What a waste of my time!!!

A Masterpiece!

If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

This film would not be made today because it would be considered politically incorrect. I would not normally watch a western like this but because I was at a relatives house, it was his TV so I watched. From the first scene of Charles Bronson quietly standing in a bar having a drink, to the end scene, I could tell this was not your ordinary western. I would call this a psychological exercise that turns morality and motivations of men on its head in the period after the civil war in the old west. With the simple back drop of the barren land of the old west ( which was really shot in Spain) Chato's land becomes one of the main characters of the film. The actors in the film are the heavy weights of old westerns who did an excellent job portraying their characters. Chato led these men into his land and basically let this posse of men battle themselves. It seems that the basest of natures resides in a small place in men's hearts and here we see that nature come to the forefront as they hunt Chato in order to "string him up" for shooting a sheriff in self defense. Just who is the bad guy and who is the good guy is questioned in this film. The fight between good and evil is challenged in this film. I would highly recommend this film. Be prepared to stick it out and look at the film as a study in human nature. If you do that the film can be viewed as both entertaining and an exercise of your brain.

I like the movie when I first saw it decades ago, and it still commands your attention; Bronson is good.But in the intervening years deconstruction has made us all take a closer look at what the movie is selling.Hollywood portrays the races and sexes and sells us the Hollywood moral system.This movie is an early example of Hollywood's hatred of White people, especially White men.This movie portrays White men from absolutely vile creatures to weak cowards who fail to stop their evil comrades.Big in Hollywood is the hatred of Christianity.This movie displays Hollywood's anti-Christian bigotry. One example of the bigotry is the incident wherein evil White men are justly killed by the non-White Chato and then the rest of the evil White men pray when they bury them.

Released in 1972, "Chato's Land" is typically written off as lame Spaghetti Western with Charles Bronson but, actually, it's a UK production shot in Spain, Mexico and Arizona. And, secondly, there's more depth here than the one-dimensional racist-revenge plot might first lead you to believe.I'll admit that I was turned off to this movie for years due to Brian Garfield's scathing review in his excellent book "Western Films," where he called it "cheesy, dreary, phony," but an open-minded and honest viewing proves him wrong. Yes, it's dreary, but it's not cheesy or phony. It's true that the desolate Spanish locations are phony, in that it's not the American Southwest, but other than that the characters and dialogue ring true.The plot is simple: Chato, a half-breed Indian (Charles Bronson), shoots an arrogant, racist lawman in a saloon and a large posse is assembled where they chase Chato in his own element, which is why it's called "Chato's Land." Bronson's role is taciturn, one-dimensional and almost invisible, until the end where he's a stunning example of masculine strength. Amazingly, Bronson was 50 years-old during filming, but he was in prime physical condition with not an iota of fat. Another reviewer commented that, if he were 6'5", he would've made a perfect Conan the Barbarian.Bronson's striking presence and solemn performance is key to the success of the movie, of course, but the film's true strength is the writing/directing and the stellar cast that make up the posse, including Jack Palance, Richard Basehart, James Whitmore, Simon Oakland, Ralph Waite, Richard Jordan and more. The group dynamics of the posse and their interplay is where the film shines. Four or five of the men are good men, but they're too blinded by cultural bigotry toward a half-breed to realize the injustice of their cause. It never occurs to them that Chato has rights and that the slain lawman was in the wrong. All they focus on is that a sheriff is dead and a half-breed did it. Most of the rest of the posse are unlikable or repugnant, particularly a character played by Richard Jordan and his father, played by Simon Oakland.Due to their differences, the loosely put-together posse lacks solidarity. Some are hell-bent on apprehending or killing Chato while others are rather half-hearted on the issue, pretty much just doing a favor for the former Confederate Captain, played by Palance. You have to listen closely because sometimes the dialogue isn't too clear, but the quality writing brings these characters to life.Why does Chato become increasingly merciless as the story progresses? At first, he does things to simply deter the group and provoke them to give up, like destroy their water supply, but at a certain point some of the members of the posse cross the line and do something particularly heinous, not to mention utterly criminal, proving that they are the true criminals and not Chato. Some of the members object, which is respectable, but not enough to stop the atrocities and so they become guilty by association. It's called cowardly condoning.As for the slightly ambiguous ending, what's the point? Chato need not kill when Chato's land will do it for him. That's why it's called "Chato's Land." The score is decent with a compelling percussive part, but some aspects are too dated. An exceptional score would've propelled a good Western into greatness or near-greatness. Also, some of the editing is too abrupt and awkward. Still, despite its one-dimensional plot, "Chato's Land" is a quality Western. With all due respect, Brian Garfield was wrong.The film runs 110 minutes, but there are versions that cut-out about four minutes of R-rated material.GRADE: B

Synopsis: After Pardon Chato (Charles Bronson), a mestizo, kills 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. I found this movie very entertaining. It held my interest from beginning to end. I gave it six out of 10 IMDb stars. It accumulated 16 points in my ranking system, well above average. Here's what I liked: except "Attack", this is about the best I've seen Jack Palance. He plays a fantastic character, Quincy Whitmore, a veteran Confederate officer who leads the posse pursuing Bronson. He's a traumatized war veteran (Vietnam reference here), who seeks to relive his glory days by pursuing Bronson. this is also a great part for Bronson. He has almost no dialogue, which suits him. Bronson's an iconic Western character actor whose best asset has always been his appearance. That's emphasized here to the max, as he walks around practically naked for the second half of the movie. He has to be about the most ripped 50 year old I've ever seen. It's hard to believe, but he has even less dialogue here than in "Once Upon A Time In The West". the movie is historically realistic, with accurate references back to Palance's civil war experiences and accurate depictions of the the Apaches. Bronson's character is also believable as a "half-breed" who lives outside of an Apache tribe alone with his small family in the mountains. the character's are all very well nuanced. The white characters reflect several different levels of racism. Even the mot evil characters have sympathetic traits. Bronson's character, while the hero overall, exhibits sadistic tendencies that distance him from the audience. This seemed to be filmed almost entirely on location in Almeria, Spain. The landscapes are stunning. Trivia: Gavin Malechie's house is also the McBain house used in "Once Upon a Time in the West". Looks like the same table and chairs set out in front of it too. Here's what I didn't like: Unfortunately, they is a stunning plot hole right in the middle of the movie. Bronson's character is a "superscout" figure, who has full knowledge and mastery over his environment. "This may look like useless scrub and brush to us, says Quincy Whitmore, "but to the Breed, it's a living breathing thing." No problem so far, but there is no way "super scout" could possibly have led the posse right to his house, where they proceed to gang rape his wife. Most ridiculous mistake by a superscout since the superposse failed to pursue Butch and Sundance after they jumped off the cliff. The soundtrack was very annoying. Relentlessly grim. Only relief is Richard Basehart's philosopher/drunk character. He could have hammed it up a little more.