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.

This was Rambo...guy minds his own business and is hassled by the law. Then a posse is formed to get him and one by one, they are led into demise. Bronson was ripped in this movie. The guy looked the part. My dad said towards the end, "He didn't need to memorize many lines." He didn't have to, his physique and look did all the talking! This is a guy's flick, but there are deeper themes like the revenge, greed, lust, and the evil all men have in their hearts. It's there is you are willing to see it. Another movie that demonstrated man is sinful and at the core, we are all capable of murder. Grim? Yes it is. The answer to man's dilemma is in the movie if you are willing to hear.

Though I haven't seen all of Bronson's movies I'm sure this is one of his best performance. I was wondering why is it so magnificent and I realised that it has a special mood and of course it has Bronson himself. By the way he was a perfect choice for this role equally inwardly and outwardly. Jack Palance was almost as brilliant as Charles, the only thing I didn't really like him is that he was the bad guy. Being a western-revenge movie, its story isn't full of surprises but Michael Winner did his best -like each time- and he made a wonderful but serious movie. Finally, I would like to thank Robert Paynter (camera-man) for the amazing panorama, sure he hadn't forgotten to have a look around.Taking it all round, I think Chato's Land is not just one of Bronson's best pictures but it is one of the best westerns I've ever seen.

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.