The White Buffalo

Blending Western grit with a dash of myth, The White Buffalo follows Wild Bill Hickok as he becomes obsessed with a white buffalo he claims to glimpse in a dream. He trails the creature across dim taverns, freezing frontier towns, and wide, empty high country, chasing a legend that feels almost divine. Along the way he teams up with a young Crazy Horse who brings a raw, stubborn energy to the pursuit. The film casts Hickok as a man haunted by visions, testing his nerve against hostile landscapes and a dream made tangible by danger. It's a strange, stylized hunt that questions whether some legends are better kept as symbols than hunted to the ground, and the danger it invites.

Directed by J. Lee Thompson, The White Buffalo is adapted from a story by Richard Sale and released in 1977. The cast blends Bronson muscle with Novak's enigmatic presence and Will Sampson's edge in a mythic Western.

Box office data for The White Buffalo is not widely documented, indicating it did not leave a lasting imprint at the box office. It arrived as a mid range Western in the late 70s without standout numbers.

Despite its strangeness, the film has a niche appeal among Western aficionados and fans of Bronson. Its dream driven premise, stark landscapes, and unusual alliance between Hickok and Crazy Horse create visual moments that linger, giving the story a cult quality rather than a conventional iconic status in many circles.

Reception and themes lean into obsession, myth versus reality, and the lure of the unknown. Hickok's pursuit tests his nerves and humility as the landscapes emerge as much a character as any man. The unlikely alliance with a young Crazy Horse hints at cross cultural exchange and fate shaping a legend rather than simply chasing it in bold terms.