Chato's Land

"What Chato's land doesn't kill, Chato will."

1972 1h 40m EN

👍

6.6

SOLID

★6.6TMDB · 173

Western

Synopsis

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In 1870s New Mexico, a half-breed kills a bigoted sheriff in self-defense but the posse that eventually hunts him finds itself in dangerous territory.

“What Chato's land doesn't kill, Chato will.”

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Cast

Charles Bronson
Pardon Chato
Jack Palance
Quincey Whitmore
James Whitmore
Joshua Everette
Simon Oakland
Jubal Hooker
Ralph Waite
Elias Hooker
Richard Jordan
Earl Hooker
Victor French
Martin Hall
Sonia Rangan
Chato's woman

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Michael Winner
Writers: Gerald Wilson
Languages: English, Spanish
Countries: United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

54 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Spanish.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Michael Winner, shot by Robert Paynter. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Jerry Fielding. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Michael Winner shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Charles Bronson and Jack Palance and James Whitmore carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "What Chato's land doesn't kill, Chato will.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0066907 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Michael Winner directs. Robert Paynter behind the camera. Jerry Fielding scores. Michael Winner cuts. Produced in United Kingdom. Dialogue in English, Spanish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

154 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Spanish.
3Directed by Michael Winner, shot by Robert Paynter. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Jerry Fielding. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Michael Winner shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Charles Bronson and Jack Palance and James Whitmore carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "What Chato's land doesn't kill, Chato will.".
8IMDB entry: tt0066907 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 25 themes, including "rape", "self-defense", "revenge", "tracker".

The technical file

Cinematography: Robert Paynter
Original score: Jerry Fielding
Editing: Michael Winner
Makeup / hair: Richard Mills
Sound: Graham V. Hartstone
Runtime: 100 min · 1h 40m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: Chato's Land (1972)

Also by

Michael Winner

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2017-02-24
★ 7/10
Go then, and God mark you for the man you are. Chato's Land is directed by Michael Winner and written by Gerry Wilson. It stars Charles Bronson, Jack Palance, James Whitmore, Simon Oakland, Richard Baseheart, Ralph Waite and Richard Jordan. Shot on location in Andalucia, Spain, with photography by Robert Paynter, it's musically scored by Jerry Fielding. Plot finds Bronson as half Apache, Pardon Chato, who is forced to kill the local sheriff in self defence and finds himself being hunted by a town posse led by Captain Quicey Whitmore (Palance). However, as the posse trail him into the wilderness it becomes apparent that the tables have been turned, with Chato given further cause to inflict harm upon his pursuers. The first of six collaborations between Charles Bronson and Michael Winner, Chato's Land finds the pair setting the marker for what would define their work. With the Western genre going thru a resurgence, Chato's Land is very in-keeping with the type of Western that was being released in the early 70's: namely violent, uncompromising and certainly gritty. These things, as history now shows, were tailor made for Winner, who perfectly utilises Bronson's silent and brooding assets to great effect. Often suspected to be an allegory of the United States' involvement in Vietnam, it's thematically correct in that respect. But the timing of the film would suggest this to not be the case. Chato's Land is more than just a revenge Western; a film about white men out of their usual terrain being pursued by a man of a different ethnicity, it wants to, and does quite well, be a picture dealing in racism, violence and the folly of hypocritical justice. But even tho Wilson's script brings these issues to light, they are not fully formed, with Winner at times dragging the film to a stand-still. However, the group dynamic is a good one, with the inevitable character differences creating a tinderbox waiting to ignite, while Winner doesn't skimp over the violence, puncturing the narrative with savage thrusts. Bronson was 50 years old when making the film, his physicality here is very impressive. The role of Chato is hardly a stretch for him, in fact it's very much a perfect fit. He's basically asked to be a phantom in the landscape, but he casts an imposing presence each time he's called on to deliver some Chato justice. In pursuit are a mixed bunch of actors, with Palance, Whitmore and Baseheart the obvious professional standouts, while Simon Oakland leaves an indelible mark as grizzled father of the Hooker boys, Jubal. Fielding's (The Wild Bunch) score is efficient, but workmanlike, and Paynter's (Lawman) photography never really makes the landscape as imposing as it should be. Overall it's a mixed bag, but for fans of revenge type Westerns, and Palance, it's easy to recommend, but it still should have been more intelligent than it ultimately is. 7/10

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