I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

What we have here is a generally compelling, viscerally effective Western drama, the first of six teamings between actor Charles Bronson and filmmaker Michael Winner. Written by Gerald Wilson, it spins the yarn of Pardon Chato (Bronson), a half-Apache man who guns down a bigoted sheriff in self defense. A character named Quincey Whitmore (a rock solid Jack Palance) gets together a fairly large posse to hunt Chato down, but they are led into forbidding territory where their quarry seems to hold all the cards.Fear, ignorance, lust, and hatred rear their ugly heads in "Chato's Land", as good as any an examination of the poor attitudes that white men harbored towards Indians. Quincey is a lone dissenting voice; even while taking the mission seriously, he at least has respect for, and some understanding of, the man his team is hunting. Unfortunately, among this group we have the Hooker family, consisting of a horny creep, Earl (Richard Jordan), and a thoroughly racist heel (Simon Oakland), who ends up wanting revenge.Winner assembles here a very fine male ensemble (the kind of thing that Walter Hill would end up doing so well several years later), one in which women have not much of a role to play. (Sadly, the one woman who does, Chato's girl (Sonia Rangan), is molested and left tied up in the nude to serve as bait.) The cast features very reliable stars and character actors. Bronson offers one of his most stoic and mystical roles. He has VERY little dialogue to utter. Palance and Oakland are standouts; also co-starring are James Whitmore, Richard Basehart, Ralph Waite, Victor French, William Watson, Roddy McMillan, Paul Young, and Raul Castro.Excellent music by Jerry Fielding and vibrant photography also help to make this good entertainment. Be warned, however: it does get rather grim, racking up a large body count by the time it has finished.Seven out of 10.

After the opening scene the story has a flavor of "The Most Dangerous Game" going for it. Pardon Chato (Charles Bronson), instead of being hunted by a determined posse, looks more like the hunter in this revenge Western filmed in Spain. That should have been more than apparent to Captain Quincey Whitmore (Jack Palance) and his bunch even before Chato took his first victim, it was easy enough to determine that Chato was leaving a trail for his pursuers to follow.What disappointed me here was the Jack Palance role in the latter part of the story. Captain Quincey was given ample opportunity to be a stand-up guy in a number of situations and he backed down each time. You could sense the Captain was wrestling in his own mind over what to do about the rape of Chato's wife for example, but he gave the vicious members of his posse a pass to follow their own will. I would have expected a more principled leader to stand in opposition to the thugs, thereby setting up a more momentous confrontation against the Apache half breed they were trailing.Even so, Quincey's death scene after getting shot by Jubal (Simon Oakland) was pretty interesting. I believe it's the only one which I've seen where the guy who's about to die is still talking when his body gives out. And speaking of dying, is there a more ignominious way to go than the way Jubal got his? Man, three rocks to the head seemed pretty gruesome to me, but the guy had it coming.As for Chato himself, Bronson didn't need a whole lot of dialog to portray the cunning Indian. Other reviewers here have commented on Bronson's physique in the film, quite impressive for his age and naturally ripped from whatever training regimen he might have followed away from the set. Bronson got to put his body on display in any number of vehicles, and as a contrast, I would point to two guest starring roles he had in TV shows a decade apart. He portrays a boxer in an episode of The Roy Rogers Show from 1952 called 'The Knockout', and again in a One Step Beyond Story from 1962 titled 'The Last Round'. The difference in his appearance is notable in that he's a lot more muscular and heavier in the latter vehicle, looking almost as if he might have been using steroids. All conjecture since I have no way of knowing, but here, another decade later, he has that natural looking physique toned by a rigorous exercise schedule.

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.

A posse, led by a former Confederate soldier, Captain Quincey Whitmore(Jack Palance) decide to head out to find an "Injun" responsible for the murder of a no-good sheriff, the hunted(or, more appropriately, the hunter) an Apache named Chato(Charles Bronson). Listen to this fabulous cast of recognizable veteran character actors which accompany Whitmore on this journey..Simon Oakland, Ralph Waite, Richard Jordan, James Whitmore, Victor French and Richard Basehart. Other actors tagging along are William Watson, Paul Young, and Roddy McMillan.Jubal Hooker(Oakland)decides he and his boys, Elias and Earl(Waite and Jordan), will tag along to find that half-Apache, relishing the thought of hanging an Injun. Racists them all, pretty rough around the edges and foul in demeanor and attitude. Earl keeps his mind of the ladies while always having to start up something with the posse's Mexican scout. When members of the posse(mainly Elias and Earl)find Chato's home, his squaw inside, they rape and molest her, leaving the woman's naked body tied out in the open as bait for her mate. This act, along with the eventual murder of Chato's Apache comrade(who helps tend to his home), hanging him upside down, setting his body on fire, will be the posse's downfall. You see, for most of the film before this act, Chato was just tormenting and teasing them. He'd shoot some of their horses, or stab open their water bags. But, when they resort to violence in order to draw him out, Chato will respond in kind. We watch as Jubal and Elias become tyrannical in their desire to find and kill Chato, after Earl goes out looking for the squaw saved by her mate, getting himself mutilated for his heinous actions regarding the rape for which he was an active, enthusiastic participant..when Quincey speaks of turning back when catching Chato seems futile, the Hookers pull a gun on him, shooting down two who attempt to leave in cold blood. The rape of Chato's squaw and murder of his friend sealed their fates.As impressively shot by cinematographer Robert Paynter(a veteran director of photography, he shot many of Winner's early work, including THE MECHANIC), the sun downs are particularly awe-inspiringly beautiful, while the days look unforgiving and treacherous, land which seemed to have been forgotten by God, only Chato, it seems, could live on it. We see that the white man can not survive on this land, never at any point one step ahead of Chato, truly at his mercy. And, that's really the point, these men start out with great confidence, their heads held high, believing that Chato will be caught by nightfall, further following the half-breed into the sunbaked abyss. We see that this posse begin to tear at one another, their camaraderie and swagger deteriorating the longer they remain in pursuit of Chato, doubt and fear starting to flower. Especially disconcerting for them is how Chato picks them off systematically, not in a hurry, gallantly riding his horse, mostly overhead peering down at the posse, using his surroundings as a tool against the group, wiser and more restrained. Not halting the rape, in my mind, costs the entire group, even if some of the posse didn't participate in the act..in allowing it to continue, each is just as guilty and must pay with their life. I was a bit disappointed we never get to see Chato and Quincey(or Chato and Jubal, for that matter)face off, but even if they had, we know what the outcome would've been. Once Earl was found with his crotch destroyed by fire, Jubal would not allow this to go unabated, and his mania is the upending of the posse's efforts. As is often the case, when things don't go according to plan, usually dissension and friction develop until members of the posse are at each other's throats. This is not the traditional western many grew up watching, it casts white man in a negative light while the Apache is presented as smart, brave, and ingenious in his cunning. Using the Hookers as an example, we see white man as the savages instead of the "Injuns" often depicted as such.