Chato's Land
by Michael Winner
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DVD details
Actor: Charles Bronson, Jack Palance, James Whitmore, Ralph Waite, Simon OaklandDirector: Michael Winner
Brand: Sony
Cinematographer: Robert Paynter
Editor: Michael Winner
Producer: Michael Winner
Writer: Gerald Wilson
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Letterboxed, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 110 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2001-09-04
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
DVD Reviews of Chato's Land
DVD Review: Seeing What You Want To See: Past and Present Perspectives
Summary: 1 Stars
As a scholar of Apache culture and history, watching "Chato's Land" again after so many years has been an earth shaking experience for me. When the film first came out, I had read dozens of books about the Apache and was familiar with the stories of Chato. So, for whatever reasons, when I viewed "Chato's Land" in 1971 I saw it with preconceived notions that lead me to feel that it was an excellent movie--one that I would always "remember" and look forward to seeing again. More to the point, my western raising still influenced what I saw and heard--ignoring the falsehoods, stereotypes, and media manipulations. Even worse, my memory filled in the gaps and glossed over the content of "Chato's Land" with knowledge about the real person. Hence, it was with high hopes that I ordered and re-watched "Chato's Land." What a disappointment!!!
In all fairness, I must acknowledge that I have found nothing to suggest that "Chato's Land" was ever intended to have anything to do with the real person, who was part of Geronimo's group of Apaches initially, but eventually left and joined the Army scouts, rising to the rank of Sergent. IMDb provides the following summary of the movie:
After Pardon Chato, a mestizo, killed a US marshal in self-defense, a posse pursues him, but as the white volunteers advance deep in Indian territory they become more hunted then prey, leading to internal strife. They rape Chato's squaw, and are hunted down to the last man by the unrelenting warrior.
But this has little bearing on the quality of the film. First off, it should be pointed out that the movie is, in many ways an anti-Viet Nam movie, and certainly is frequently referred to as a revisionist western for the portrayal of the so called "Indians" as the "good guys" and the mixed bag of deviant "whites" as the "bad guys." Yet, as the movie makes clear, Chato is not an Apache, but a "half breed" or in Spanish a "mestizo" (also a derogatory word). Second, my problems with the movie are not with the drama--or even the basic story line--but with the perspective, attitude and language of the film. A bitter example of the use of language is the constant use of the Iroquois word "squaw" (vulgarity for a woman's vagina) to refer to the non-white women in the movie. Then there is the notion that killing "Apaches" (which refers, seemingly, in the film to any non-white) is the right thing to do, morally correct, and fun.
While Bronson may be at his "best" in "Chato's Land," and the film may have been "good" when it came out, it is no longer a film I would consider worthy of watching--except to have a laugh, perhaps. So, unless you desire further indoctrination into how to hate and mistreat others, I suggest you consider another movie. Unfortunately, I cannot in good faith recommend any movie as an outstanding movie about the Apaches. While "Broken Arrow" with James Stewart is fun to watch, it still has many problems and is a fairly "romantic" portrayal of the Apache. "Geronimo," while based on Briton Davis' outstanding book, was badly adapted for the screen. The real problem with making movies about Native Americans is that any really good movie is bound to be viewed as uninteresting because most Americans are not really interested in truth; as Dorothy Johnson writes in "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance," when the legend is believed to be the truth, print (or go with) the legend.
PS--Mimbres are a division of the Apaches, not a unique tribe of people.
Update--1 July 2008: If this review was not helpful to you, I would appreciate learning the reason(s) so I can improve my reviews. My goal is to provide help to potential buyers, not get into any arguments. So, if you only disagree with my opinion, could you please say so in the comments and not indicate that the review was not helpful. Thanks.
August 14, 2008: I have attempted to get Amazon to post an edited version of this review seven times now. Since they don't seem to want to do that, I will attempt to simply add the new version here:
I am editing my review in response to comments made by B. DeLeon addressing the fact that my review is overly scholarly, and, more importantly to me, arrogant. While I probably will not be able to tone down the scholarly nature of the review, I do hope that people will find this review non-arrogant, and, instead, helpful--even if you disagree with my opinions.
Let me start by stating that I am not reviewing Charles Bronson's, or any other actor's, performance in "Chato's Land." I am reviewing the film based upon how I perceive the movie's effects on viewer's attitudes about Apaches, and Native Americans in general. While I did not originally praise Bronson's (and Jack Palance's) performance, I would like to acknowledge that now. Second, I agree that my original review was overly scholarly to the point of forgetting/failing to address that "Chato's Land" is not a historical fiction, but a western genre film.
As a scholar of Apache culture and history, watching "Chato's Land" again after so many years has been an earth shaking experience for me. When the film first came out, I had read dozens of books about the Apache and was familiar with the stories of Chato. So, for whatever reasons, when I viewed "Chato's Land" in 1971 I saw it with preconceived notions that lead me to feel that it was an excellent movie--one that I would always "remember" and look forward to seeing again. More to the point, my western raising still influenced what I saw and heard--ignoring the falsehoods, stereotypes, and media manipulations. Even worse, my memory filled in the gaps and glossed over the content of "Chato's Land" with knowledge about the real person. Hence, it was with high hopes that I ordered and re-watched "Chato's Land." What a disappointment for me personally! However, in re-watching the film several times since I originally wrote this review, I can state that I did hold this movie to too high of standards.
In all fairness, I must acknowledge that I have found nothing to suggest that "Chato's Land" was ever intended to have anything to do with the real person, who was part of Geronimo's group of Apaches initially, but eventually left and joined the Army scouts, rising to the rank of Sergent. IMDb provides the following summary of the movie:
After Pardon Chato, a mestizo, killed a US marshal in self-defense, a posse pursues him, but as the white volunteers advance deep in Indian territory they become more hunted then prey, leading to internal strife. They rape Chato's squaw, and are hunted down to the last man by the unrelenting warrior.
But this has little bearing on the quality of the film. First it should be pointed out that the movie, according to critics and film scholars at the time, is in many ways an anti-Viet Nam movie and a "revisionist" western FOR ITS PORTRAYAL of the so called "Indians" as the "good guys," WHILE DEPICTING the mixed bag of deviant "whites" as the "bad guys." Yet, as the movie makes clear, Chato is not an Apache, but a "half breed" or in Spanish a "mestizo" (also a derogatory word). Second, MY PROBLEMS WITH THE MOVIE ARE NOT WITH THE DRAMA--OR EVEN THE BASIC STORY LINE--but with the perspective, attitude and language of the film. WHY? BECAUSE RESEARCH HAS SHOWN THAT MOVIE PORTRAYALS EFFECT ATTITUDES ABOUT THE PEOPLE PORTRAYED. RESEARCH ALSO SHOWS THAT VIEWERS, REGARDLESS OF THEIR CONCERN OR LACK OF CONCERN ABOUT THE PORTRAYALS, TEND TO FIND DEROGATORY IMAGES AND WORDS USED IN A FILM TO BE QUITE "ACCEPTABLE." A bitter example of the use of language is the constant use of the Iroquois word "squaw" (vulgarity for a woman's vagina) to refer to the non-white women in the movie. Then there is the notion that killing "Apaches" (which refers, seemingly, in the film to any non-white) is the right thing to do, morally correct, and fun.
Description of Chato's Land
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