Buck and the Preacher

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Buck and the Preacher

PG

1972

1h 42m

Western

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Popcornmeter

84%

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44 Reviews

61%

Popcornmeter

1,000+ Ratings

Following the end of the Civil War, soldier-turned-trail-guide Buck (Sidney Poitier) makes a living by helping former slaves find settlements in the West. Along the way, a con artist, the Preacher (Harry Belafonte), joins the group, and constantly clashes with Buck. But when a gang of bounty hunters, led by the fiendish Deshay (Cameron Mitchell), attempts to round up the freed slaves to bring them back to Louisiana, the two put aside their differences to fight a common enemy.

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Critics Consensus

Sidney Poitier's directorial debut may be more steady than inspired, but Harry Belafonte's live-wire performance and a Black perspective on classic Western tropes make for a refreshing addition to the genre.

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Kevin Maher

The Times (UK)

Mar 4, 2023

4/5

Poitier films himself magnificently as an elegant western vision, whether gliding smoothly by on horseback or stalking desert towns in a natty pink shirt. But the scene stealer is Harry Belafonte...

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Peter Bradshaw

Guardian

Mar 1, 2023

4/5

A terrifically enjoyable western adventure bromance, packed with brio and breezy, unreflective energy and tilted to the lighter end of the tonal spectrum.

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Judith Crist

New York Magazine/Vulture

May 31, 2022

Send the kiddies to see this slick western with Sidney Poitier.

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David Harris

Spectrum Culture

Apr 11, 2023

Buck and the Preacher exists at an interesting point in Poitier’s career. It’s a revisionist western that could have never been made in the ‘60s. But it doesn’t go as far as some of its contemporaries, especially the blaxploitation films of the era.

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Brian Susbielles

InSession Film

Feb 15, 2023

It’s part-Western, part-comedy with a twist of Black Power in a still-divided nation in which African-Americans were seen as the heroes in a genre that never gave a socially conscious idea of civil rights before.

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James Kendrick

Q Network Film Desk

Sep 14, 2022

3.5/4

goes against the grain, rewriting one of Hollywood’s most storied genres—the Western—through the lens of neglected black history

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Jennifer F

@HeyitsmeJen Jul 30, 2026

Great Movie ! My husband and I really enjoyed watching it !!! Sidney Poitier and Harry Belafonte make a great team in this movie … we highly recommend … there’s brief nudity cause you get to see Harry’s bum, however, it’s TRUE to characterize what it would be like in those days just after the civil war… God bless all those who helped these humans to find peace instead of being property

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Stephen C

@bob25009 Jun 20, 2026

Funny in 1 hour and 42 minutes.

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j F.

@LiberteBurrows Jul 30, 2025

Belafonte is crazy good

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Nov 12, 2023

Really good western here Sidney Poitier did an excellent job. Highly recommended James Welch, Henderson, Arkansas November 11, 2023.

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Steve D

@RT35616104 Aug 1, 2023

I expected a lot more given the talent and story.

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delysid d

@RT67044741 Dec 17, 2021

so funny to see 70s black folks in the old west

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Synopsis

Following the end of the Civil War, soldier-turned-trail-guide Buck (Sidney Poitier) makes a living by helping former slaves find settlements in the West. Along the way, a con artist, the Preacher (Harry Belafonte), joins the group, and constantly clashes with Buck. But when a gang of bounty hunters, led by the fiendish Deshay (Cameron Mitchell), attempts to round up the freed slaves to bring them back to Louisiana, the two put aside their differences to fight a common enemy.

Director: Sidney Poitier
Producer: Joel Glickman
Screenwriter: Ernest Kinoy
Production Co: Columbia Pictures Corporation, Belafonte Enterprises
Rating: PG
Genre: Western
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 16, 2012
Runtime: 1h 42m

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