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Native Americans living on Reservations have been condemned to slow death. Once when they were masters of the open range, they knew no boundaries and their lives were rich with spirit power. Tradition required all Indian men to have power, without it, they wither and die. From the time one is born, it's a daily struggle to acquire power. After death, such warriors return as powerful spirits of the natural world. This is the basis for this film entitled " Ulzana's Raid." It is the 1880's in the Western Arizona frontier and an unscrupulous government agent has been short-changing the tribal people of their meager meat supplies, so much so a small group of Apaches, led by a strong leader named Ulzana, (Joaquin Martinez) who with a dozen braves break out from the reservation and go on a war party to live free in the deserts. Because theirs will be a wild and destructive raid, the fort commander assigns his chief scout McIntosh (Burt Lancaster), a young Lt. Garnett Debuin (Bruce Davison) and an Indian guide and tracker named Ke-Ni-Tay (Jorge Luke) to 'persue with all due vigor' the escaping hostiles. Accompanying the patrol is an experienced army Sergeant, played by Richard Jaeckel. The fine cast also includes Lancaster's friend Nick Cravat and Richard Farnsworth as army troopers. As the renegade Apache are tracked, their destructive trail is collectively made up of death, rape and torture. The action, drama and superior confrontations are manifest and definitely the stuff of film. With little effort, this is not only a vehicle for Young Bruce Davidson, but a superior milestone for Burt Lancaster as he adds this western Classic to his distinguished repertoire. ****
score 9/10
thinker1691 9 October 2009
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw2138579/ |
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20-2-2021 00:05:09