Bite the Bullet -1975 (Brooks)

Plot:  In 1908 Colorado, nine adventurers enter a long-distance, 700 mile horse race.
Stars: Gene Hackman, Candice Bergan, James Coburn, and Ben Johnson

Pros:  Scenery, Ben Johnson, a few good scenes, excellent finish, Horses

Cons: Sluggish pace, sparse dialog, choppy editing, Candice Bergan

Best Quote: A big, expensive Western that doesn't contain one moment that might be called genuine. The movie looks prefabricated - New York Times

An enjoyable movie that ambles along for too long at too slow a pace.  Except for Ben Johnson (a real joy) the excellent cast doesn't have much to work with. Candice Bergan, in particular, is given an unbelievable character ( a whore, striking a blow for feminism) and forced to engage in too many tedious "We can't let a female...." discussions. And while the scenery is great, the film often looks cheap - like many 70s films.

The dialog not only is sparse, but too cynical and downbeat. Typical 1970s, of course. At one point, Hackman (our Hero) actually offers a prostitute Heroin! And we get the usual, in this case untrue, historical revisionism.  Former Rough-rider Hackman declares they didn't "charge up San Juan Hill"  they "crawled up the Hill on our scared bellies".  Of course, they ran/walked up the Hill - had they "crawled" - they would have all been shot before they got to the top.  

Why the sparse dialog and underdeveloped story?  Brooks started with an unfinished script - and wrote most of it while filming. The actors would get a page of dialog every morning. The ending wasn't written till the night before.

Summary:  A good cast and story idea that comes up lame, due to a 2nd rate script. The producer should have hired a writer with more talent and less chutzpah.  But Hackman and Ben Johnson are always fun to watch. Rating **1/2