Forajidos de leyenda

I know, calling it "the true story" is a bit much for any film, but I have my reasons. There have been dozens of films about Jesse James, before this one and since, but as a history buff I choose this one as my favorite. Most movies on the subject either make Jesse a misunderstood hero or the villainous target of some (usually fictional) lawman. This movie was called "revisionist" by some critics when it was released, but the great thing about it is that it just tells the story. It uses a series of lovely little vignettes, each one of them historically verifiable. There are failings, to my mind the slow-motion shootout being the biggest, but on the whole it captures the feel of the period, the dress, the idioms ("I would toss the shotgun away!"), pretty much everything. It doesn't make them good guys, far from it, but it does take pains to show why their neighbors loved them and hated the pinkertons.

Not the best western ever, by a long shot, but almost certainly the best movie on the subject.

Walter Hill is surely one of the most underrated American directors of all time. His output since the popular success of '48 Hours' has been variable to say the least, but his run of 'The Driver', 'The Warriors', 'The Long Riders' and 'Southern Comfort' is difficult to beat. Each of those four movies is an overlooked classic, especially 'The Long Riders', which is a strong contender for the most underrated western of all time. The idea of casting real life brothers David, Keith and Robert Carradine and Stacy and James Keach (as well as Randy and Dennis Quaid and Christopher and Nicholas Guest) was an inspired one and really helps make this something special. Stacy Keach (as Frank James) and David Carradine (as Cole Younger) give the two stand out performances. Both of them are superb. David Carradine is finally getting some attention since working with Tarantino on 'Kill Bill'. His career has spanned forty years, and over 120 movies, working with everyone from Martin Scorsese to Ingmar Bergman to Hal Ashby to Robert Altman to (yes) Fred Olen Ray. He has made many (too many) lousy movies but also several very good ones. This could well be his very best role. Stacy Keach is another actor who has made some dubious career choices over the years (eg 'Mountain Of The Cannibal God', 'Class Of 1999') but when he's good he's not only really good, he's GREAT. Just watch him here and in 'Fat City' and 'The Ninth Configuration' and tell me I'm lying. Keach's brother James plays Jessie James and almost steals the movie. I also enjoyed both the Quaid brothers, and the memorable cameo by James Remar, one of the stars of Hill's cult classic 'The Warriors'. The real surprise for me here was Pamela Reed who plays Belle Starr. She's very sexy and tough and acts well, and she and David Carradine display some genuine chemistry. Their scenes together were my favourite moments in the movie. Why Reed never became a big star is difficult to fathom. I highly recommend 'The Long Riders'. It's a great movie and every Western fan should see it.

Using real-life acting brothers for the various sets of sibling characters in this movie might be seen as a cheesy PR stunt or an inspired move. I prefer the inspirational viewpoint. The Carradine's are superb as the Younger Brothers and the Keech's portray the James boys with considerable restrained menace, depth and stage presence. Jesse James' as played by James Keech is part humble farmer, part cold psychotic killer. Considering what the gang got up to in 19th century post-civil war Missouri, one tends to think this is just what the man himself was probably like. While Brother Frank appears to have the charisma and logic, Jesse has the steel within him and the cold detachment required for the outlaw life. However both are upstaged by David Carradine as Coleman Younger, the long haired, flamboyant, world weary star of the film. Carradine is quite superb throughout; laconic, quick witted, cool and surprisingly likable. Director Walter Hill certainly manages to bring out the contrasting and distinct characters of the gang members and wraps them up in unusual locations (for a western). This produces some wonderfully atmospheric moments and scenes of sheer cinematic poetry. All that is visually arresting about a good "cowboy " film is present here but in a stylish and individual way. The script has some dark comedy, some deep pathos and never sounds so well crafted that a bunch of country outlaws wouldn't say any of it. Some of the supporting cast stand out in their own right; Cole's fiesty whore, Belle, The James' brother mom and a young Dennis Quaid as wild but rejected former gang member, Ed Miller. All give good performances in what is a great piece of ensemble acting topped by moody photography, great stunt work and a view of these famous outlaws that doesn't paint them as quite the Robin Hood heroes of popular myth, nor totally amoral hooligans. A worthy film from an era not noted for many good Westerns.

This film was historically correct in how it showed the attitudes of the times. I saw this film finally after reading a book attempting to explain why American history, including the Wild West years, has been so violent. I was amazed how accurately the film showed those reasons in the Wild West. Mostly men, few women, lived in that part of the country then. The West was spacious and spectacular but also boring, leaving men with little to do but get drunk and play a mouth harp. Also, many of the tough guys hailed from the post-Confederate South. In the film, after taking the long, boring train ride north to a town in Minnesota (to the tune of a mouth harp,) they encountered well-dressed, prosperous Scandinavian-Americans in the streets. These people were barely intelligible as they mocked the long riders. When our anti-heroes arrived at the bank, they discovered what the townsfolk were saying. What they said to the lone teller revealed they were from the South. I was mesmerized by this part of the film and hope others were, too.

1980 brought us yet another telling of the tale of the James brothers and their outlaw exploits. The attention getting gimmick that this film has is the casting of real life brothers in the various roles.

The Carradines play the Younger brothers, the Quaids play the Millers, the Guests play the Fords and starring are Stacy and James Keach as Frank and Jesse James. With some license the film does stick close to the facts though somewhat out of order.

James Keach takes an honored place besides such folks as Tyrone Power, Audie Murphy, Robert Wagner and in the future Rob Lowe would essay the part of Jesse James. Keach compartmentalizes his life well with being a strict family man when not working and one mean outlaw when he is. The film also shows how easily things can go wrong with the best laid plans and Jesse was a planner.

The climax is the Great Northfield, Minnesota bank robbery disaster which went so wrong. A miracle that Jesse didn't lose more of his men that day. The incident was depicted in one of those violence ballets that Sam Peckinpah did so well. Wouldn't be surprised if Peckinpah wasn't considered to be director.

My favorite is David Carradine as Cole Younger and he has the best moment in the film in a fight with Sam Starr played by James Remar for Belle Starr played with flourish by Pamela Reed. The weapon of choice is Bowie knives. This duel has a surprise ending.

The Long Riders is one fine western and highly recommend.