SYNOPSIS: In the
1880's in the American West, a group of Apache Indians led by a Geronimo-type
of leader named Ulzana escape from their reservation and start raiding, which
includes murdering and torturing. A
cavalry unit under a green lieutenant (Bruce Davison) is sent to track them
down. The cavalry is led by a seasoned scout named MacIntosh (Burt Lancaster)
and an Apache Indian tracker who has sided with the whites. It is a cat and
mouse game from here.
BACK-STORY: “Ulzana’s Raid” is a revisionist Western by Robert Aldrich (“The Dirty Dozen”) which was released in 1972 toward the end of the Vietnam War. It was filmed on location in Arizona and Nevada. It is loosely based on a true story. Ulzana was an Apache who went on a raid in Arizona in 1885. The movie has been described as an allegory about the Vietnam War.
TRIVIA: Wikipedia,
imdb
1. Screenwriter
Alan Sharp was inspired by “The Searchers”.
He felt that three of the worst historic locales were Nazi Germany,
Turkey during WWI, and the American Southwest during the Indian Wars.
2. Since Burt
Lancaster was one of the producers, he got to edit his own version of the
film. His version was similar to
Aldrich’s, however.
3. The production
cost only $1.2 million and took only seven weeks of filming.
Belle and Blade = N/A
Brassey’s = 3
Video Hound = N/A
War Movies = N/A
Military History = 54
Channel 4 = not on list
Film Site = yes
101 War Movies = no
OPINION: I
understand why some consider it to be a war movie, but in my opinion it is
clearly in the Western genre. With that
said, I do not think it is even a great Western. I believe it gets more love than it deserves
from critics because they like the criticism of the Vietnam War. If Aldrich meant to comment on America’s role
in the Vietnam War, he missed the mark because Ulzana and his Indians are not
sympathetic characters. It seems more
likely that Aldrich was trying to make a revisionist Western and in this
respect he was successful, but the 1970s were full of revisionist Westerns and
this is not one of the better ones.
I'll have to say I disagree with you as I feel this is a solid movie. Nothing new or noteworthy but good performances all around imo. I do think Lancaster's indian scout comes across as sympathetic. I will agree though that this isn't a war movie.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if Aldrich's critics weren't sure what he was revising.
ReplyDeleteUlzana's Raid was a counter to the prettified view of the Indians common by then and continued.
I think critics are usually aware when a director goes off the reservation (sorry).
ReplyDelete