Sign In / Sign Up

The White Buffalo

The White Buffalo
Release date: 1977-05-01
Rating: 5.908
Votes: 130
Genres: Western, Adventure, Action
In this strange western version of Moby Dick, Wild Bill Hickok hunts a white buffalo he has seen in a dream. Hickok moves through a variety of uniquely authentic western locations - dim, filthy, makeshift taverns; freezing, slaughterhouse-like frontier towns and beautifully desolate high country - before improbably teaming up with a young Crazy Horse to pursue the creature.

Reviews

Wuchak

Wuchak

_**This is what-were-they-thinking bad, but sorta enjoyable if you can acclimate**_ Wild Bill Hickok (Charles Bronson) is haunted by nightmares involving a legendary white buffalo and so travels to the Black Hills region to hunt the creature with his old geezer pardner (Jack Warden). The problem is Crazy Horse (Will Sampson) is seeking vengeance on the beast for killing his daughter. Meanwhile Clint Walker appears as a heavy. "The White Buffalo" was ready for release by 1976, but was withheld for over a year before being dumped into the general-circulation market. Based on a 1975 book, Director J. Lee Thompson described it as Moby Dick of the West. There’s also a “Jaws” (1975) angle with the three guys teaming up to find and slay the beast. The wintery outdoor locations are wonderful and the cast is great, also including notables Kim Novak, Stuart Whitman, Slim Pickens, Ed Lauter and John Carradine. I also appreciate the sensitive story of Wild Bill and the great chief Crazy Horse overcoming prejudice to discover common ground and friendship of sorts. In addition, there’s some profound explorations of finding yourself, seeking your destiny, ridding yourself of fears to become more human. Regrettably, the indoor sets are too artificial and the bison animatronics leave a lot to be desired, resembling a giant shaggy toy, but I guess producers had limited options in the pre-CGI era, especially if they lacked the necessary funds. These elements plus the comic book vibe will leave you wondering “What were they thinking?” The white bison’s godawful attack on the Oglala camp is Exhibit A. Another glaring issue is that not enough backstory is given for Hickok’s nightmares that would provoke him to suddenly wake-up all guns blazing and travel to some remote area to slay this legendary beast (I’m assuming such scenes were cut). But, if you can adjust, there’s a lot to enjoy here. It’s basically a cult Western — bad, for sure, but somehow entertaining and profound, IF you can adapt to its peculiarities. The film runs 1 hours, 37 minutes, and was shot partially in the studio & Bronson Canyon, Los Angeles, but also in Colorado, Arizona & New Mexico. GRADE: C

Movie Recommendation

  • Kelly's Heroes
    Kelly's Heroes
    1970-06-22
    A misfit group of World War II American soldiers goes AWOL to rob a bank behind German lines.
    More...
  • The Shootist
    The Shootist
    1976-07-21
    Afflicted with a terminal illness John Bernard Books, the last of the legendary gunfighters, quietly returns to Carson City for medical attention from his old friend Dr. Hostetler. Aware that his days are numbered, the troubled man seeks solace and peace in a boarding house run by a widow and her son. However, it is not Books' fate to die in peace, as he becomes embroiled in one last valiant battle.
    More...
  • The Mechanic
    The Mechanic
    1972-10-06
    Arthur Bishop is a veteran hit man who, owing to his penchant for making his targets' deaths seem like accidents, thinks himself an artist. It's made him very rich, but as he hits middle age, he's so depressed and lonely that he takes on one of his victim's sons, Steve McKenna, as his apprentice. Arthur puts him through a rigorous training period and brings him on several hits. As Steven improves, Arthur worries that he'll discover who killed his father.
    More...
  • The Dirty Dozen: Next Mission
    The Dirty Dozen: Next Mission
    1985-02-04
    Major Reisman is "volunteered" to lead another mission using convicted army soldiers, sentenced to either death or long prison terms. This time their mission is to kill a Nazi general who plans to assassinate Hitler.
    More...
  • Murphy's Law
    Murphy's Law
    1986-04-18
    A tough police detective escapes from custody after being framed and arrested for the murder of his ex-wife, and must now find the real killer and prove his innocence.
    More...
  • Telefon
    Telefon
    1977-12-16
    Nicolai Dalchimski, a mad KGB agent steals a notebook full of names of "sleeping" undercover KGB agents sent to the U.S. in the 1950's. These agents got their assignments under hypnosis, so they can't remember their missions until they're told a line of a Robert Frost poem. Dalchimski flees to the U.S. and starts phoning these agents who perform sabotage acts against military targets.
    More...
  • Invitation to a Murder
    Invitation to a Murder
    2023-05-05
    A reclusive billionaire invites six seemingly random strangers to his island estate in the south of England. Aspiring detective Miranda Green finds the mysterious invitation too alluring to pass up. When another guest turns up dead, Miranda must get to the bottom of the malicious plot behind the gathering.
    More...
  • Love and Bullets
    Love and Bullets
    1979-04-05
    Jackie Pruit is the girlfriend of notorious gangster Joe Bomposa. When it looks as if Bomposa's goons are threatening Jackie's life, the FBI moves in to protect her, hoping that she'll have incriminating evidence. Veteran agent Charlie Congers is assigned to watch over Jackie, and while it soon becomes apparent that she knows almost nothing about Bomposa that would be of any use to the FBI, he falls in love with her. Bomposa decides it would be more convenient to have Jackie out of the way, ordering her to be executed. Bomposa's henchmen slip through FBI security and murder her, but now they have to answer the angry and vengeful Congers.
    More...
  • Mon Colle Knight: Legendary Fire Dragon
    Mon Colle Knight: Legendary Fire Dragon
    2000-12-21
    An alternative interpretation of the series' start.
    More...
  • The Four Feathers
    The Four Feathers
    2002-09-08
    A young British officer resigns his post when he learns of his regiment's plan to ship out to the Sudan for the conflict with the Mahdi. His friends and fiancée send him four white feathers as symbols of what they view as his cowardice. To redeem his honor, he disguises himself as an Arab and secretly saves their lives.
    More...
  • Heavy Metal
    Heavy Metal
    1981-08-07
    The embodiment of ultimate evil, a glowing orb terrorizes a young girl with bizarre stories of dark fantasy, eroticism and horror.
    More...
  • Remember the Titans
    Remember the Titans
    2000-09-29
    After leading his football team to 15 winning seasons, coach Bill Yoast is demoted and replaced by Herman Boone – tough, opinionated and as different from the beloved Yoast as he could be. The two men learn to overcome their differences and turn a group of hostile young men into champions.
    More...
  • Who Framed Roger Rabbit
    Who Framed Roger Rabbit
    1988-06-22
    'Toon star Roger is worried that his wife Jessica is playing pattycake with someone else, so the studio hires detective Eddie Valiant to snoop on her. But the stakes are quickly raised when Marvin Acme is found dead and Roger is the prime suspect.
    More...
  • The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
    The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
    2005-12-07
    Siblings Lucy, Edmund, Susan and Peter step through a magical wardrobe and find the land of Narnia. There, they discover a charming, once peaceful kingdom that has been plunged into eternal winter by the evil White Witch, Jadis. Aided by the wise and magnificent lion, Aslan, the children lead Narnia into a spectacular, climactic battle to be free of the Witch's glacial powers forever.
    More...
  • American Sniper
    American Sniper
    2014-12-25
    U.S. Navy SEAL Chris Kyle takes his sole mission—protect his comrades—to heart and becomes one of the most lethal snipers in American history. His pinpoint accuracy not only saves countless lives but also makes him a prime target of insurgents. Despite grave danger and his struggle to be a good husband and father to his family back in the States, Kyle serves four tours of duty in Iraq. However, when he finally returns home, he finds that he cannot leave the war behind.
    More...
  • Taxi Driver
    Taxi Driver
    1976-02-09
    A mentally unstable Vietnam War veteran works as a night-time taxi driver in New York City where the perceived decadence and sleaze feed his urge for violent action.
    More...
  • Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire
    Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire
    2024-03-27
    Following their explosive showdown, Godzilla and Kong must reunite against a colossal undiscovered threat hidden within our world, challenging their very existence – and our own.
    More...
  • Parasite
    Parasite
    2019-05-30
    All unemployed, Ki-taek's family takes peculiar interest in the wealthy and glamorous Parks for their livelihood until they get entangled in an unexpected incident.
    More...
  • Rear Window
    Rear Window
    1954-08-01
    A wheelchair-bound photographer spies on his neighbors from his apartment window and becomes convinced one of them has committed murder.
    More...
  • Marriage Story
    Marriage Story
    2019-09-28
    A stage director and an actress struggle through a grueling, coast-to-coast divorce that pushes them to their personal extremes.
    More...

Similar Movies