You don't mess with Charlie Bronson, period. Anyone who does must have a Death Wish, ha! Since that is already an obvious and commonly known fact, I assume it goes without saying that you definitely don't mess with Charlie Bronson when he's half Apache and moreover running wild on his own familiar turf! Even if your name is Jack Palance, and thus your notorious reputation states you're one of the biggest badass actors in the history of cinema, you still don't get into trouble with the Charlie Bronson! Anyway, Jack Palance and a dozen more courageous but stupid horsemen accepted the challenge and it became a gloriously entertaining and ambitious – albeit slightly flawed – early 70's western. When Chato kills the Sheriff out of self defense whilst passing through a little cowboy town, he finds himself relentlessly pursued by a vengeful posse, led by the frustrated former Army captain Quincey and including several low-classed and racial farmers. He lures them deep into his familiar land, the dry and daft deserts, and attempts to scare them off in "friendly" ways. When the posse stubbornly persist and eventually harm Chato's family, he fights back with a bloody passion.
Michael Winner has always been one of Hollywood's most hated and criticized directors but, quite frankly, I personally never understood why that is. Undeniably his movies are extremely violent, on the verge of gratuitous and provocative even, but at the same time they always feature solid basic story lines and admirably confront the viewers with socially relevant issues. Not to mention the fact Winner's flicks are, without exception, fast-paced and adrenalin-rushing tornadoes of action and excitement. Especially the six films Winner made with Charles Bronson (of which "Chato's Land" is the first) are unhinged crowd-pleasers that guarantee non-stop spectacle with a minimum of tedious dialogs and pointless sentimental interludes. We all know Charlie isn't exactly the most eloquent acting star, so Michael Winner instantly knew the character of silent but deadly (Chato only mumbles a few lines in Apache language throughout the entire film) Indian would be ideal for him. The true acting star of this movie is Jack Palance, who provides his character with a lot of depth and intellect. As a military man of the losing camp, Quincey Whitmore represents all the oppressed hatred, rage and humiliation of the Southern region. You even grow to care for him near the end, even though he initiated the manhunt against Chato for all the wrong reasons. I've actually also encountered a couple of reviews claiming that "Chato's Land" is, in fact, one giant allegory on racial conflicts, the senselessness of violence and discrimination. Okay, perhaps that might just be a little too much praise, but I guess it definitely could be interpreted that way. None of the posse members actually chase down Chato out of sympathy for the murdered sheriff. They each have their own reasons, from pure racism to political strategies, but nobody ever raises the possibility of solving conflicts through conversation. Whoever claimed Winner films were superficial and sensational?
Purely talking in terms of cinematic quality, "Chato's Land" is definitely lacking. The screenplay is very incoherent and too often leaps from one crucial moment onto the other unstructured. Fairly long periods of slowness are too brutally interfered with two or three flashes of savagery and mayhem and the guys in the editing room did a downright horrible job. The soundtrack is a big disappointment, as I always automatically expect mesmerizing music in westerns (I blame Ennio Morricone for that ), and the breathtaking landscapes are still underused in my humble opinion.
Michael Winner has always been one of Hollywood's most hated and criticized directors but, quite frankly, I personally never understood why that is. Undeniably his movies are extremely violent, on the verge of gratuitous and provocative even, but at the same time they always feature solid basic story lines and admirably confront the viewers with socially relevant issues. Not to mention the fact Winner's flicks are, without exception, fast-paced and adrenalin-rushing tornadoes of action and excitement. Especially the six films Winner made with Charles Bronson (of which "Chato's Land" is the first) are unhinged crowd-pleasers that guarantee non-stop spectacle with a minimum of tedious dialogs and pointless sentimental interludes. We all know Charlie isn't exactly the most eloquent acting star, so Michael Winner instantly knew the character of silent but deadly (Chato only mumbles a few lines in Apache language throughout the entire film) Indian would be ideal for him. The true acting star of this movie is Jack Palance, who provides his character with a lot of depth and intellect. As a military man of the losing camp, Quincey Whitmore represents all the oppressed hatred, rage and humiliation of the Southern region. You even grow to care for him near the end, even though he initiated the manhunt against Chato for all the wrong reasons. I've actually also encountered a couple of reviews claiming that "Chato's Land" is, in fact, one giant allegory on racial conflicts, the senselessness of violence and discrimination. Okay, perhaps that might just be a little too much praise, but I guess it definitely could be interpreted that way. None of the posse members actually chase down Chato out of sympathy for the murdered sheriff. They each have their own reasons, from pure racism to political strategies, but nobody ever raises the possibility of solving conflicts through conversation. Whoever claimed Winner films were superficial and sensational?
Purely talking in terms of cinematic quality, "Chato's Land" is definitely lacking. The screenplay is very incoherent and too often leaps from one crucial moment onto the other unstructured. Fairly long periods of slowness are too brutally interfered with two or three flashes of savagery and mayhem and the guys in the editing room did a downright horrible job. The soundtrack is a big disappointment, as I always automatically expect mesmerizing music in westerns (I blame Ennio Morricone for that ), and the breathtaking landscapes are still underused in my humble opinion.