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Bite the Bullet (1975)

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All Critics
Top Critics

Average Rating: 6.6/10
Reviews Counted: 14
Fresh: 10 | Rotten: 4

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Average Rating: N/A
Critic Reviews: 3
Fresh: 2 | Rotten: 1

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Average Rating: 3.2/5
User Ratings: 1,556

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Movie Info

An excellent cast, featuring Gene Hackman, Ben Johnson, and James Coburn, highlights this entertaining Western that came and went at the box office, barely noticed by audiences. That doesn't stop the exciting story from capturing the viewer's attention as a disparate group of riders assembles to participate in a marathon 700-mile horse race across the American West at the turn of the century. The standard mutual feelings of distrust give way to respect and grudging admiration as each rider is

PG, 2 hr. 11 min.

Western, Drama, Action & Adventure

Directed By: Diego Munoz , Richard Brooks I

In Theaters: Jan 1, 1975 Wide

On DVD: Apr 2, 2002

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Bite the Bullet Trailer & Photos

Cast

Gene Hackman
Sam Clayton
Candice Bergen
Miss Jones
James Coburn
Luke Matthews
Ben Johnson
Mister
Ian Bannen
Norfolk
Jan-Michael Vincent
Carbo
Mario Arteaga
Mexican
Robert Donner
Reporter
Robert Hoy
Lee Christie
Paul Stewart
J.B. Parker
Jean Willes
Rosie
John McLiam
Gebhardt
Dabney Coleman
Jack Parker
Jerry Gatlin
Woodchopper
Walter Scott Jr.
Steve
Joe Brooks
Billy Burton
Sally Kirkland
Honey
Darwin Lamb
Buddy Van Horn

Critic Reviews for Bite the Bullet

All Critics (14) | Top Critics (3) | Fresh (10) | Rotten (4) | DVD (7)

An excellent, literate action drama probing the diverse motivations of participants in an endurance horse race.

April 8, 2008 Full Review Source: Variety

| Comment

Variety Staff

Variety

Top Critic

In spite of all the care, the money and the hardships that apparently went into its production, the movie looks prefabricated, like something assembled from other people's earlier, better inspirations.

May 9, 2005 Full Review Source: New York Times

| Comment (1)

Vincent Canby

New York Times

Top Critic

A finely crafted, epic Western about a cross-country horseback endurance race.

October 23, 2004 Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times

| Comment

Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

Top Critic

Unusual, big budget western concerning horse race to deathly finish.

May 22, 2008 Comment

Steve Crum

Video-Reviewmaster.com

Spendid period piece about an endurance horse race.

April 8, 2008 Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide

| Comment

TV Guide's Movie Guide

I wish I had a bullet to chew down on to kill the pain this pic gave me.

June 8, 2007 Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews

| Comment (1)

Dennis Schwartz

Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Any random thought ever committed to paper about the intrinsic 'messages' of the Western genre here turns up as a line of speechifying dialogue: the result is a folly stultified by its own seriousness.

June 24, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out

| Comment

Time Out

Offers a fresh twist on winning out and gives us pause to think about our way of being in the world

January 18, 2004 Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice

| Comment

Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat

Spirituality and Practice

The result is that the film's message about sportsmanship decency becomes thoroughly anodyne. Entertaining nevertheless.

May 24, 2003 Full Review Source: Film4

| Comment

Film4

Bite the Bullet may be many things, but boring it's not.

May 23, 2002 Full Review Source: Apollo Guide

| Comment

Patrick Byrne

Apollo Guide

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Audience Reviews for Bite the Bullet

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A slow, unusual western with some interesting background detail. Watching the likes of Gene Hackman, James Coburn and Ben Johnson could never exactly be called a chore, but listening to the film's relentless moralising speeches did try my patience at times. I saw this on TV and it felt very choppy, almost certainly

December 6, 2007