{ "id": "epch8ayk82", "slug": "ulzanas-raid", "title": "Ulzana's Raid", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.action-adventure", "label": "Action and adventure films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.action-adventure" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.action-adventure.westerns-before-1980", "label": "Westerns before 1980", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.action-adventure.westerns-before-1980" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.action-adventure.westerns-before-1980.yr-1961-1979", "label": "Released 1961 to 1979", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.action-adventure.westerns-before-1980.yr-1961-1979" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.action-adventure.westerns-before-1980.yr-1961-1979", "label": "United States · 1946 to 2000: Released 1961 to 1979", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.action-adventure.westerns-before-1980.yr-1961-1979", "path": [ { "id": "geo.us", "label": "United States", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946", "label": "United States · 1946 to 2000", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.action-adventure", "label": "Action and adventure films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.action-adventure" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.action-adventure.westerns-before-1980", "label": "Westerns before 1980", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.action-adventure.westerns-before-1980" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.action-adventure.westerns-before-1980.yr-1961-1979", "label": "Released 1961 to 1979", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.action-adventure.westerns-before-1980.yr-1961-1979" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Ulzana's Raid: 1972 Robert Aldrich Western (also La venganza de Ulzana) starring Burt Lancaster as scout McIntosh tracking Apache leader Ulzana in 1880s Arizona; Universal, 103 min, Vietnam-era allegory, AHA 'Unacceptable' rating.", "snippet": "Ulzana's Raid: 1972 Robert Aldrich Western (also La venganza de Ulzana) starring Burt Lancaster as scout McIntosh tracking Apache leader Ulzana in 1880s Arizona; Universal, 103 min, Vietnam-era allegory, AHA 'Unacceptable' rating.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.action-adventure.westerns-before-1980.yr-1961-1979", "markdown": "# Ulzana's Raid\n\n**Ulzana's Raid** is a 1972 American Western directed by [Robert Aldrich](https://www.edgepedia.org/robert-aldrich) and written by Alan Sharp, in which a US Army cavalry troop led by an inexperienced lieutenant tracks an Apache war party that has left the San Carlos Reservation in 1880s Arizona. It stars [Burt Lancaster](https://www.edgepedia.org/burt-lancaster) as the aging scout McIntosh, Bruce Davison as Lt. Garnett DeBuin, Jorge Luke as the Apache scout Ke-Ni-Tay, and Joaquín Martínez as Ulzana, with [Richard Jaeckel](https://www.edgepedia.org/richard-jaeckel) and Lloyd Bochner in supporting roles. The film was produced by Carter DeHaven for Universal Pictures.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/54386-ULZANA%27S-RAID)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Director / writer | Robert Aldrich; screenplay and story by Alan Sharp[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/54386-ULZANA%27S-RAID) |\n| Principal cast | Burt Lancaster (McIntosh), Bruce Davison (Lt. DeBuin), Jorge Luke (Ke-Ni-Tay), Richard Jaeckel (Sergeant), Joaquín Martínez (Ulzana), Lloyd Bochner (Capt. Gates)[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/54386-ULZANA%27S-RAID) |\n| Release | November 1972; New York opening 15 November, Los Angeles opening 23 November[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/54386-ULZANA%27S-RAID) |\n| Technical profile | 103 minutes, Technicolor, Westrex sound, MPAA rating R, 35 mm[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/54386-ULZANA%27S-RAID) • [2](https://sede.mcu.gob.es/CatalogoICAA/Peliculas/Detalle?Pelicula=572550) |\n| Production | 18 January to mid-March 1972, on location in Nogales, Arizona, Coronado National Forest, and Nevada; budget $1.2 million in seven weeks[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/54386-ULZANA%27S-RAID) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069436/trivia/) |\n| Historical basis | Loosely inspired by an actual 1885 raid by the Apache leader Ulzana[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/54386-ULZANA%27S-RAID) |\n| Critical standing | 90% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (10 reviews); named by Vincent Canby to his list of the ten best films of 1972[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ulzanas_raid) • [5](https://jeffarnoldswest.com/2021/07/ulzana-s-raid-universal-1972/) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Premise\n\nThe story opens at night on the San Carlos Indian Reservation, where the Apache warrior Ulzana escapes with a small war party. News reaches Fort Lowell, and Major Cartwright assigns the idealistic young Lieutenant DeBuin to pursue Ulzana with a small company, aided by the veteran scout McIntosh and the Apache tracker Ke-Ni-Tay.[6](https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/review-robert-aldrich-ulzanas-raid-on-kl-studio-classics-blu-ray/) Ulzana's band raids, kills, and loots across the countryside, and as DeBuin encounters the remains of the victims he is forced to learn from McIntosh and to confront his own assumptions and hidden prejudices.[7](https://www.flicks.co.uk/movie/ulzanas-raid/)\n\nThe film treats the pursuit as a tactical contest. Much of the running time is devoted to schemes involving the use of horses, doubling back, and deliberately separating parties to misdirect the enemy, which Aldrich stages with what the critic Chuck Bowen described as masterful swiftness and clarity.[6](https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/review-robert-aldrich-ulzanas-raid-on-kl-studio-classics-blu-ray/) Ke-Ni-Tay explains to DeBuin that Ulzana, having lost power during his years on the reservation, takes power from every man he kills, the more the better; the explanation satisfies the lieutenant's need for a framework but not the troopers' growing appetite for reprisal.[8](https://www.ruthlessreviews.com/features/ulzanas-raid-1972/)\n\n## Production\n\nAldrich had first directed [Lancaster](https://www.edgepedia.org/lancaster) in two 1954 Westerns, *Apache* and *Vera Cruz*, both co-produced by Lancaster; *Ulzana's Raid* was their third collaboration, followed by *Twilight's Last Gleaming* (1977).[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/54386-ULZANA%27S-RAID) The closing credits acknowledge filming on location in [Nogales, Arizona](https://www.edgepedia.org/nogales-arizona), and on lands of Coronado National Forest, the [Bureau of Land Management](https://www.edgepedia.org/bureau-of-land-management), and Nevada state parks.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/54386-ULZANA%27S-RAID) According to IMDb's trivia entry, the film was shot for $1.2 million in seven weeks, three to four weeks less than most Aldrich productions.[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069436/trivia/) Lancaster, though not formally credited as producer, took a percentage instead of an upfront salary and had a say in the editing.[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069436/trivia/)\n\nJoseph Biroc's cinematography was deliberately unglamorous, shooting the Arizona scrubland in flat, assessing light, and the score was composed by Frank DeVol.[9](https://www.moma.org/calendar/events/11465) • [2](https://sede.mcu.gob.es/CatalogoICAA/Peliculas/Detalle?Pelicula=572550)\n\n## Versions and animal-welfare controversy\n\nThe American Humane Association rated the film \"Unacceptable\" in 1972 because of alleged cruelty to horses during production. Specific objections concerned \"horse tripping,\" a practice in which a thin, nearly invisible wire caused galloping horses to fall forward violently in action scenes. A trade-press claim that it was the first film rated unacceptable since *Jesse James* (1939) was inaccurate; several other films had received the rating within the previous two years. The horse-tripping scenes were edited out before the film's theatrical release in Great Britain, and in January 1975 the AHA praised NBC for airing a television print with the objectionable scenes excised.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/54386-ULZANA%27S-RAID)\n\nTwo distinct cuts exist. Aldrich's preferred 103-minute version was released to US cinemas. The European version was reedited by Lancaster himself: he cut a pre-credits sequence showing Ulzana's men leaving the reservation, a scene of DeBuin cleaning his teeth, and much of Mrs. Riordan's suicide attempt, restored material Aldrich had shot but not used, reordered several sequences, and made minor music changes, with the screenwriter Alan Sharp reluctantly assisting. Aldrich said he did not know why Lancaster made the changes.[10](https://www.screeningthepast.com/issue-10-first-release/variant-versions-of-robert-aldrichs-films-a-case-study/)\n\n## Reception and interpretation\n\nContemporary response was divided. Some critics denounced the film for a hackneyed plot and excessive violence, while Vincent Canby of *The New York Times* praised it, writing that \"the very ordinary plot does not do justice to the complexity of the film itself,\" and he analyzed its subtext of violence, racism, and the settling of the West in a December 1972 feature titled \"How the West Was Brutal.\" Canby also placed the film on his list of the ten best films of 1972.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/54386-ULZANA%27S-RAID) • [5](https://jeffarnoldswest.com/2021/07/ulzana-s-raid-universal-1972/) Commercially it underperformed; the year's Western ticket sales went to *Jeremiah Johnson*, *The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean*, *The Cowboys*, and *Joe Kidd*.[5](https://jeffarnoldswest.com/2021/07/ulzana-s-raid-universal-1972/)\n\n**Vietnam-era reading.** The film was widely read on release as an allegory of the [Vietnam War](https://www.edgepedia.org/vietnam-war), with the Apaches cast as stand-ins for guerrilla fighters the US Army could not comprehend; MoMA notes it arrived two years after the [My Lai massacre](https://www.edgepedia.org/my-lai-massacre), when real-world violence had acquired a weight genre conventions could barely contain.[9](https://www.moma.org/calendar/events/11465) Scholars of the period Western group it with *Little Big Man* and *Soldier Blue* as films that overturned the myth of the beneficent US cavalryman.[11](https://theses.ncl.ac.uk/jspui/bitstream/10443/216/1/durham04.pdf) Aldrich said the film's message was that people cause greater harm through their ignorance of other cultures, behaviors, deities, and customs than through any deliberate intent, while Sharp characterized it as a symbolic effort to convey how evil the world is and how terrified human beings are when confronted with that evil.[12](https://www.viennale.at/en/film/ulzanas-raid) • [5](https://jeffarnoldswest.com/2021/07/ulzana-s-raid-universal-1972/)\n\nLater critical standing has risen. Emanuel Levy in 2008 called it one of the best Westerns of the 1970s and one of Aldrich's most underestimated pictures, and [Quentin Tarantino](https://www.edgepedia.org/quentin-tarantino) in 2019 called it \"hands down Aldrich's best film of the seventies, as well as being one of the greatest westerns of the seventies,\" noting that it combines the two genres Aldrich was most known for, Westerns and war films.[5](https://jeffarnoldswest.com/2021/07/ulzana-s-raid-universal-1972/) On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds a 90% Tomatometer from 10 reviews and a 65% audience score.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ulzanas_raid) In Spain, where it was released as *La venganza de Ulzana* in March 1973, it sold 981,517 admissions.[2](https://sede.mcu.gob.es/CatalogoICAA/Peliculas/Detalle?Pelicula=572550)\n\n## References\n\n1. [Ulzana's Raid (1972), AFI Catalog of Feature Films](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/54386-ULZANA%27S-RAID)\n2. [La venganza de Ulzana, ICAA Film Database, Spanish Ministry of Culture](https://sede.mcu.gob.es/CatalogoICAA/Peliculas/Detalle?Pelicula=572550)\n3. [Ulzana's Raid (1972) Trivia, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069436/trivia/)\n4. [Ulzana's Raid, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ulzanas_raid)\n5. [Ulzana's Raid (Universal, 1972), Jeff Arnold's West](https://jeffarnoldswest.com/2021/07/ulzana-s-raid-universal-1972/)\n6. [Review: Robert Aldrich's Ulzana's Raid on KL Studio Classics Blu-ray, Slant Magazine](https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/review-robert-aldrich-ulzanas-raid-on-kl-studio-classics-blu-ray/)\n7. [Ulzana's Raid, Flicks](https://www.flicks.co.uk/movie/ulzanas-raid/)\n8. [Ulzana's Raid (1972), Ruthless Reviews](https://www.ruthlessreviews.com/features/ulzanas-raid-1972/)\n9. [Ulzana's Raid. 1972. Directed by Robert Aldrich, MoMA](https://www.moma.org/calendar/events/11465)\n10. [Variant versions of Robert Aldrich's films: a case study, Screening the Past](https://www.screeningthepast.com/issue-10-first-release/variant-versions-of-robert-aldrichs-films-a-case-study/)\n11. [The Western and American masculinity, PhD thesis, Newcastle University](https://theses.ncl.ac.uk/jspui/bitstream/10443/216/1/durham04.pdf)\n12. [Ulzana's Raid, Viennale](https://www.viennale.at/en/film/ulzanas-raid)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Action and adventure films (individual works) › Westerns before 1980 › Released 1961 to 1979*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/ulzanas-raid", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/ulzanas-raid.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Ulzana's Raid\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/ulzanas-raid. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Ulzana's Raid](https://www.edgepedia.org/ulzanas-raid)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/ulzanas-raid](https://www.edgepedia.org/ulzanas-raid). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Ulzana's Raid\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/ulzanas-raid. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Ulzana's Raid: 1972 Robert Aldrich Western starring Burt Lancaster as scout McIntosh tracking Apache leader Ulzana in 1880s Arizona; Universal, 103 min, Vietnam-era allegory, AHA 'Unacceptable' rating." }