Rent Buck and the Preacher (1972)
3.4 of 5 from 69 ratings
1h 39min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
- Sidney Poitier stars as Buck, an ex-Union Army Cavalry sergeant who becomes a scout for freed slaves heading to the Colorado frontier. Tagging along with him are his wife (Ruby Dee in a scene-stealing performance) and a Bible-thumping con artist known as the Preacher (Harry Belafonte). Attacked by racist bounty hunters determined to return the former slaves to a life of sharecropping in Louisiana, Buck and his followers must summon all the courage they have in order to reach their destination and help settle the Wild West.
- Actors:
- Sidney Poitier, Harry Belafonte, Ruby Dee, Cameron Mitchell, Denny Miller, Nita Talbot, John Kelly, Tony Brubaker, Bobby Johnson, James McEachin, Clarence Muse, Lynn Hamilton, Doug Johnson, Errol John, Kenneth Menard
- Directors:
- Sidney Poitier, Joseph Sargent
- Producers:
- Joel Glickman, Harry Belafonte, Sidney Poitier
- Writers:
- Ernest Kinoy, Drake Walker
- Studio:
- Columbia Tristar
- Genres:
- Action & Adventure, Comedy, Drama
- Collections:
- 21 Reasons to Love, 21 Reasons to Love..Modern Westerns, A Brief History of Singer Biopics, All the Twos: 1972-2012, Cinema Paradiso's 2022 Centenary Club, Getting to Know..., Getting to Know: Sidney Poitier, A Brief History of Film..., Top 10 Films of 1972, Top Films
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 26/09/2022
- Run Time:
- 103 minutes
- Languages:
- English LPCM Mono
- Subtitles:
- English Hard of Hearing
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Widescreen 1.85:1
- Colour:
- Colour
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- B
- Bonus:
- New interview with Mia Mask, author of 'Black Rodeo: A History of the African American Western'
- Behind-the-scenes footage featuring actor-director Sidney Poitier and actor-producer Harry Belafonte
- Interviews with Poitier and Belafonte from 1972 episodes of 'Soul!' and 'The Dick Cavett Show'
- New interview with Gina Belafonte, daughter of Harry Belafonte
- An essay by critic Aisha Harris
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Reviews (2) of Buck and the Preacher
Very poor - Buck and the Preacher review by AB
NOT a comedy as advertised, not even a drama, more like a 1-star, overrated social commentary set in the wild west. Acting is poor, storyline so-so but no fun nor suspense. Even the Indians are on-side!
0 out of 3 members found this review helpful.
Ground-breaking western that shows its age - Buck and the Preacher review by SB
Sidney Poitier made his debut directing this film produced by both him and Harry Belafonte. Based on the true story of the Exoduster Movement as "freed" slaves headed west to try to carve out a better life for themselves, it tells an important tale of American history.
It was one of the first mainstream movies to feature African-American actors as the leads and was progressive for its time. In other areas, you will notice that the Native American characters are played by actors who are either white or Hispanic, which is more typical for the era.
The story tells some hard truths, but the tone never quite settles, with most actors evoking subtle tragedy or stoicism, but a few coming close to caricature.
The twangy soundtrack, familiar from Spaghetti Westerns, sometimes seems at odds for the tale you are seeing on screen.
While not an essential film these days, it is worth a watch if you are interested in film history and it is a solid western for its time.
As this is a Criterion release, there are five extra mini-documentaries featuring interviews from the time and retrospective thoughts from the modern day.
0 out of 0 members found this review helpful.