A Western war movie from maker of The Dirty Dozen is on TV tonight

It's been called 'one of the greatest Westerns of the 1970s'.

Based loosely on true events, its story is set in the 1880s. It follows Lt. DeBuin (Bruce Davison, X-Men), a young officer in the US Army Cavalry, who is given a small company to track down the ruthless Apache leader Ulzana (Joaquin Martinez, Jeremiah Johnson).

Accompanying the lieutenant's troop is McIntosh (Oscar-winner Burt Lancaster, Elmer Gantry), an experienced scout, and Ke-Ni-Tay (Jorge Luke, Clear and Present Danger), an Apache guide.

As DeBuin's mission descends into violence, the young officer is compelled to learn from the older, grizzled McIntosh and to confront his own naivety and hidden prejudices.

Watch the trailer for Ulzana's Raid right here:

Though not a hit at the time of release, Ulzana's Raid has grown in reputation over the decades since.

In particular, Aldrich's gritty direction and Alan Sharp's screenplay, showing how violence begets violence, have been singled out for praise.

Regarding the latter, many view the Western as an allegory for America's war with Vietnam.

One noteworthy admirer of Ulzana's Raid is filmmaker Quentin Tarantino, who has called it "one of the greatest Westerns of the '70s".

The Western war movie is airing on TV tonight morning on the channel Legend Xtra at 9pm. The film is also available to purchase from the Sky Store for €6.99.

Here are the other movies on TV tonight: