A grueling 700-mile horse race serves as the backdrop for this 1975 Western epic.

Entertainment · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Richard Brooks directed this ambitious film about a high-stakes 1906 endurance race. Featuring a cast led by Gene Hackman and James Coburn, the movie explores the fading era of the Old West. While critics were divided on its authenticity, the production remains a visually stunning tribute to American history.

Released in 1975, Bite the Bullet was envisioned by writer-director Richard Brooks as a love poem to America. The narrative centers on a 700-mile cross-country horse race set in 1906, where fifteen diverse contestants compete for a winner-take-all prize of $2,000. Brooks drew inspiration from a real-life 1908 race organized by the Denver Post, which spanned the distance from Wyoming to Denver with a $2,500 purse. The film captures the physical and philosophical toll of the journey, touching on themes like sportsmanship, the yellow press, and the shifting social landscape of the American West.

The production process was as arduous as the race it depicted. Filming began on April 1, 1974, across rugged locations in New Mexico and Nevada, including White Sands National Park and the Carson National Forest. The casting process was notoriously difficult; Columbia Pictures initially pushed for stars like Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, and Burt Reynolds before eventually settling on Gene Hackman, Candice Bergen, and James Coburn. Hackman, who later cited a desert scene with Bergen as one of his career favorites, only joined the project after Fox agreed to delay his work on French Connection II.

Critical reception was polarized. Vincent Canby of The New York Times dismissed the film as a prefabricated assembly of genre cliches, though he praised Harry Stradling Jr.’s cinematography. Conversely, Roger Ebert championed the work, arguing that it successfully reaffirmed the power and integrity of the Western myth. Despite the mixed reviews, the film earned $5 million in North American theatrical rentals and received two Academy Award nominations for Best Sound and Best Original Score. Today, it is remembered for its unique premise and the spectacular scenery that defines its journey through the dying frontier.

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