Ulzana's Raid | | Cast : | Burt Lancaster, Bruce Davison | | Director : | Robert Aldrich | | Studio : | Goodtimes Home Video | | Format : | Color | | Released Date : | October 18, 1972 | | DVD Released Date : | March 02, 1999 | | Language : | English (Dubbed), English (Original Language), French (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled) | | Audience Rating : | R (Restricted) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | July 21, 2005 | | Summary | An Overlooked But Very Good 1970's Cavalry Movie | Content
 | The story of this film is simple enough. In 1880's Arizona, the Apache chief Ulzana and his band of warriors have jumped the reservation and go on a killing spree. A troop of cavalry, under an inexperienced lieutenant fresh out of West Point, is sent to bring them back, dead or alive. The lieutenant, ably played by a young Bruce Davison, has help in the form of an aging, world-weary scout played by Burt Lancaster. "Ulzana's Raid" was one of several such movies made during the Vietnam era. While "Soldier Blue" or "Little Big Man" depict the soldiers as villains and the Native Americans as victims, here both sides are shown to be capable of great brutality. We see the atrocities inflicted by the Apaches on the settlers, but we also watch soldiers disfiguring Apache corpses. Davison's lieutenant, who has been raised to believe in the myth of the "noble savage," has a rude awakening on both ends. This is a movie that is very much overlooked, and undeservedly so, because it's one of the fairest and least biased depictions of the Indian Wars ever put on screen, intelligently handled with no clean-cut winners or losers. Not your traditional cavalry movie, but well worth the viewing! |
| Rating | | | Date | December 23, 2004 | | Summary | Bleak Narration of a Rough Chase. | Content
| Robert Aldrich is a well known film director with more than 30 titles in his account. Many are great "hits" as "The Dirty Dozen" (1967) and "What ever happened to Baby Jane?" (1962) and some are standard stuff.
Apaches and the Wild West figure more than once in his filmography as "Apache" (1954) and "Vera Cruz" (1954).
When he directed this movie he was almost ending his career and felt free to take some risks. This film is risky and gives a stern look to Apache and White Men confrontation. Many of the scenes presented are cruel and barbarous but not gratuitous. They blatantly are inquiring for "Why this cruelty?" and the explanation come from Ke-Ni-Tay's mouth, voicing Apache's beliefs and traditions, giving a rationale to their procedures.
I've recently reviewed some films dealing with similar subject, not one of them is as bluntly direct and believable as "Ulzana's Raid".
Aldrich's movie shows no "Blue Coat Heroes", no "Native Shining Knights". Shows just rough men immersed in a deadly confrontation trying their best to outsmart and annihilate the enemy. Yet, best human traits still emerge from this dry opus: self-sacrifice and loyalty; need for understanding and respect for the defeated.
The story centers in a group of nine Apaches leaded by Ulzana, which flee San Carlos Reservation and start a raid, creating havoc and devastation in their path. A small detachment conducted by a very "green" Lieutenant, an old White scout and an Apache scout follow the rogue party to put an end to their "amok run".
Burt Lancaster fleshes McIntosh with all his skill depicting a hardboiled scout having to bear the "authority" of the inexperienced military. Jorge Luke as Ke-Ni-Tay, Joaquin Martinez as Ulzana, Bruce Davison as Lt. De Buin and Richard Jaeckel as the Sergeant are very convincing.
A tough movie to watch, not commendable for young and/or impressionable audience. Nevertheless a "keeper" if you like "untamed realistic" Western!
Reviewed by Max Yofre.
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| Rating | | | Date | March 22, 2004 | | Summary | Over Priced DVD | Content
| I have the VHS of this movie. I would rate the movie as outstanding. I have waited for the DVD to come out but in my opinion it way over priced and people like me who are retired and on a fixed income cannot afford to pay the price you ask. If it comes down, a lot, I will save up my money and purchase this DVD. |
| Rating | | | Date | May 21, 2003 | | Summary | Great underated film. Lancaster performs masterfully. | Content
| Now: The subject is grim.
The actors are outstanding.
The script is very good.
I have it in VHS. And waiting for a DVD widescreen.
Probably the West (Southwest) was something like that, hats off for the Director. |
| Rating | | | Date | November 30, 2002 | | Summary | FULL-SCREEN (ALAS...) VERSION OF A SUPERB WESTERN | Content
| I really don't understand what's going on in the mind of the people who decide which movies may have the honor to be released in the DVD standard. Take Robert Aldrich's ULZANA'S RAID for instance. Everybody knows or at least should know that only the curious ones and the movie lovers would bought this 1972 movie and that this category of viewers prefers a wide-screen version than a butchered version of the movie they choose. Alas, it seems that our beloved DVD producers are the sole unaware of this fact. Shame on them. As usual, Robert Aldrich doesn't present in this film what the majority of people would expect from a mainstream western. All the characters featured in ULZANA'S RAID have a good reason to act the way they did, even Ulzana, an apache parked in a reservation, almost starving and deprived from his pride. The scout Burt Lancaster (or the director Aldrich) doesn't judge nor hate Ulzana, he's just scared to death of what could do a bunch of bloody warriors to farmers lost in the Arizona desert. Aldrich, like Samuel Fuller, is a punching-ball director who likes to shake his audience so let's enjoy this dreadful vision of the West when men were searching frontiers, geographical and ethical. A DVD zone your library. And for the garbage can as soon as a wide-screen version is available. |
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