Barbarosa

I've seen this movie several times over the years, since it first came out on VHS. All of the people in and behind this movie should do more movies like this, again...Schepisi has the confidence to let this story tell itself at its in own pace. Although the plot may seem to skip over key details, I really feel that Schepisi was only trusting in the audience's intelligence and ability to piece the puzzle together. The way he presents the different approaches of the families' blood rivalries is particularly subtle . Busey is amazingly lively. Nelson and Roland each have great screen presences, are good throughout, but particularly in their one scene together. I enjoy this movie everytime I see it.

Barbarosa is one of the best westerns ever made. The subject here is myth and the people who become mythic heroes. Barbarosa is, on the one hand, a legendary bandit and, on the other, an ordinary Texan who steals for a living: "Cattle, horses...Anything except sheep. You couldn't give me one of those wooly bastards." A young man on the run becomes Barbarosa's companion, then his acolyte. Both men are looking for a place in the world and the role they find is that of outlaw hero, players in a mythic drama that gives them meaning. The myth is that of the Outlaw Lover ( as in Hughes' The Outlaw or Brando's One-Eyed Jacks ) and both Nelson and Busey play their roles to perfection. The directing is excellent and the dialogue nigh perfect -- a great western! A swell movie!

This obscure Western was one of my favorite movies as a kid. It was a box office sleeper, but with the advent of HBO, it achieved a cult following - at one point it was the most-requested movie on HBO. While this must mean that a large number of people watched the movie, everyone I know who has seen it saw it on my TV.

Willie Nelson, not someone I think of as an actor, is excellent. Gary Busey, in the height of his coke-head days, turns in another wonderful performance. Truth be told, all of the actors are perfect. The story is different, as the previous reviewer pointed out, from all the other Westerns, and the cinematography is unbelievable.

Definitely a movie to rent or buy.

This films drifts along through some absolutely gorgeous western scenery. The cinematography is beautifully done, and is one of the finer points of this movie. The storyline is pretty episodic, and many plot points are glossed over without much explanation. Willie Nelson (Barbarosa) has some good scenes, along with Gilbert Roland who plays his revengeful father-in-law, but Gary Busey steals the show as Carl, the hard luck "farmboy". It's not the greatest movie ever made, but I enjoyed watching it......more like a fable than a western. 6/10

From the quirky opening scenes in this film (a photographer, a dead guy propped up in a pine box & various family members posing w/same)you are taken to an intriguing and rather unsettling place. The cinematography in the film suggests one of those cool(albeit weird) 'spaghetti westerns'. The director's vision comes through, chillingly well at times all throughout this film.

Willie Nelson's performance is, well what can you say except he is his consummate Willie-ness and in this film it works particularly well. Gary Busey's interpretation of his role as Karl is understated and approaches absolute perfection. The remainder of the cast turn in very respectable performances as well. This is another one of those films that you really need to watch several times to "get" the full effect. There are some subtle and not-so-subtle plot twists and themes that are really engrossing and entertaining to watch for. The one and only negative I found with this movie is a personal distaste for the (over)use of the expletive 'G.D.' - it's totally unnecessary and my Southern Baptist ears were ringing by the end of the film. Overall though this is one awesome film, and 'G.D.' notwithstanding, I've worn my copy just about out. It is most definitely worth looking for.