Overview
A grueling test of endurance pitting individualists against each other in a brutal race across the desert.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Mild
- rugged
- expansive
- tense
- classic western night
- adventure movie marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly recognized the film as a handsome, large-scale western with spectacular cinematography, though some found its mythic revisionism overly constructed.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The 700-mile endurance race places traditional western individualism, honor, and integrity under sustained physical and moral pressure.
The nine competitors increasingly respect and assist one another as desert heat, distance, and exhaustion intensify.
Harry Stradling Jr.'s cinematography foregrounds the expansive desert route and the immense scale of the race.
The newspaper-sponsored horse race turns endurance, ambition, and treatment of fellow competitors into measures of character.
Films like Bite the Bullet, and why
The Professionals
Shared large-scale western adventure, rugged frontier setting, and ensemble of morally tested individualists.
The Wild Bunch
Shared revisionist western tone, endurance under harsh conditions, and emphasis on camaraderie among competing outsiders.
The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing
Shared western adventure structure, expansive landscapes, and characters confronting changing codes of honor.
Movie Details
- Director
- Richard Brooks
- Release Date
- 1975-09-26
- Runtime
- 132 min
- Rating
- 6.4 / 10 (138)
Cast
- Gene Hackman
- Candice Bergen
- James Coburn
- Ben Johnson
- Ian Bannen
- Jan-Michael Vincent
- Dabney Coleman
- Sally Kirkland
- Buddy Van Horn
- Jean Willes
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- fuboTV, Howdy Amazon Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Bite the Bullet about?
- A rugged 1908 endurance race across the desert forces a volatile band of western individualists to choose between victory and mutual respect.
- What is Bite the Bullet like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Bite the Bullet as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is Bite the Bullet violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Bite the Bullet as mild.
- What did critics think of Bite the Bullet?
- Critics broadly recognized the film as a handsome, large-scale western with spectacular cinematography, though some found its mythic revisionism overly constructed.
- Which films are like Bite the Bullet?
- Films with a similar feel include The Professionals, The Wild Bunch, and The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing.
- How long is Bite the Bullet?
- Bite the Bullet runs 132 minutes.
- Where can I watch Bite the Bullet?
- In United States, Bite the Bullet streams on fuboTV, Howdy Amazon Channel.
