This movie is just terribly made, yet I found myself enjoying it to some degree if you can get past its flaws. Wild Bill Hickok (played by Charles Bronson) has nightmares about a white buffalo and decides to go with his older friend (Jack Warden) to the Black Hills to hunt it. However, Crazy Horse (Will Sampson) wants revenge on the animal because it killed his daughter. Clint Walker shows up as the antagonist in this story. "The White Buffalo" was finished in 1976 but wasn't released for over a year before being widely distributed. Based on a 1975 book, Director J. Lee Thompson called it the "Moby Dick" of the West. There’s also something similar to “Jaws” (1975) with the three men working together to find and kill the animal. The outdoor winter scenes are beautiful and the cast is excellent; it includes Kim Novak, Stuart Whitman, Slim Pickens, Ed Lauter and John Carradine. I liked the story about Wild Bill and Crazy Horse putting aside their differences to discover a kind of friendship and common ground. There’s also some deep thinking about self-discovery, finding your purpose, and overcoming fears to become more human. Unfortunately, the indoor sets look fake and the animatronic bison looks like a giant, shaggy toy—though I suppose filmmakers had limited options before CGI, especially with a smaller budget. These things along with the comic book feel will make you wonder “What were they thinking?” The white buffalo’s ridiculous attack on the Oglala camp is a prime example. Another problem is that not enough explanation is given for Hickok's nightmares to explain why he suddenly starts having these violent awakenings and traveling to a remote place to kill this legendary animal (I think some scenes might have been removed). However, if you can overlook those issues, there’s plenty here to appreciate. It’s essentially become a cult Western—certainly flawed, but somehow entertaining and meaningful, AS LONG AS you accept its oddities. The film is 1 hour and 37 minutes long and was filmed in studios & Bronson Canyon, Los Angeles, as well as Colorado, Arizona & New Mexico. GRADE: C

Source on TMDB