Movies: 18470 | TV Series: 3282 | Added today: 0 | Storage: 65898 GB

Genres: AdventureWest

Starring: Burt Lancaster, Richard Jaeckel, Gladys Holland, Richard Bull, Bruce Davison, John Pearce, Karl Swenson

Country: USA

Year: 1972

Available Quality: DivX, iPod

IMDB Rating: 7.1 out of 10 (1832 votes)

Report reaches the US cavalry that the Apache leader Ulzana has left his reservation with a band of followers. A compassionate young officer, Lieutenant DeBuin, is given a small company to find him and bring him back accompanying the troop is McIntosh, an experienced scout, and Ke-Ni-Tay, an Apache guide. Ulzana massacres, rapes and loots across the countryside and as DeBuin encounters the remains of his victims, he is compelled to learn from McIntosh and to confront his own naivity and hidden prejudices.

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Visitors Review

DFC-2 (25 May 2012)

Grim, realistic, and non-judgmental guerilla war

Stark and brutal, but completely lacking the melodramatic sturm und drangofmost war movies, Ulzana's Raid plays out like it was another deadly day atthe office for the participants. Produced as an allegory on the VietnamWar, Robert Aldrich and Burt Lancaster created a focused drama about thesenselessness of hating your opponents and the absence of victory inethnicconflicts. The participants and victimized settlers aren't so muchdehumanized as they are inconsequential except to themselves.Filmed in Nogales, Arizona and Nevada, the conflict is played outrealistically with both sides shepherding their supplies of time,endurance,ammunition, and manpower. The location shots are beautifully laid outwithan emphasis on depicting the strategic planning of the apache raiders andopposing troopers. Several scenes stand out in sharp contrast to mostwarmovies. In one group of scenes, Aldrich follows a German family andtheirfate as the wife rides off with her child and a trooper escort, and thewell-armed husband stays behind to defend their home. In another, thetroopcommander sends two soldiers after a wounded apache raider. In bothcases,he turns conventional logic and sentiment on its head in honor of agrimmerreality. To my mind, this is one of the best war stories ever made andtheDVD lays it out in full screen Technicolor.

Robert J. Maxwell (24 May 2012)

Thoughtful Cavalry vs. Indians

Nobody can accuse the writer (Alan Sharp) or the director (RobertAldrich) of an excess of political correctness in this movie. TheChiracahua Apache Ulzana and his dozen or so followers are prettybrutal characters. They torture captives, rape women, mutilate the deadbodies of their enemies and are generally pitiless.As a matter of historical fact, the Indians of the high plains and theSouthwest didn't fight according to the rules of fair play thatgoverned Western armies. I don't know about rape. The ethnographies aretoo genteel to get into it. But the Apache in particular were given todeboning some prisoners beginning with the fingertips. And not just thewarriors. The Mojave men turned their wounded captives over to thewomen, who REALLY knew how to deal with them. But let me get off thatsubject because it's beginning to remind me of my marriage.Ulzana is dissatisfied with the treatment his tribe is receiving on thereservation so he leads his band off on a series of raids, pursued by agreen lieutenant (Davison), a detail of cavalry troopers, BurtLancaster as the weary scout, and Jorge Luke as the reformed Apacheguide. So far, so routine.But this is fairly well done. The renegade Indians may be savage butthe troopers show that they can mutilate bodies too. And theinexperienced but well-meaning lieutenant reveals some subtleexpressions of prejudice against a different race or, more accurately,a different culture. The script doesn't justify or explain thedifference between the cavalry and the Indians. Rather, it describesthem, and with reasonable accuracy. For instance, the Apache are shownas especially adept at fighting on foot, which was the case.Lancaster doesn't seem to put much into the role, a little surprisinggiven his social and political leanings. Bruce Davison as thelieutenant is quite good. It's too bad he looks fourteen years oldbecause he delivers his lines well and has the properly innocentfeatures. But his voice cracks, a little like Jimmy Stewart's, as if hewere pubescent, and his frame is diminutive.As usual, it's nice to see Richard Jaeckel in uniform again. Here --grown a bit more husky with age -- he is top sergeant of Davison'sdetail. I do wish the poor guy could be promoted, maybe get acommission. He began as a mere Marine private in "Guadalcanal Diary"and had only made sergeant in the US Army by "The Dirty Dozen", aquarter of a century later. Now, five years after that, he's stuck ingrade, but I understand he was finally retired as Warrant Officer andnow lives in Coronado, California, where he spend his time cursing seagulls and writing angry letters to the San Diego Union-Tribune aboutthe deep need of Americans for more war in order to speed uppromotions.This film isn't a masterpiece but the photography is nice, the actionabundant, and the objectivity pronounced. If it isn't politicallycorrect, at least it's not obvious propaganda like the Westerns of the30s or "Stagecoach" or "Little Big Man." Polemics get tiresome anddated. This one opts for stimulating thought instead of binaryemotions. As Lancaster's character puts it, "We'd be better offthinking' instead of hatin'." But the point is usually made with moresubtlety.

documain-1 (23 May 2012)

Forget the allegories, this is simply a great film.

The first issue on this film is the question, "Is the print I amlooking at complete?" When Ulzana's Raid was scheduled as a late movieon network TV, I set the timer to capture it. After viewing it, I wasstunned. I watched it several times, trying to savor every detail. Icould see, however, that network TV had edited out some graphicallyviolent scenes.I purchased a home video version, but was disappointed. It had some ofthe graphic images restored, but some other scenes were missing fromthe purchased version that I had seen in the network TV version. Forexample, there is a scene between Lloyd Bochner and Douglass Watson,the post commander. Watson is listening to the oily Bochner attemptingto weasel out of the detail to chase Ulzana. Watson is taking snuffduring the scene, which is fascinating in its statement. It is arevolting exhibition, and it leaves you with the question of why anyonewould do anything like that. Leaving it out of the film disturbs thebalance, in that it is yet another example of the white man'squestionable behavior. We already knew the Apaches were a littleeccentric.Also missing is the scene between Lloyd Bochner and Bruce Davison whereBochner is selling the young lieutenant on the notion that herecommended Davison for the mission instead of he himself weaseling outof it. The naive lieutenant is most grateful. This scene is importantin that it emphasizes DeBuin's naivetÃ©, and shows the integrity of atleast one of the cavalry officers.There is another scene deleted where McIntosh is reading from theRukeyser's bible, and deriving obscure facts about the family that hadbeen decimated by the Apaches. It was almost wistful in its statementof how the twists and turns of life depend on trifles.And there is the question of Mrs. McIntosh. Aimee Eccles plays thepart, a credited role, but she appears as no more than a shadow in thetwo versions of the film I saw. Is something missing here also?Ulzana's Raid is a carefully constructed mosaic, and it is terriblethat a "director's cut" is not available.Much of the commentary on this cult film addresses allegorical aspects,but I never got that from the film. I think it is more interesting tofocus on Jorge Luke's character Ke-Ni-Tay. I have been able to identifyLuke in a couple of films, most notably for me was Sunburn, wherein heplays a thug. He is evidently a veteran of the Mexican cinema, with 110entries in the IMDb for his appearances. He handles this role with justthe right touch.From the outset, Ke-Ni-Tay is shown as the superior man in most ways.He is extraordinary in his job, and more than competent. He is also aphilosopher and teacher. He tells the lieutenant why the Apachestorture and kill their captives. "You not know about power. In thisland, man must have power. Each man who dies, the man who kills him,takes his power." He also explains why Ulzana left the agency. "Ulzanais at agency long time. His power is very thin. He had old smell in thenose. The smell of dog, of women, of children. Man with old smell inthe nose is old man. Ulzana wants new smell. The smell of bullet. Ponyrunning. For power!" Ke-Ni-Tay is also a joker. When asked by thelieutenant if he knows Ulzana, Ke-Ni-Tay says, "His wife is my wife'ssister. His wife ugly. My wife, not so ugly."Ke-Ni-Tay appears also to rate higher in the Apache pecking order aswell. When Ulzana is finally cornered, and he realizes the raid isover, Ke-Ni-Tay confronts him with the death of Ulzana's son. Ulzanawillingly submits to his own execution, and Ke-Ni-Tay performs the actwith honor and respect, but without hesitation.Ke-Ni-Tay is an honorable man. When asked by DeBuin if he will kill thelookout, he says, "Ke-Ni-Tay sign paper." There is no question he willfollow through.Ke-Ni-Tay is also a loving and loyal friend. His relationship withMcIntosh goes way beyond a Lone Ranger and Tonto association. Theirbond is shown subtly and beautifully by Director Aldrich, through looksand simple gestures. There are no words of sentiment between them, buttheir friendship is strong. Ke-Ni-Tay worries that the lieutenant willnot ride back to help McIntosh. McIntosh rebukes the lieutenant for hisimplied insults to Ke-Ni-Tay simply because he is an Apache, as thelieutenant's hate for Apaches grows throughout the film. When asked ifKe-Ni-Tay can be trusted, McIntosh says simply but emphatically, "Itrust him." At the end of the film, Lieutenant DeBuin is a wiser manthan when he began his journey with Ke-Ni-Tay. As he leaves Ke-Ni-Tayto deal with the burial of Ulzana, DeBuin salutes him, with the simpleaddress of "Scout," as he takes his leave.Ke-Ni-Tay is one of the most fascinating characters in film. Hischaracter is carefully constructed and revealed, and his stature growsthroughout. He is complex and heroicÂa man one would be honored toknow.Ulzana's Raid is a cult film for sure. Look at the number of commentsit has received here. This is a provocative and evocative masterpiece.Hopefully, this film will be restored to its original release. Itdeserves it.

bux (23 May 2012)

One of the better post 1960 Westerns

If there is a moral to this story or if it was served up as allegory, itpassed by me. This is a good action western-sure it has some bigotry (notas bad as "Arrowhead"(1953) but the characters are well developed and thestory flows along nicely. The scene in which the trooper shoots the womanto save the child is disturbing, but only adds to the realism. I passedonwatching this one for many years, as I don't care much for post 1960Westerns, I was in error in not catching this earlier...it's a good one.

TM-2 (23 May 2012)

Great western

Ulzana's raid is a truely excellent movie. It is gritty, often violent andintended for mature audiences. Burt Lancaster is superb in this role. Likemany of his other westerns, it has a harder edge than most people like tosee. Made about the same time as possibly the best western (in it's uneditedform) ever made "Soldier Blue", it lacks the extreme gore that resulted insevere censorship of that movie. However, Ulzana's raid does pack apunch.I find it interesting that most of the westerns from this time period endedup being heavily cut resulting in dumbed down and toned down offerings. Withthe advent of DVD I hope more of these American classics get released intheir origonal format and uncut.As for the DVD, I do own a copy despite it being a pan and scam abomination.It offered the best (and I use the word very loosly) version currentlyavailable.

elcoat (22 May 2012)

One of the two greatest Westerns.

... the other being The Searchers, of course.Bruce Davison's Lt. DeBuin could have as easily been a new lieutenantfresh out of West Point in Viet Nam. The film educates the viewer onthe reality of those times and responsibilities and human responses tothem.Lancaster is perfectly cast as the aging scout who has come to respectand like one of the fiercest and at that time least likable NativeAmerican peoples. (There were two other Lancaster Westerns at about thetime of this one: The Lawman, and Valdez Is Coming.) But the mostfascinating and illuminating character is Apache Scout Ke-Ni-Tay,thanks to Jorge Luke's restrained acting.Indeed, it is the young Apache Scout's and young Army lieutenant'smeeting, exchanges, and ultimate mutual understanding and respect -enabled and encouraged by the wise, fatherly scout, and shared by theaudience - which is the crux of this film.This little-known film everyone should see, before they pass judgmenton those times and places and how people there handled them.Lou Coatney

vincentorsini (16 May 2012)

Not only a classic but the truth

Not only a classic western but one of only two that show the PlainsIndian tribes in their true colours (the other is 'A Man CalledHorse'). The feared Apache braves were not mad but definitely could bebad and dangerous to know. They also might have been a beautiful peoplebut at the same time were brutal and most cruel. To gain a man's powerthey would slowly torture the poor soul to death. Any soldier fightingthe Apache would hold the last bullet back for himself, rather thansuffer a fate far worse than death. Other 70's westerns liberalised theIndians to make anti Vietnam War statements. 'Ulzana's Raid' set therecord straight and is one savage history lesson about a 'War Party' onthe rampage. Beyond good and evil it's just the way they were. BurtLancaster is perfect and simply sublime as a wise Indian tracker, whowhen asked "Do you hate the Apache?" he replies "Just being afraid ofthem is more than enough". In my opinion 'Ulzana's Raid' has not beenmatched by anything before or since.

esteban hernandez (16 May 2012)

Ulzana, good or bad?

Probably many of us had the question, good or bad? when finish watchingthe film. Aldrich was always fond on Indian problems, but in fact henever went to the roots of the problem. Ulzana seems to be a killerwithout mercy, the dialog between the officer and a recruited Indianleft me also with the sensation that Ulzana and his followers werekillers. However, some ambiguity was also left when Lancaster said tohis officer that he was married to an Indian woman and that Apachesshould be understood. The film was right indicating the intelligence ofthe movement of the Indians in their fight against the white army. Asan entertainment the film is OK, but historically it is poor ingeneral.

loydmooney (16 May 2012)

wow

It is precisely this kind of western that shows what happens when thespaghetti westerns hit the fan. The realism of something like thisutterly shames them into silence and their dumb close ups of bloodshoteyes and badly dubbed mouths. This is the real deal.If somebody said it is the most powerful western ever made, they wouldget no argument from me. Even the dust in this film is grittier thanany I ever saw. Robert Aldrich would laugh his big gut off, however, atall the suggestions of this being a Vietnam allegory: read some of hiswry commentaries about other highfalluten misreadings of his stuff,especially his Mickey Spillane opus. Nope this is just one greatwestern without any leakage from the twentieth century thank you, infact, just the opposite, it does about as good a job of reallytransporting you to the nineteenth and the west as there is. Man, what a good director Robert Aldrich was. One of the last of thereally good ones.

tmwest (15 May 2012)

Outguessing the enemy was the key to survival

During years I avoided seeing `Ulzana's Raid' because the title gave me theidea that it was a spaghetti western of which I had seen my share. I saw ita couple of days ago and was impressed. This is a film that goes into themind of the Indian , and also of the Lieutenant whose father is a ministerand has strong Christian feelings. The two of them live in two differentworlds and for the officer to understand Ulzana is a very hard task, itdoes not relate to anything his father taught him. Nevertheless figuring outUlzana isessential for his mission and he is coached into that by Burt Lancaster andKe-Ni-Tay, an Indian scout. Ulzana kills every homesteader he finds, he mustknow that ultimately he is going to be caught, it is just a question oftime. Lancaster is a master in strategy, but so is Ulzana, who at timesseems like a maestro orienting his men. The brains here count more than theweapons. This is Aldrich's best film, he redeemed himself from `The LastSunset.'

ksundstrom (08 May 2012)

Questioning...?

Permit an additional comment to all the others. So there will be nodescription like the worthy others - just some other views about theclash of forces that formed America. So forceful in American thinkingis Fords forceful and disdainful remark about the value of history:'All history is bunk', that Hollywood with its European talent haschallenged that thought. But in many, many comments of films on IMDbone has to observe reluctantly that history seems to have noimportance. First comment - so it will be history! Americans arrivingfrom the East, those who contributed most to American development, camefrom Europe. Europe had been ravaged by famines, wars, social classstrife, that America - the promised land in the letters sent home toEurope - appeared as the only future for a better life. Many whoarrived were formed by viscousness. There is thus plenty of this in thefilm expressed by the Americans soldiers of European origins, even morehardened and cynical after the American war of Independence. This is tobe accepted - however difficult for Americans to-day. Second comment -the destruction of the Indians. In the broad sweep of indo-Europeanhistory, this was just a minor incident in the European history. Wholeraces in Europe were exterminated from Portugal to the Urals (a widthnot much different from west to east in America) in the most brutalfashion, for example, the moguls of Gengis Khan and even the Frenchduring the Saint Barthelemy massacre 1572 or the persecution in Italyof Savonarola 1498 and the subsequent period of the Roman CatholicInquisition. This history and much more was in the backbone of theEuropeans who built up America. So the Indians and their demise wasjust part of a terrible human pageantry. Third comment - the filmraises such issues of human cruelty, survival, race, development, inthe new world of America. That is its merit par excellence, thanks tothe writer, director, actors and the photography. A film that provokesquestioning and thought.

woxof (07 May 2012)

Watched By Accident Purchased On Purpose

I have only one thing to add to the many fine reviews of this movie.Sometime after seeing it, by pure luck, on a Saturday morning, I readJames A. Michner's "Centennial" (Can you believe Michner was the Uncleof the guy I was watching it with!) In the bibliography at the end ofCentennial, Ulzana's Raid was recommended as one of the best movies forcapturing a true picture of the Old West. I resent the forced inclusionof extra lines just so I can get to 10 lines of comment. I meanshouldn't brevity be its own reward? This is especially aggravating ona MOVIE site! After all Isn't one of the great lines of movie criticism"HIX NIX PIX IN STIX!"? I think the comment about this movie beingrecommended by James A. Michner is, in it's self, sufficientinformation for a review.

lost-in-limbo (07 May 2012)

A western to chew over.

The US cavalry have just learned that apache leader Ulzaza has left hisreservation with a band of followers and now has gone on a killingrampage. They get in Indian tracker McIntosh to help young idealisticLieutenant DeBuin and his small cavalry track him down and bring himback. However what DeBuin encounters on his journey, the aftermath ofUlzana's raids begin to have an affect of him. His naÃ¯ve and biasstandpoint comes to the forefront, as he tries to come to grips byquestioning McIntosh and his trusted Indian guide Ke-Ni-Tay.Director Robert Aldrich's grim and savage western is a lot morethoughtful in its conservative context (allegories to war --- Vietnam)than its blood-drenched images might suggest. Still while trying forthis angle; it's not something we haven't already encountered in otherfilms of its ilk. With it having varying viewpoints (Christian valuesof everyone being one, the matter of trust and simple racial conflict)towards the Apaches from the greenhorn Lt., his men and that of theIndian scout and his apache guide. Where emotion (hate) gets in the wayof rationality (the motivation might not be any better for both sides--- as no-one is clean-cut), and it becomes a calculative mind gamebetween the two parties of waiting for the slip-up to finally pounce.Early on the narrative feels episodic, but then it straightens up forthe chase but Alan Sharp's well-rounded script is compellinglyrespectable in its detailed descriptions. Aldrich's competent handlingkeeps it hardy and earthy with the unsparing tone and brutal acts(violence, torture and rape) suiting the scathing sun-baked Arizonaterrain. Burt Lancaster looking rugged gives a rock solid performanceas McIntosh and the fresh-faced Bruce Davison is agreeably good as Lt.DeBuin. JoaquÃn MartÃnez is stout-like as Ulzana and Jorge Luke isexcellent as Ke-Ni-Tay. Luke's character is the bridging aspect to bothsides. Burly actor Richard Jaeckel also would appear.

scottherbertson (06 May 2012)

re Alan Sharp, scriptwriter

Alan Sharp was the author of arguably the finest of Scottish post warnovels - A Green Tree in Geddes (1965). Westerns (paperback novelsmostly) were a very popular medium for young Scottish males in the1960s and Sharp references them in his early books.Like many before him he was lured by Hollywood and unfortunately gotonly two books into the trilogy that began with 'A Green Tree'.Ulzana's Raid has some Scottish references - the Glasgow or Dundee'hard men' of Sharp's youth would have been familiar characters in theWestern milieu - hard drink rough fighting men.It's possibly a great film, as A Green Tree in Geddes was very nearly agreat book.

Theo Robertson (06 May 2012)

Not A Western - A Great Film

I hate westerns so why do I adore ULZANA`S RAID ? Simple - it`s not awestern Question : What`s the connection between M.A.S.H , TOO LATE THE HERO andCHATO`S LAND ? The answer is they`re all Vietnam allegories . The Hollywoodconservative establishment didn`t allow film makers to voice their commentson the war unless they agreed with it ( Witness the trainwreck that is THEGREEN BERETS ) so the only way auteurs could get round this was if theydressed their stories up as something else . Add ULZANA`S RAID to thelistScottish screenwriter Alan Sharp has written a great script . It has asimple premise which is usually the sign of a good film . US troops go afteran Apache war party . There that`s it the entire premise and a tightlyplotted one at that , something that is not often seen in Hollywood scriptsnowadays . And being a `Nam allegory there`s a lot of character interactionbetween a naive inexperienced officer and his men who are grizzled veterans. Sharp has also made a barbed comment on audience identification , everyonecan relate to the white American soldiers while no one can relate to theApaches murdering and raping homesteaders , but the homesteaders aresurrogate Vietnamese , so at the same time ULZANA`S RAID representscontempary America through both the white calvarymen and the Apache ,something no one seems to have picked up on , but certainly deliberate onthe part of Sharp Flaws ? Well I do think the film deserved a bigger budget than the reported1.2 million dollars , sometimes the production feels like a TVM while themusic swings between a genre western score and a romantic comedy , believeme no one will confuse ULZANA`S RAID with a rom-com . But these minor flawsdon`t stop ULZANA`S RAID from being a great film due to the script , thecast and director Robert Aldrich

tom-darwin (05 May 2012)

Original, Essential, Underrated Western & War Film

The Old West was on the screen, but Vietnam was on the minds of theaudience and possibly the filmmakers. Like other Westerns of the time,"Ulzana's Raid" pays little attention to traditional Western themeslike rugged self-reliance, goodguy-badguy, or the Indian as NobleSavage or Rapacious Brute. It's not the first Western to try to portrayPlains Indians with either sympathy or a degree of realism (RichardWidmark's roles in "The Last Wagon" and "Cheyenne Autumn" come tomind), but it makes an effort scarcely to be equaled before or since.Apache warrior Ulzana (Martinez), weary of his reservation, leadsseveral young braves on a foray for "new smell," as Army scoutKe-Ni-Tay (Luke, in an understated, perfectly deadpan performance)describes it. "New smell" includes the smoke of rifle fire and burninghomesteads. In pursuit is a cavalry detail led by a young lieutenant(Davison) and including Ke-Ni-Tay, a tough, skilled sergeant (Jaeckel)and tracker McIntosh (Lancaster). McIntosh, who is disgusted by whiteexploitation & abuse of the Indians but has no illusions about Ulzana'sdeadliness, brings nothing new to Westerns. It's Davison who standsout, giving us a mirror to look into as he portrays the lieutenant'sstruggle between his Christian idealism and the horrors of homesteadersmutilated by Ulzana. Ke-Ni-Tay, who of course has chosen to work forthe Army, does little to champion the Apaches except to insist thatonly hard men can live in the desert. McIntosh stays calmly neutraltoward the Apaches ("It's like hatin' the desert 'cause there ain't nowater on it"), an attitude that the lieutenant first sees ascallousness. But the lieutenant must also deal with the blind hate ofhis own men, some of whom are happy to mutilate the Apaches in revenge.Hate, training and routine keep the lieutenant from understanding theApaches even enough to fight them. The story is outstandingly clever,with the outnumbered, poorly equipped Ulzana invincible because of hisskill, speed and warcraft--until McIntosh, the sergeant and Ke-Ni-Tayteach the lieutenant to think ("The problem with fighting Apaches ispredicting what they'll do next"). Sparse but intense action sceneskeep the film from turning to sociological mush. The gore & torture aresparse, too, even by 1970s standards, but the terror & despair of thedying makes it far more frightening than the casual bloodbaths of theTarantino age. The theme of soldiers too trapped in their own routine,contempt & hatred to understand their enemy was often revisited in theVietnam movies that began to appear a few years later, including "GoTell the Spartans" starring Lancaster in a similar role to McIntosh. Itis a theme that will probably be picked up again in the decades afterIraq & the War on Terror. Neither side is glorified but all arehumanized, even--perhaps especially--the fearsome Ulzana. If thelieutenant doesn't get happier, he certainly becomes wiser. So does theaudience. It's debatable how effective this film is in depicting the"real" Old West, although the dialog between the Apache characters isall in the native language. But for anyone seeking an understanding ofwarfare from celluloid, "Ulzana's Raid" must be near the top of thelist.

kayaker36 (01 May 2012)

Nobility and Cruelty

If you listen carefully you can hear a few lines in the Apache languagenear the beginning of this picture. Before departing the reservationthe veteran scout MacIntosh (Lancaster) seeks information about hisadversary by questioning several elders of the Apache tribe through thenative auxiliary Ke-Ni-Tay.Like their cousins the Navajo, the Athabascan-speaking Apacheunquestionably migrated from the far North to the American Southwest,though just when this happened is still debated. Taller and fiercerthan the Pueblos and Yumans they found there, and possessing the arcticbow, the Apache soon dominated the whole region though they were pushedout of the easternmost part by the equally warlike Comanche. This picture presents the Apache in all their cunning and savagery, asmany other posters have noted. This is a character-driven narrativewith a straightforward plot. "Why are your people so cruel?" asksLieut. DeBuin of Ke-Ni-Tay. "You do not understand," Ke-Ni-Taycomments, to which the green and idealistic officer replies "I **want**to understand".In a less carefully written script, the juvenile role of Lieut. DeBuincould have come off simply as a spoiled brat or a clueless male ingÃ©nuewhose mistakes have to be redeemed with the blood of his men. But hehas noble qualities. These are revealed subtly and gradually as thestory progresses until the final salute, when we see this young officeras a true leader of men.Terrific performances by veteran Richard Jaeckel (catch him in theoriginal **3:10 to Yuma**), by Jorge Luke, by Lancaster and by youngBruce Davison in a sensitive portrayal of Lieut. DeBuin.

dmgrundy (01 May 2012)

a re-revisionist western

In 1954, Robert Aldrich directed and Burt Lancaster starred in'Apache', a re-consideration of the negative role accorded NativeAmericans in the western film. Just under twenty years later, theyre-united for another examination of the same subject, but therevisionism this time was as much a response to the kind of film madepossible by the likes of 'Apache', as it was to the old myths ofwhooping villains (a la 'Stagecoach'). Attention is paid to creating analmost deadpan examination of the minutiae of life in the west, with aliterate script depicting the complex moral dilemmas that were faced ina time of rough-and-ready law-and-order and rampant racism. Not onlythe settings but the characters are more believable than was the normfor the western at the time (and, given such recent efforts as there-make of '3:10 to Yuma', is the norm today as well). Thus, we havesuch closely thought-through detail as the army scout shooting himselfand the settler he's escorting back to the fort, to save them frombeing tortured by the Apaches, and the tactical manoeuvres centredaround how long horses can last during a lengthy pursuit. In addition,the scout played by Lancaster isn't (as he probably would be today) the'cynical', 'world-weary' character who must redeem himself by someheroic action; rather, he's a competent professional, a man who liveswith an Apache wife but who doesn't buy the 'Little Big Man' myths ofthe peace-loving noble savageÂ a hippie era antidote to the racism of'classic' westerns that actually presented a view just as distorted astheirs. 'Ulzana' is far from a one-man film, though, and it's therelations between Lancaster and other characters that make it such aninteresting picture. Most notably, there's the idealistic young officer(Bruce Davison) who leads the expedition to chase Ulzana, the Apachewho's fled his reservation in frustration and is leading a war party torape and murder local homesteaders. The son of a clergyman, the youngman believes that it's "an absence of Christian feeling" that's led tothe situation of mutual enmity between white men and Native Americans;however, when he sees the aftermath of Ulzana's raids (for instance, amutilated settler has a dog's tail placed in his mouth; as Lancasterwryly observes, Apaches have a strange sense of humour), he quicklyswings to the opposite view, and wonders how Lancaster can have dealtwith the Apache for so long without hating them. The fact that mencould be so cruel offends his notion that man is essentially good("made in God's image") Â particularly so when members of his owncavalry troupe start to mutilate the corpse of Ulzana's teenage son.Lancaster, though, sees through the bullshit, implicitly pointing outthat such a 'humane' viewpoint over-simplifies the questions of cultureclash caused by the white man's invasion of Native American territory.It would be easy to characterise the tribes as mistreated innocentssuffering at the hands of bloodthirsty colonialists (the hippie view),or, as the young officer does, to believe that a little talking andgood-faith would sort things out, and that both sets of men could existtogether in peace, motivated by similar feelings of love andbrotherhood, following 'good moral principles' in harmony. What thatignores, though, is the brutality present in the tribal culture (atleast, in that of the Apaches, who were feared by other tribes as wellas by the white men); commenting on the rape of white settlers, severalcharacters note that "they don't treat their own women much better." Aculture that is based around rites of manhood (as documented in 'A ManCalled Horse') and the feats of male warriors is not all thatdissimilar to that of bloodthirsty white men masquerading behindChristianity, 'the American way', or simple lust for land. Yet just asone is not going to be able to 'understand' the Apache by caricaturingthem as evil, heathen savages, one is also not going to be able tounderstand them by trying to view them as surrogate white liberals:there is a difference, an otherness which should neither beromanticised nor ignored. Appropriately enough, all Ulzana's dialogueis presented, unsubtitled, in his native tongue: no cushy Kevin Costnercharacterisations here. One might characterise this nuanced approach asre-revisionism: a corrective both to the old Hollywood myths whicheveryone by now knew to be untrue, and to the new hippie myths whichwere perhaps more 'worthy' but were also riskily naÃ¯ve.

daedia (29 April 2012)

Get the uncut German TV-Print

ThereÂ´s not much more to say about this masterpiece whatÂ´s not already inall the other comments.But a few years ago the german TV-station WDR restored UlzanaÂ´s Raid andre-added about ten minutes of violence and sadism. Also the print in inandelicious widescreen format and the color and sound are cleaned up a lot.The only problem of course is the dubbing which is ridiculous at times,butthats no big deal compared to the possibility to see Ulzana in itÂ´s fullversion. Get it. :)

youngfransis (29 April 2012)

Didn't like it, Too Stereotypical

As you can see by a couple of comments already left, this movie is not"PC". In fact, I'd say it's a fantasy movie or, perhaps a politicalthriller? I find it funny that throughout the entire movie, the Nativesare regarded as savages. The movie makes you believe that they wereALWAYS savages and the White Man had nothing to do with it. They don'tgo into the HORROR of reservation life or the events leading to theimprisonment of these natives. Genocide was committed in that time, butlet's not talk about that. Let's make a movie glorifying the HUNT of arenegade group of Apaches trying to fight a war using the EXACT SAMEtactics their enemy uses. Let's all enjoy and rate a movie that tellsthe TRUE stories of the Calvary slaughtering woman, children, oldpeople and men. Let's rent a movie about the people and culture that nolonger exist due to the U.S. policy to extinguish the Indian populationwhile we enjoy a nice bowl of popcorn. I'm not buying the message thatis being sent through this movie.

Review total: 20, showing from 1 to 20

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