Very well executed

the audience applauded

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

I finally got to watch this movie last night thanks to Netflix. It wasn't what I was expecting. Made in 1972 I expected some type of simplistic left-wing hand-wringing allegory about the Vietnam War and the inherent evil of European culture vs. the Noble Red Man. Something along the same lines as the awful "Soldier Blue" (1970) or the better, but still hopelessly biased "Little Big Man" (1970). However I didn't get that at all."Ulzana's Raid" doesn't candy-coat either side. There is no simplistic paint strokes applied. The Apache Wars in the southwest in the late 1800's were brutal. No quarter was given and none was expected. Both sides were certain that they were right and their opponent was wrong and both sides were motivated by the belief that they were superior in terms of their civilizations and racial beliefs. Both sides committed atrocities, both sides could be both vicious and brave, both sides had blood on their hands.The one thing that I came away with was that the fighting in Arizona was a guerrilla war. An undeclared war that was vicious and cruel and which the movie conveys very well. If there is any allegory to Vietnam I would say that is it. War is horrific and fighting one isn't a pleasant task. Decisions have to be made that often result in death, but those decisions have to be made and people have to follow the orders of those who make those decisions. Both sides. Well done film. At times unpleasant and disturbing, but also thoughtful, intelligently written and balanced.

Above average western with some brutal violence and some talky exploration of the Whiteman vs Indian philosophy and behavior. The then trend of social commentary started making its way into the movie western. There had been a long film history, with a few notable exceptions, of portraying Native Americans as mad dog, heathen horribles that were destroying the White Man's manifest destiny and needed extermination or at the very least interment. They were less than human.That ethnocentric egotism is here but at least it is articulated and a skeptical scope is put on both sides. Make no mistake, the Indians are the villains here, but the invading, trespassing intruders will pay a heavy price, as do they. The lesson here is not politically correct, it is an inconvenient consistency, White is right and the Darkman is at best a Noble Savage who wears feathers instead of hats.

"Ulzana's Raid" is a bit more modern in style than many westerns, as it's bloodier and is a bit more grim than most films in the genre. However, it's not all modern, as there is no trace of the changing attitudes towards the American Indian, as in this film the Apaches are pretty much scum. This tribe takes pleasure in torture, murder and rape--things you won't see in a more modern western...if they made them any more. I am not sure how true this depiction of this particular tribe is true as well as one soldier blowing out his brains after murdering a white woman to prevent them from capturing them. All I know is that this made for a rather depressing film.Burt Lancaster plays a grizzled old scout. He is experienced in dealing with the Apache. Bruce Davison plays a VERY young and inexperienced Cavalry lieutenant who is in charge of a small expedition that is out to chased down and kill the Apache, Ulzana, and his raiding party. Much of the film consists of desert shots--with soldiers following Ulzana's trail. This is punctuated by period brutal scenes--brutal for 1972, though not all that brutal today.I noticed that some of the reviewers really liked this film. I found it all to be a bit ponderous and you KNEW how the film would end--only exactly how it got there was in question. An okay western but not among Lancaster's better films.By the way, although the film is rated R, it probably today would be rated PG-13 or perhaps even PG.

Alan Sharp was the author of arguably the finest of Scottish post war novels - A Green Tree in Geddes (1965). Westerns (paperback novels mostly) were a very popular medium for young Scottish males in the 1960s and Sharp references them in his early books.Like many before him he was lured by Hollywood and unfortunately got only 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 the Western milieu - hard drink rough fighting men.It's possibly a great film, as A Green Tree in Geddes was very nearly a great book.