Ulzana's Raid [DVD]

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Product Description ------------------- Robert Aldrich's violent Western about a cavalry platoon, led by Burt Lancaster's Indian scout, in search of a group of Apaches on the rampage after escaping from a reservation. The film centres on the different reactions to the Apache killings from the scout and the platoon leader. Considered to be one of Aldrich's best but overlooked films it is also seen as an allegory of America's involvement in Vietnam. .co.uk Review ------------- Robert Aldrich pulls no punches in his unrelentingly brutal story of a reign of terror perpetrated on Arizona settlers by a bitter Apache warrior and the cavalry's frustrated attempts to stop him. Burt Lancaster ( /gp/search?search-alias=dvd&field-keywords=Burt%20Lancaster+-ntsc ), a longtime Aldrich collaborator and star of the similar 1954 Western Apache, brings his laconic, quietly authoritative presence to the role of McIntosh, a blunt-speaking, introspective old army scout with more respect than hate for his enemy. A very young Bruce Davison is the green-as-a-sing Lieutenant DeBuin, fresh from West Point and filled with Christian ideals, thrown into the field against the vicious, ly brilliant Ulzana. DeBuin is shocked and appalled at Ulzana's brutality--torturing male homesteaders to death, raping the women, leaving a trail of mutilated corpses--and as he struggles to understand Ulzana his values of Christian charity soon melt into racist hatred. Ulzana's tactics were familiar to Americans in 1972 who followed the war in Vietnam and the guerrilla attacks of the Vietcong. Like The Wild Bunch before it, Ulzana's Raid removes the sentimentality of Western ideals in its harsh portrayal of the violent world, though unlike Sam Peckinpah, Aldrich leaves the violence off-screen and allows the audience to see only the horrific aftermath. (These scenes are often graphic and not recommended for the squeamish.) It's a disturbing and powerful film, where the concept of good guys and bad guys becomes meaningless and the battle between cultures ultimately comes down to survival in a harsh world. --Sean Axmaker