Bite the Bullet Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		4.0

Bite the Bullet Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov April 5, 2024

Richard Brooks' "Bite the Bullet" (1975) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Imprint Films. The supplemental features on the release include vintage trailer and isolated score by Alex North. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Despite all the beauty on display, Richard Brooks’ Bite the Bullet is an enormously sad film. It is shot with an unmistakable, pure admiration for everything that made the classic western special, but with the sobering acknowledgment that its glory days are over, too.

At the beginning of the last century, the owners of a popular newspaper organize a seven-hundred-mile horse race through some of the most dangerous areas of the Wild West. The grand prize is a check for $2,000.00, a small fortune that can allow the winner to retire in style. Several riders enter the race: former Rough Riders Sam Clayton (Gene Hackman) and Luke Matthews (James Coburn), the ambitious but inexperienced youngster Carbo (Jan-Michael Vincent), a beautiful woman with a complicated past named Miss Jones (Candice Bergen), a middle-aged Mexican husband and father with an intense toothache (Mario Artega), the extravagant Englishman Sir Harry Norfolk (Ian Bannen), and the introverted stranger Mister (Ben Johnson). Fully aware that it is only a matter of time before the race evolves into a deadly game of survival, the riders quickly develop unique strategies to stay alive while moving toward the finish line. However, shortly after the race begins, they gradually come to realize that it would be in their best interest to help each other.

Even though Bite the Bullet remains focused on the race, it is impossible to describe it only as a conventional western about a motley crew of characters trying to stay alive and earn a small fortune. It is because it frequently seeks and sees the beauty of the Wild West in much the same way John Ford's westerns did. Its characters, while very different, are all easy to embrace as authentic and do not interfere with it too, which is precisely how the iconic characters of the greatest westerns are depicted. They are part of the scenery, not outsiders who have been brought there to make it appear more attractive.

But unlike Ford’s westerns, Bite the Bullet also sees the Wild West as a glorious place in transition. This is why a lot of its panoramic visuals have a distinct intimate quality -- they absorb as much of the organic beauty and mood of the Wild West as possible before they are altered and lost. Its characters are fully aware of the ongoing transition, too, but they are not pushed through melodramatic material and forced to confess how they feel about it. There is no need. They are all risking their lives for a piece of paper to help them deal with the incoming permanent change.

Something else that is worth pointing out is that Bite the Bullet does not produce a tedious commentary on the social structure of the Wild West. Instead, it correctly reveals that in the Wild West men and women of different ages trusted their instincts and repeatedly made risky choices that impacted their lives, and this arrangement is what made rapid success there possible. Indeed, just like the racers, everyone who entered the Wild West rolled the dice hoping to emerge a winner, and as the game of survival intensified, many quit or lost their lives. (It is not a coincidence that the race is frequently interrupted by random outsiders risking their lives in different deadly games. Everyone is playing for the same prize. For the racers, this prize just happens to be a piece of paper carrying the name of a big bank that can be exchanged for a small fortune).

Hackman and Coburn do the most to shape the drama and action, which is not surprising because the camera follows the two a little closer than the rest of the cast. However, Bergen and Vincent are also very effective. Artega and Bannen are good but should have been given better material to work with.

Brooks secured the services of cinematographer Harry Stradling Jr., who had recently won two Oscar statuettes for his contributions to Peter Hunt’s1776 and Sydney Pollack’s The Way We Were.

Bite the Bullet Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Bite the Bullet arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Imprint Films.

The release is sourced from a very strong organic master that was supplied by Sony Pictures. I do not know when this master was prepared, but the entire film looks healthy and fresh, and there really isn't any room for meaningful improvements. There are a few areas where some darker nuances can be slightly more convincing, plus grain exposure can a bit better, but the rest is already very great. For example, clarity and depth remain very pleasing throughout the entire film. Image stability is excellent, too. Color balance is outstanding. Saturation levels can be tweaked a bit, and this is probably where a future master will reveal some improvements that will affect the dynamic range of the visuals, but all primaries and supporting nuances look wonderful. The surface of the visuals is in great condition as well. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).

Bite the Bullet Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 2.0 and English DTS-HD Master Audio 51. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they split the image frame and the black bar below it.

I do not recall the last time I encountered any audio issues on a title from Sony Pictures' catalog. Even quite old masters from the studio's vaults have very solid audio tracks. The master that was used to prepare this release continues the trend. I viewed Bite the Bullet with the LPCM 2.0 track and thought that clarity, sharpness, and depth are outstanding. There is plenty of action material with terrific dynamic intensity and terrific music as well. Balance is great. Is there any room for meaningful improvements? I do not think so. A future remastering job may introduce some cosmetic tweaks, but I cannot see how the audio can be noticeably better.

Bite the Bullet Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - a vintage trailer for Bite the Bullet. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

• Isolated Score by Alex North - presented as DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0.

Bite the Bullet Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Some of the visuals that emerge during the deadly race are on par with what you will witness in John Ford's iconic westerns. However, Bite the Bullet quietly acknowledges that the Wild West is a glorious place in transition, which brings it closer to Lonely Are the Brave. The two have drastically different finales, but the sadness that permeates them is the same. It is just a lot more prominent in the latter, which also bids farewell to the classic western character. This release is sourced from a very solid organic master that was supplied by Sony Pictures. It is included in Film Focus: Gene Hackman, a four-disc box set. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.