Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.0

Chato's Land Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman May 25, 2016

The act of taking umbrage at an actor portraying a race or ethnicity different from his native one is a relatively recent phenomenon. Reaching back into the dim mists of cinematic history, there was never really any kind of outcry when, for instance, horror masters Lon Chaney or Boris Karloff assumed the identities of Mr. Wu or Fu Manchu or Mr. Wong. There were occasional exceptions through the years, as in Mickey Rooney’s lambasted take on an Asian in Breakfast at Tiffany's, but just a couple of decades or so later and in a different medium, another actor portraying an Asian created considerable controversy when Jonathan Pryce starred as The Engineer in both the West End and Broadway productions of Miss Saigon. Those who follow contemporary media reports of filmmaking will know that the casting of Scarlett Johanssen in the upcoming live action version of Ghost in the Shell has a number of fans and even relatively uninvolved bystanders in an uproar. Weirdly, though, the complete “racial reversal” which is a major conceit of the Broadway smash Hamilton is applauded rather than disparaged, perhaps due at least in part to the fact that it seems to represent minorities taking the bull by the horns (so to speak) and perhaps saying to those raised with a certain kind of racial or ethnic privilege, “How’s it feel to you?” There’s been a certain color blindness in at least some other recent stage outings in New York City, though, with, for example, the revival of 110 in the Shade featuring a mixed race family that wasn’t part of either the original source film (The Rainmaker) or its original Broadway staging. A cursory search of the usually at least slightly questionable internet turned up no archival material to suggest that casting Charles Bronson as a Native American in Chato’s Land “offended” anyone, but perhaps part of that is due to the fact that Bronson’s character is a (to purloin a song title from a certain Cher) “half breed”, a plot point that is at least somewhat similar to one utilized in Hombre, where the decidedly blue eyed and sandy haired Paul Newman played a (white) man raised by Apache (to a similar lack of offense).

Chato’s Land doesn’t really waste much time with the niceties of backstory and/or setup. The credits sequence plays out interstitially as Chato (Charles Bronson) is at a bar where a nasty sheriff comes in and begins berating him for being a “breed” (the sheriff was evidently not a Cher fan). With the sheriff threatening to shoot Chato if he doesn’t vacate the premises and another bystander snickering in the background, Chato turns and dispatches with the lawman without much problem and then hightails it out of the town on a fast moving horse. The bystander (Victor French) lets the barkeep know he’ll go get “Whitmore”, which turns out not to be co-star James Whitmore, but a former Confederate captain named Quincey Whitmore (Jack Palance), who seems to have an almost fetishistic attachment to his old military uniform.

Whitmore puts together a posse of patently nasty types, including Jubal Hooker (Simon Oakland), Joshua Everette (the aforementioned James Whitmore), Elias Hooker (Ralph Waite, miles away from Pa Walton) and Richard Basehart (Nye Buell), among others. The middle part of the film is more or less a chase scenario, but things tip over into both some horrifying violence and then a revenge scenario that presages what would go on to be probably the best remembered of the films Michael Winner and Charles Bronson made together, Death Wish. The film has some questionably high falutin’ aspects which seem to suggest Chato’s nativism (as exemplified by his “regression” to traditional “Indian” garb) is a reclaiming of his identity, and there are other elements that some analysts have seen as a reflection of what was going on in Vietnam at the time, but the film is so rote in its presentation that any subtext tends to get swallowed up in the predictability of it all.

The film has a wide (as in wide) gamut of performance styles, with Bronson offering his typically taciturn and laconic take on his character, while Palance goes near gonzo at times. Other actors, notably Waite and Basehart, do really interesting character work, playing at least partially against type. Winner uses some evocative locations nicely, offering a barren “southwest” that is manifestly different than a Fordian conception of the Wild West.

Chato's Land Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Chato's Land is presented on Blu-ray with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. Culled from the MGM catalog (by way of United Artists), this transfer has quite a bit of age related wear and tear in the form of typical issues like dirt, specks and small signs of damage, but overall nothing rises to overly problematic levels. The palette is generally quite healthy looking, though flesh tones can occasionally be on the slightly ruddy side. Depth of field is quite good in the many expansive outdoor scenes. Sharpness is slightly variable as well, with a lot of the transfer looking at least slightly soft, but detail levels are uniformly very good to excellent, especially when Winner and DP Robert Paynter employ zoom lenses for extreme close-ups (which they do frequently). The grain is relatively heavy and tends to swarm a bit over the bright blue skies at times.

Chato's Land Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Chato's Land features a narrow but convincing sounding DTS-HD Master Audio Mono track, one which capably supports the film's dialogue, effects and winning score by Jerry Fielding (also available as an isolated track). This is not a traditional "shoot 'em up", and so many of the effects tend to be relatively more nuanced ambient environmental sounds rather than fusillades of bullets. Fidelity is fine and prioritization is well handled throughout the audio presentation.

Chato's Land Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Isolated Score Track is presented in DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0.


• Screenwriter Gerald Wilson on Chato's Land (1080p; 17:48). Wilson, who looks and sounds a lot like the venerable John Huston, is a wonderful raconteur and includes anecdotes about his own experiences in the wilds of Canada with various Indians (as he calls them).


• Original Theatrical Trailer (480p; 2:07)


• MGM 90th Anniversary Trailer (1080p; 2:06)

Chato's Land Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Chato's Land is a bit silly at times, though that tendency may be subsumed by some of the more horrifying aspects that are also on display (this is not a film for the faint of heart or queasy of stomach). A really eclectic cast is probably the chief calling card here, and the performances help to elevate what is at its core a kind of tawdry story. Video is a bit problematic, but audio is fine. Recommended.