ULZANA'S RAID
A film review by Shane R. Burridge
Copyright 1996 Shane R. Burridge
(1972) 103m.
Robert Aldrich western finds Burt Lancaster in philosophical mood as McIntosh, a scout hired by the cavalry to track down a renegade Apache chief who has left an Arizona reservation to go on the rampage with a small band of followers. As is usual with these movies, Lancaster knows the terrain, and the Indians, better than any other man around. And, as is also usual, he has an inexperienced young lieutenant (Bruce Davison) to `educate' along the way. But Davison isn't as feckless as we might assume. Actually, he holds up pretty well considering the violence he is witness to. Besides, Lancaster can't reply to anything Davison says without making a snappy remark, leaving the young officer to work things out for himself most of the time.
All conversations between characters are thoughtful, clear. Davison can't help comparing Apache values with Christian ones in his attempt to understand Ulzana's way of thinking - or is he trying to rationalize it? Most revealing is Ulzana's excuse for his attacks on the scattered settlers. It is not simply a case of exacting revenge for white colonization of his land. Rather, he equates the reservation with impotence - he wants to possess and assimilate the spiritual power of those outside it. It's up to Lancaster, Davison, and their cavalry troop to second-guess Ulzana's every move and stop him before he kills again. Film's storyline suits a cop-vs-serial-killer formula better than a western. There's also enough tension and gore to make it effective enough as a horror movie (an ambush scene early in the story has an unexpected, shocking moment). Bearing in mind the year of production, film can be interpreted either as yet-another-Vietnam parable (Ulzana's band are as nameless and hidden as the Viet Cong), or a call-to-arms to preserve the identity of Native Americans, which were then seen politically as a growing part of the counter-cultural revolution. But I'm sure Aldrich really only wanted to make a western.
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