I can't tell if J. Lee Thompson's The White Buffalo is a laughably bad movie with some sparks of good imagery and story telling or if it's a failed attempt at a very good movie, doomed to be compared to other, much better movies.
So, let's put it out there right now. Buffalo don't act that way. They are essentially herd herbivores that only get riled up if they are approached, antagonized, or are looking for some lovin'.
If you can suspend the disbelief of a big guy in a buffalo suit smashing through a mountain of back-lit styrofoam blocks, then you're going to be okay.
If you can accept Will Sampson as Crazy Horse, then you're another step toward forgiving this movie for its idiocies.
If Charles Bronson comes across as a believable Bill Hickok and Jack Warden, a nasty, racist sidekick, then, I think you'll enjoy this derivative nonsense about Hickok and the Chief on the hunt for a killer herbivore with a bad complexion and a worse mood.
There are moments of real drama in amongst the giggles. The suspense builds in a saloon as bad guys try to set up a killing field around Bronson and Warden. Bronson is less wooden than usual, and we begin to care about him, dopey sunglasses and all. Sampson and the boys engage in a pretty tasty firefight with some baddie Injuns, thereby cementing the Hickok/Crazy Horse partnership.
But then the Pale Bison shows up and we start laughing again. This critter is derned smart, way smarter than the eating machines I can drive twenty miles from my home to see. Our friend--we shall call him Billy--busts through that styrofoam wall, screeching and huffing, and looking for some actors to gore. In the final fight with Billy, Mssrs. Bronson, Sampson, and Warden engage in hand-to-hoof combat. It's really gory, but buffalo can take a lickin' and keep on tickin'!
When the credits rolled, I felt, well, not unsatisfied. Sidekick Jack Warden chews out Bronson for letting Sampson get the glory, and he unleashes a nasty diatribe against "red n*****s." It's not happy ending for a monster movie western.
I would say, fire up YouTube and watch it. You'll only lose 97 minutes, and you can make it up by reading a book instead of watching a Hallmark Christmas movie.
So, let's put it out there right now. Buffalo don't act that way. They are essentially herd herbivores that only get riled up if they are approached, antagonized, or are looking for some lovin'.
If you can suspend the disbelief of a big guy in a buffalo suit smashing through a mountain of back-lit styrofoam blocks, then you're going to be okay.
If you can accept Will Sampson as Crazy Horse, then you're another step toward forgiving this movie for its idiocies.
If Charles Bronson comes across as a believable Bill Hickok and Jack Warden, a nasty, racist sidekick, then, I think you'll enjoy this derivative nonsense about Hickok and the Chief on the hunt for a killer herbivore with a bad complexion and a worse mood.
There are moments of real drama in amongst the giggles. The suspense builds in a saloon as bad guys try to set up a killing field around Bronson and Warden. Bronson is less wooden than usual, and we begin to care about him, dopey sunglasses and all. Sampson and the boys engage in a pretty tasty firefight with some baddie Injuns, thereby cementing the Hickok/Crazy Horse partnership.
But then the Pale Bison shows up and we start laughing again. This critter is derned smart, way smarter than the eating machines I can drive twenty miles from my home to see. Our friend--we shall call him Billy--busts through that styrofoam wall, screeching and huffing, and looking for some actors to gore. In the final fight with Billy, Mssrs. Bronson, Sampson, and Warden engage in hand-to-hoof combat. It's really gory, but buffalo can take a lickin' and keep on tickin'!
When the credits rolled, I felt, well, not unsatisfied. Sidekick Jack Warden chews out Bronson for letting Sampson get the glory, and he unleashes a nasty diatribe against "red n*****s." It's not happy ending for a monster movie western.
I would say, fire up YouTube and watch it. You'll only lose 97 minutes, and you can make it up by reading a book instead of watching a Hallmark Christmas movie.