Film lost an undisputed titan when the incomparable Sidney Poitier passed away in January 2022. Tucked among Poitier’s exceptional filmography lies this seminal western and the performer’s directorial debut.
Buck (Poitier) is a no-nonsense trail guide-for-hire, devoting himself to protecting a group of former slaves seeking passage to the West, and a homestead beyond. Along the way, he encounters the dishevelled but wily Preacher (Harry Belafonte) with whom he eventually joins forces against a band of bounty hunters determined to drive the homesteaders back to the South and into slavery.
Now presented in a new 4K restoration, Buck and the Preacher remains a canon-defying entry in a white-dominated genre, a testament to the directorial talent of its legendary star, and a hidden gem ripe for rediscovery.