Search - The White Buffalo on DVD

The Critics Dismissed This As "Paws" In 1977

David Baldwin | Philadelphia,PA USA | 05/27/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I originally saw this on a double-bill with "Demon Seed" when I was 14. For whatever reason it inexplicably stayed with me. This is the first time I've seen it some thirty years on and I still like it but with reservations. I think as a teenager I viewed it as a monster-western and that may explain the appeal. The film now strikes me as a character study of two sworn enemies Wild Bill Hickok(Charles Bronson) and Crazy Horse (Will Sampson) bound together by their pursuit of an elusive quarry. The acting of both men is quite good but I think their characters are underwritten which I think lies in the script. It may also lie with the film's relatively brief running time of 97 minutes. If ever a film deserves an expanded director's edition "The White Buffalo" is it. Then of course there's the methaphorical title animal. The creature effects are so ridiculous, though the sound effects are good, that it doesn't really suggest the terror the buffalo strikes in men's hearts. Despite these qualms I highly recommend the film. It's an ambitious film as opposed to being a pretentious or ponderous one. I'll take any film that takes the high road and falls a tad short over a mediocre one that achieves it's meager intentions."

Great transfer

Christopher William Jack | Toronto, ON Canada | 05/25/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Odd but strangely compelling mix of "Jaws" and western myth featuring Bronson as Wild Bill Hickock and Will (Chief from "One Flew from the Cuckoo's Nest")Sampson as Crazy Horse hunting a pretty fake looking white buffalo. Together with Bronson's one eyed cohort (played by Jack Warden, who's great), they hunt after this beast under fake names, for if their true infamous names were ever revealed, they would be sworn enemies.

This DVD-R is a pretty first rate transfer, probably the best this film ever looked. The movie is an acquired taste. It isn't your typical western or Bronson film for that matter, talking a lot with a collection of stock colorful western phrases. Potential cult possibilities with its' monster movie in the west motif, buddy western conventions and some unintentional laughs here and there along the way."