Save your money for something good and enjoyable

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

Is it really lost on everyone that the makers of this film were purposely trying to make the buffalo look "unreal" if you will? The Buffalo was a mystery, a boogeyman, a force of nature.I can't believe people knock this film for it's lack of realism, are you seriously telling me you think it would have been more effective to paint a real buffalo white and get some wranglers to try and coach it into the actions the writers needed? Give me a break.The effects were not cheap, they did exactly what they were intended, this whole movie had an eerie feel to it, and the buffalo was the source of it, so of course it's not going to look "real" or act realistic.I can understand however, that at the time people were tired of the "shoot um up" Westerns and no doubt that hurt this film, but I saw it as a kid and loved it, I was apprehensive about watching it as an adult since so many childhood films don't quite hold up when seeing them through adult eyes, but I was happy to say this film was as good as I remembered.

In my opinion - (Back in 1977) - If the genre of the Western wasn't already dead at that point, then, you can be sure that "The White Buffalo" permanently killed it.Featuring a totally laughable-looking (mechanical) albino buffalo (with a nasty mean-streak) who loves nothing more than to deliberately bulldoze straight into people (regardless of their race).....This Western/Horror/Fantasy film (set in 1874) also spotlights "Old West" legend, Wild Bill Hickok (in shades, no less) who's such an ace marksman that when he fires a single bullet from his trusty pistol - (get this!) - Three bad guys immediately fall dead on the spot.From start to finish - "The White Buffalo" (which stars a cast of worn-out looking actors) is an absolute embarrassment on all counts.The whole story is nothing but a 95-minute build-up to its climatic final showdown between Wild Bill and "you-know-who", which (unfortunately) quickly deteriorates into pure slapstick comedy.

Some people read this film as being some sort of socio-political / existentialist metaphor /allegory . Would it be too simplistic to suggest it's simply a bad movie ? You can understand why a film like this might have some deeper meaning . It does have J Lee Thompson as director who did make the well regarded ICE COLD IN ALEX which did pit human beings against the amoral opponent of the Sahara Desert and so one might be forgiven thinking if THE WHITE BUFFALO is really about man versus nature . It's also a film that has a relatively big name cast but lets be honest how many times have you seen a big name ensemble cast in a movie and come to the conclusion there's no difference between being an actor and being a whore ? If you've seen as many bad movies as I have then I have no doubt that the average prostitute has higher standards than the average movie star Everything about this movie is summed up by the plot summary of the title page of this website : " In this strange western version of JAWS Wild Bill Hickok hunts a white buffalo he has seen in a dream " which is no doubt a euphemism for " Look guys it's not really a bad film , we're trying to be all metaphorical and poetic here , please be kind and gentle to us " . I'm afraid that when you're watching a film and you constantly find yourself laughing all the way through it as on screen events play out then it's not poetic film in the same way that Terence Malik would have directed but more of an unintentional comedy . Perhaps if you're going to be unkind then THE WHITE BUFFALO can be described as " Stylistic parody " but even then you're being more kind to a film that deserves little kindness

--My review doesn't spoil any of the plot development, twists, or ending, but I've added a spoiler warning because I do discuss the characters' motivations, which might be spoilery to some viewers.--This is a surprisingly effective and unique film; ostensibly a Western, but proving to have more parts supernatural thriller and mythical quest. The premise seems so ridiculous that it'd have to be either a comedy or an over-the-top action flick: Wild Bill Hickock and Crazy Horse team up to hunt a evil white buffalo. Instead, this film takes itself completely seriously and, amazingly, succeeds. I'm not going to call this one of the greatest Westerns or any of that stuff, but it's uncommonly absorbing and not quite like anything else I've seen.The Western elements are thus: the setting, the tension between whites and Native Americans, the gunslinger of little words who is frequently attacked by snarling baddies wherever he goes but guns them down with hardly a blink (usually the Clint Eastwood role). Yet the main plot is part quest, part supernatural thriller: Hickock (Charles Bronson) is plagued by nightmares of the White Buffalo attacking him, and must confront the beast in order to keep from being driven insane; likewise, the Oglala chief Crazy Horse -- who was stripped of his rank and name after weeping like a woman at the death of his infant child when the White Buffalo attacked his village -- must kill the beast "in the old way" to regain his honor and provide peace for his child in the afterlife.The White Buffalo itself appears nearly demonic -- in addition to invading Hickock's dreams even while he was living hundreds of miles away in the East, it stalks them from the shadows of snowy mountains, plays psychological games by making noises at night, kills their horses to deprive them of easy transport, and causes avalanches to intimidate them and cause mayhem. It reminded me of equal parts Moby Dick and the Red Bull from "The Last Unicorn".The movie is directed in a slow, slightly surreal, not completely steady manner. In the first ten minutes of the movie, I wasn't sure if it was well made or not. The outside nighttime settings look limited, as if filmed on dark stages perhaps, the lighting was low and natural (often obscuring landscape or facial details due to darker-than-normal-for-movies shadows). The acting for the Native American characters is stiff and stereotypical of old Western portrayals -- flat voices, no emotion, somber faces. And the White Buffalo itself is filmed mostly in lightning quick, almost shaky-cam shots, up close, so you can't quite get a good look at it. Since it's likely a big puppet they had, this kind of choppy shooting was probably to disguise the artificiality. And it works. Sure, we're used to big CGI shots of creatures, and a bigger budgeted movie in 1977 could probably have done more, but this limited approach WORKS for this movie. It makes the White Buffalo more surreal, more monstrous, and more threatening. It's not a real buffalo -- it's practically a demon! I think that's the point, and it really helps build the suspense and eerie atmosphere for this movie. And this goes for the whole movie -- as it progresses, the directing feels more assured and the narrative finds its focus.Bronson is one of the iciest action heroes of his time, all the moreso because of his leathered face and deep-set, stern eyes. He doesn't emote much, but he doesn't have to. His character is hard and driven, knows he's done bad in the past and doesn't apologize for it, but also seems to be looking for a way to atone for it. I think he ends up finding a way towards something resembling peace, by the end, although it's not much, and you can decide for yourself.The supporting cast are all pretty excellent, though may not notice until the end. Jack Warden starts as an entertaining cliché, but by the end becomes a more complex, and, in a moral view, tragic figure. Will Sampson plays Crazy Horse with solemn dignity; somewhat of a living caricature of the noble, steel-eyed savage, but with such presence as to match the ominous White Buffalo's and lift this story further into the realm of legend. The character of dark-hearted Whistling Jack Kileen I swore was played by Gregory Peck, but in fact is played by towering, deep-voiced Clint Walker. A deadly, fearsome opponent even for the likes of Charles Bronson.There's very little humor in "The White Buffalo," but it never gets as depressing as it threatens. I enjoyed it -- it's cool, if grim, and has a sense of honor about it. And it's fascinating for how it mixes the genres of the Western, the personal quest, and the supernatural beastly thriller.