.

It's an offbeat but beautifully crafted film which I had a great time with.

Unusually for this genre it's set in the early part of the twentieth century and revolves around a 700-mile endurance race for horses and riders, which apparently was a thing.

There's not a lot of action, and the only thing at stake is who wins the race, which Brooks isn't much interested in.   There's some talk early on of the race being fixed, given the amount being bet on it, but that comes to nothing.  And there's no real villain as such - OK, there's a cocksure young kid who's a bit annoying, but even he turns out OK once he's been taught a lesson or two.

So it's a hangout movie, and if you don't want to spend time with the characters Brooks has assembled then this film isn't for you.

Hackman and Coburn play Sam and Luke, friends from way back.  There's a hint of a rivalry between them since Luke has bet a large sum on himself to win, and at one point he suggests that Sam should let him win and in return he'll get a share of the winnings.

Sam is not interested, he's above such petty considerations as money.  In fact he's well ahead of his time - he can't abide cruelty to animals, racism, or misogyny, and we learn that he was once married (or at least in love with) a Cuban woman, who died heroically in the Spanish - American War, where Sam and Luke fought together.

Even though there's not a large amount of incident, there's enough to keep the viewer engaged as we get to know the characters and come to appreciate their camaraderie.

Typical of the film is a nice little scene where Sam and the only female racer (a winning  performance by Candice Bergen) carry out some DIY dentistry on a fellow competitor, which involves making a cap out of a bullet casing, hence giving the film its title.

But the outstanding scene is one at a waterhole in the desert, where Gene Hackman delivers a monologue to Bergen's character, whilst on a horse.  It was no surprise to learn, courtesy of Wikipedia, that it was one of Hackman's favourite scenes.

Other memorable characters are Ben Johnson as an old-timer with a dicky heart and Ian Bannen as Sir Harry Norfolk, a good-natured and sporting member of the British aristocracy.

Towards the end Brooks springs a neat surprise that leads to some action, which looks as though it might turn serious but rapidly goes comedic, which I don't normally care for, but by this point I had been lulled into such a mellow mood I was fine with it.

Brooks called it his love poem to America, and despite its lack of commercial success he could be very proud of it.  The critic Vincent Canby yet again got it wrong by writing that it didn't contain any moment that might be called genuine (really?) but reliably perceptive Roger Ebert liked it.