Good concept, poorly executed.

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Chato's Land is another in a long line of entertaining Charles Bronson movies, featuring a host of great supporting actors and a simple but powerful storyline. Bronson plays Pardon Chato, an Apache who kills a prejudiced sheriff in self-defense. A posse led by former Confederate Captain Quincy Whitmore (Jack Palance) is formed to hunt down and hang the Indian. The group goes from being hunters to the hunted as they venture into inhospitable, rugged Indian territory- with tragic results.The interesting dynamic lies in the make-up of the posse. Each has joined for a different reason. Whitmore enjoys the thrill of the chase and seeks to re-live past battlefield glory. The sadistic Hooker brothers thirst for the chance to kill an Indian. Others join out of loyalty to the others or felt duty-bound to ride along. During the ride, Whitmore's leadership is challenged and ultimately usurped by Jubal, the eldest of the Hooker brothers (well played by Simon Oakland) as they fruitlessly search for Chato. Powerless to stop the hateful members of the group, Whitmore sees the hunt degenerate into lawless chaos while the Indian sporadically emerges from hiding to fatefully deal with each of his pursuers one by one.Though well-made and entertaining, the film isn't always easy to watch. The rape of Chato's woman and the shooting, hanging and burning of a tribesman reflect the terrible treatment of the Indians in the American Frontier West.Although this is a Charles Bronson film, the supporting cast drives the movie. Ralph Waite, Richard Basehart, Victor French, James Whitmore and Richard Jordan all lend excellent characterizations as members of the posse. Palance and Oakland are excellent as the two main protagonists within the group. Chato's Land is a quality Western worth a look.

Charles Bronson, in extraordinary physical shape, plays a quiet Apache in an apparently hate-mongering Old West town who kills the despicable white sheriff in self-defense; he doesn't stick around to explain his actions, of course--and the bartender who witnessed the shooting certainly isn't talking--prompting a prejudiced posse made up of hard-bitten locals to go after the Indian over rough terrain on horseback. Although beautifully-shot by Robert Paynter, and with several surprisingly literate passages in Gerald Wilson's screenplay, this dusty, grizzled western is all on one-note. It would be difficult to find another movie with as many loathsome characters as the ones we get here, which naturally puts the audience completely on Bronson's side (this, one presumes, the ultimate purpose). Distinctly unlikeable, nevertheless, and awfully long (and obvious) at 110 minutes. ** from ****

Chato's land has a very dark and violent tone. After an altercation in the city, the Apache Chato leads his white pursuers on his land, where the violent manhunt take place.A simple storyline well realized with a tone very specific to this particular early 70s and serves perfectly the darkness of history. The narrative is reinforced by interesting reflections on the Civil War, racism, attitudes, and various relations to things and nature.Charles Bronson always a great North American native. Jack Palance and his partners are very persuasive. A major element screenplay unexpected, a very good end ... a good movie, do not hesitate to reserve one hour and thirty-six minutes to watch and enjoy Chato's [email protected]

Maybe I'm being too harsh on this movie but being a big Bronson fan, I was really disappointed- not to mention bored to tears. The seemingly never-ending chase interrupted by brief moments of Bronson firing down from a hilltop on the chasers left me begging for the movie to end. The brutality seemed sensationally placed to hide the hum drum plot. I got so tired of hearing one of the chasers say something ominous like, "I don't like the looks of this", it started to become a joke. Maybe I just wasn't in the mood for this type of movie but it's hard to think that I will ever attempt to watch it again. It was surprisingly bad considering the entertainment value of other Bronson movies.