The Long Riders

Admittedly, the Western is not my favourite movie genre, which is partly why I like this film so much, as to my mind it is unique in several regards. For a start, none of the usual Western icons are present, which I find refreshing. There is no leading man either, no "hero", none of the usual "good guys" fighting the "bad guys" scenario. Another outstanding feature is the unique soundtrack(slide guitar, and traditional tunes), which makes a pleasant change to the usually obligatory orchestral soundtrack for Westerns. This movie is short and sweet and never drags or goes off on a romantic subplot. The slow motion option for the shoot-out scenes was a wise choice and it adds a lot of impact. Even a "minor" detail like the grey dusters worn by all members of the gang serves to enhance the overall aesthetic appeal of the film. The Northfield ambush and escape sequence near the end of the film is compelling and I find myself re-watching that scene repeatedly whenever I watch the movie. And, lastly, I just happen to like the actors David and Keith Carradine, and James and Stacy Keach.

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.

In the Missouri, after the civil war, the James & Younger gang steals banks and trains, and are chased by the Pinkertons. This movie is a very different western, showing the outlaws as human beings, having families, raising children. Walter Hill uses the Carredine, Quaid and Keach brothers in real life to perform the former bandits and it is a great attraction in this film. The music, arranged and composed by Ry Cooder, fits perfectly to the story. However, the characters are not well developed, maybe because of the quantity of lead actors versus the running time, and the story loses the explanation of the motives for the behavior of the bandits, being cruel while robbing and very close to their families, being good sons, husbands and friends. Anyway, the performance of the cast is excellent and the movie does not disappoint. My vote is seven.

Title ('Brazil'): 'Cavalgada dos Proscritos' (Ride of the Proscribes')

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.

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.