The White Buffalo (1977) (2024)

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1977

Directed by J. Lee Thompson

Synopsis

Two legendary enemies unite to fight the charging white beast!!

In this strange western version of Moby Dick, Wild Bill Hickok hunts a white buffalo he has seen in a dream. Hickok moves through a variety of uniquely authentic western locations - dim, filthy, makeshift taverns; freezing, slaughterhouse-like frontier towns and beautifully desolate high country - before improbably teaming up with a young Crazy Horse to pursue the creature.

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  • Cast
  • Crew
  • Details
  • Genres
  • Releases

Cast

Charles Bronson Jack Warden Will Sampson Kim Novak Clint Walker Stuart Whitman Slim Pickens John Carradine Cara Williams Shay Duffin Clifford A. Pellow Douglas Fowley Ed Lauter Martin Kove Richard Gilliland Eve Brent Scott Walker Ed Bakey David Roya Phil Montgomery Linda Redfearn Chief Tug Smith Douglas Hume Cliff Carnell Ron Thompson Joseph Roman Larry Martindale Scott Bryson Gregory White Show All…

DirectorDirector

J. Lee Thompson

ProducerProducer

Pancho Kohner

WriterWriter

Richard Sale

Original WriterOriginal Writer

Richard Sale

CastingCasting

Joyce Selznick

EditorEditor

Michael F. Anderson

CinematographyCinematography

Paul Lohmann

Assistant DirectorsAsst. Directors

Pat Kehoe Jack Aldworth

Executive ProducerExec. Producer

Dino De Laurentiis

LightingLighting

J. Michael Marlett

Production DesignProduction Design

Tambi Larsen

Art DirectionArt Direction

James L. Berkey

Set DecorationSet Decoration

James L. Berkey Alfred M. Kemper Darrell L. White

Special EffectsSpecial Effects

Larry L. Fuentes Wayne Rose Roy L. Downey Richard M. Parker

Title DesignTitle Design

Dan Perri

StuntsStunts

Bruce Paul Barbour Bennie E. Dobbins Ben Bates Greg Walker Eli Bo Jack Blackfeather George P. Wilbur Joe Pronto

ComposerComposer

John Barry

SoundSound

Lyle J. Burbridge Ross Taylor Pat Kehoe Harlan Riggs William L. McCaughey Michael J. Kohut Donald C. Rogers

Costume DesignCostume Design

Eric Seelig

MakeupMakeup

Phil Rhodes Michael Hancock

HairstylingHairstyling

Shirley Padgett

Studios

United Artists The De Laurentiis Company

Country

USA

Language

English

Alternative Titles

Hunt to Kill, Caçada da Morte, Bílý bizon, Der weiße Büffel, El desafío del búfalo blanco, Sfida a White Buffalo, Le Bison Blanc, A fehér bölény, O Grande Búfalo Branco, A Carga do Búfalo Branco, El Desafió del búfalo blanco, Den vita buffeln, Azgın Boğa, Белый бизон, Белият бизон, Ο σκληροτράχηλος, Biały bizon, 巨牛, Den hvide bøffel, 마지막 우정, 威马神龙, Baltasis bizonas, ホワイト・バッファロー, Білий бізон, Bijeli bizon, กระทิงยักษ์

Genres

Adventure Western Action

Themes

Westerns Wild west outlaws and gunfights Epic adventure and breathtaking battles Western frontier dramas with a touch of humor Terrifying, haunted, and supernatural horror Creepy, chilling, and terrifying horror Show All…

Releases by Date

Sort by

  • Date
  • Country

Theatrical

01 May 1977
  • The White Buffalo (1977) (3)USAPG

12 May 1977
  • The White Buffalo (1977) (4)Germany12

24 Aug 1977
  • The White Buffalo (1977) (5)France

27 Apr 1978
  • The White Buffalo (1977) (6)Spain

24 Jun 1978
  • The White Buffalo (1977) (7)Japan

Physical

19 Nov 2008
  • The White Buffalo (1977) (8)France

12 Mar 2009
  • The White Buffalo (1977) (9)Russia16+

19 Aug 2021
  • The White Buffalo (1977) (10)France

Releases by Country

Sort by

  • Date
  • Country
The White Buffalo (1977) (11)France
24 Aug 1977
  • Theatrical
19 Nov 2008
  • PhysicalDVD
19 Aug 2021
  • PhysicalBlu-Ray
The White Buffalo (1977) (12)Germany
12 May 1977
  • Theatrical12
The White Buffalo (1977) (13)Japan
24 Jun 1978
  • Theatrical
The White Buffalo (1977) (14)Russia
12 Mar 2009
  • Physical16+DVD, «NastroenieVideo»
The White Buffalo (1977) (15)Spain
27 Apr 1978
  • Theatrical
The White Buffalo (1977) (16)USA
01 May 1977
  • TheatricalPG

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  • Review by Cinemonster ★★★★ 16

    An unfairly dumped upon film, The White Buffalo is an ambitious and original entry in to the American Western genre. It combines history and fantasy with introspection and redemption, creating a one-of-a-kind film from a decade that had many.

    Charles Bronson plays Wild Bill Hickok, and Will Sampson plays a disgraced Crazy Horse, both of whom are seeking the title character for reasons that are as similar as they are different.

    Despite its' rep as a Jaws knock-off, there isn't much beyond a few loose superficial connections. There is more great-white-whale than great white shark here. Bronson is very good as is Sampson, and Jack Warden is stellar as Charlie's old friend.

    The gunplay action is top-notch, and the buffalo…

  • Review by Ian West ★★★½ 4

    Charles Bronson waking up from nightmares about buffalo by unloading 12 rounds into the ceiling is a perpetual mood.

    Happy birthday, Chaz

  • Review by Swartacus ★★★½ 19

    A brilliant combo of Hollywood Western machismo and cheap '70s horror sleaze delivered by the director of the original Cape Fear, The Guns of Navarone, multiple Planet of the Apes sequels and Death Wish 4. Much like J. Lee Thompson's bizarre filmography, it really is a perfect amalgamation of the pretentious studio filmmaking of the day and hardcore b-movie trash. Thompson himself called it his "Moby Dick of the West", while Gene Siskel (who gave it 2 out of 4 stars) called it a "hunting story to be read in the broadest terms.”Then went on to say: “Hickok, who hates Indians, and Crazy Horse, who hates white men, grow to respect each other through the film. Courage kills racism. It's…

  • Review by Ziglet_mir ★★★★★ 7

    SpontaneousMini-CollabwithMushiOnion🧅, while we remain hungover from a 4 hour Eugene O'Neill adaptation.His Review Here!

    Obsession and spiritual guilt pervade the unlikely team-up of a grizzled cowboy (Bronson) and a shamed Indian (Will Sampson), both of which are outcasts from society. As Wild Bill Hickock traverses the western frontier he is challenged by the beast that persists in his dreams, rendering nightmares. He finds himself in rickety carriage rides during stormy nights, dingy and dilapidated taverns, vast and empty mountain ravines, dark caverns, and stunningly lit pine grove snowscapes. Director J Lee Thompson, perhaps surprisingly, embellishes a knack for strange horror--taking the western landscape and plopping it in the middle of a gothic creature feature. All this, and applying a gnarly…

  • Review by Jeff ★★★★ 2

    Guilt is at the center of this western. It haunts Wild Bill Hickok and Crazy Horse. Hickok for sins of the past. For Crazy Horse for not saving his daughter.

    That guilt is the white buffalo itself. It infiltrates dreams. Becoming an obsession for both men.

    They both go on the hunt for the buffalo. First individually then eventually teaming up. Sort of. There is obviously some tension due to the animosity between caucasians and native americans.

    There are a few other characters. Basically only there to move the story along except for Jack Warden who plays the sidekick to Hickok. Of course he does it well. I mean it is Jack Warden.

    This is a simple story with a…

  • Review by More_Badass ★★★★ 1

    Within its first ten minutes, The White Buffalo features:

    - an expressionistic dream-omen that felt more Shaw Bros than United Artists
    - Bronson waking up from said dream by panic-firing dual six shooters into the roof of his train bunk
    - the titular beast causing a massive rockslide through its presence and bellow alone
    - a bloody buffalo rampage through a Native American camp like a Wild West reimagining of Razorback

    Always nice to start a film and immediately realize it’s totally on your wavelength!

    I had saved J. Lee Thompson’s film for October, but I think anyone coming into this expecting a horror-western creature feature in the dying west might leave The White Buffalo disappointed. This post-Jaws flick unfolds…

  • Review by Cinema_Strikes ★★★½ 2

    Holy shit! I knew this was a western but nobody told me it was a HORROR WESTERN where Wild Bill Hickok (Charles Bronson) and Crazy Horse (Will Sampson) have to fight that weird white furry thing that tried to eat Luke Skywalker!

    More surprisingly, perhaps, this is a J. Lee Thompson/Bronson joint that’s actually pretty good, not just trashy fun. Bronson and Sampson instill their characters with genuine pathos, and the practical (animatronic?) titular Buffalo is creepy and wild - it’s so unnatural-looking that it just enhances the dreamy, uncanny feel of the film. Cool stuff.

    Charles Bronson vehicles ranked here.

    Horror westerns watched here.

  • Review by maskull ★★★★

    Wild West Summer 2019 ( boxd.it/2Vf9g ) Watch a Western not featuring John Wayne.

    So Charles Bronson is Captain Ahab/Sheriff Brody, but instead of a white whale/shark, he's after a vicious white buffalo. But that's not all. There's also a native version of Ahab/Brody as well, who's after the buffalo because it killed his kid. And also, pretty much everyone in the area hates Charles Bronson and wants to kill him for some stuff that happened years ago. So he has to not be killed by dudes with guns, hunt down the white buffalo, make peace with a native dude and join forces with him, even though the native dude has reason to hate him as well, and on top…

  • Review by HKFanatic ★★★★★ 1

    Now this is more like it! Glad I got to finish my mini-run of Charles Bronson films on a high note. An aging Wild Bill Hickock, haunted by the specter of his impending death in the form of a charging white buffalo, teams up with Sioux war chief Crazy Horse (who has a much more personal stake in the hunt) to track down the nearly mythic creature.

    Miraculously, J. Lee Thompson's "The White Buffalo" is just about as awesome as that premise sounds, a potent fusion of the Western and horror genres—a combination we don't see nearly enough—with production muscle from Dino De Laurentiis and a score by John Barry to add a touch of class.

    Just ignore that postscript that reveals both our protagonists died in their 30's (Bronson was 56 for the role).

  • Review by Quint75 ★★★★ 2

    A revisionist Western that is surreal and dreamlike with a strong subtext dealing with racism whilst philosophizing about man’s relationship with nature, and then Bronson kills the hell out of a friggin' psychotic animatronic White Buffalo.

  • Review by Travis Lytle ★★★ 4

    J. Lee Thompson's "The White Buffalo" is an odd but entertaining Western. Mixing true-life characters and a mystery replete with horror movie touches, the film is an interesting stew of genre conventions, earnest-toned drama, progressive racial politics, and hokey special effects. It may not be a great Western, but is sure is engaging.

    The film's plot is built around old west legends, Wild Bill Hickock and Crazy Horse, and their quest to discover the truth of a deadly white buffalo. Part "Moby Dick," frontier yarn, and monster movie, the film follows the two men as they join forces to take on the legendary beast. As corny as the story might sound, it is handled with impressive seriousness and includes a…

  • Review by Adam Hursey ★★★½ 3

    Junesploitation 2023

    Day 12: Westerns!

    Confession time: somehow, and I'm not sure how this has happened, this film is the first film I've seen starring Charles Bronson. I had seen zero out of 102 according to Letterboxd. I double checked, and I haven't missed any that should have been marked watched.

    The White Buffalo seems a very strange starting point, but here I am.

    Insert obligatory comparison to Moby Dick here.

    A white buffalo has infiltrated the dreams of Wild Bill Hickok (Bronson). Determined to hunt down this animal (whose heads are worth around $2000 apparently), Hickok dons some sunglasses and changes his name, hoping to pass through areas where he is a wanted man. It fools absolutely no one.…

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