Cavalgada dos Proscritos

Bravo! Great fun. The idea of actual brothers portraying the James', Youngers, Millers and the Fords was fabulous - but then the Keachs, Carradines and Quades are so outstanding they really took it all the way. It felt like a genuine moment out of an American West history book. And Pamela Reed as Belle Star - what a tough, sexy "whore". Loved it.

Back in the glory days of 1980, Michael Bay was just a fifteen year old lad with a love of movies who would soon begin his enrolment at Wesleyan University. Bryan Singer too was a mere child, probably admiring films like The Long Riders with his buddy Ethan Hawke. It would take a further six years for John Mc Tiernan to carve his name in the Hollywood ladder and John Woo was still finding his directorial roots in Southern China. The man to watch when it came to extremely stylised action was one Walter Hill, the creator of such awesome gun-totting avalanches as Extreme Prejudice, The Warriors and Johnny Handsome. Long since categorised as ‘the' director for choosing style over content, Hill started out his career as a screenwriter. He penned The Getaway for Sam Peckinpah, who was obviously his idol, and in almost all of his movies he adds visual flourishes that are unsubtly reminiscent of Peckinpah's accomplishments. (Check out Extreme Prejudice where Hill almost out Peckinpahs Peckinpah!) Like all of cinema's greatest achievers, Hill had an unbridled love for the western. Over the length of his career, he would return to the genre again and again, giving us offerings that ranged from the large-scale excess of Geronimo: an American legend, to the smaller, but just as historically accurate Wild Bill.

By far the best of his Western work, The Long Riders tells the tale of the James/Younger legacy, a slice of history that has been adapted for the silver screen on countless occasions. Perhaps the film's strongest and most alluring attribute is the fact that the cast contains real life acting siblings in the shape of the Carradines, the Keaches, the Guests and the Quaids as the band of outlaws. It's also one of the finest and most attractively crafted movies of its kind, equally as beautiful as Heaven's Gate and as tirelessly entertaining as Tombstone.

I doubt that fans of the genre will need any introduction to the exploits of Jesse James, so I won't bother to list a plot synopsis. But reportedly, this is one of the more accurate descriptions of the adventures of the infamous anti-establishment crusader. Frankly, if outings like Frank and Jesse and the dismal American Outlaws are anything to go by, it's also one of the best of the colossal bunch.

The thespian brothers hold up their ends with finesse, and without taking anything away from the Keaches who don't fail to entertain from start to finish, one can only wonder how the film could have turned out if Jeff and Beau Bridges would have been available to accept the leads. David Carradine gives a scene stealing performance, making the most of his ‘relationship' with an incredibly sexy Pamela Reed as Belle Shirley. Props are certainly due to Randy Quaid for not over cooking his threats against the singer in the bar scene at the beginning, he comfortably makes those few short lines the best of the whole damn movie. It's a shame that James Keach could never make his star shine brighter on the Hollywood A-list. Even so, he still has one or two great performances to look back on with enough pride to show that he was once a force to be reckoned with on the tinsel-town ladder.

Being as this is a Walter Hill joint, all the flashy trademarks are rooted firmly in place, including the use of his ever-dependable cast alumni such as James Remar. Surprisingly enough, for a director that's famed for his love of stylised violence, there are very few gunfights throughout the runtime, which somehow makes them even more powerful when they do finally occur. The Northfield Minnesota ambush is perhaps one of the greatest shoot-outs of western history, utilising a great use of sound to make each bullet hit home with a stark sense of realism that's almost nightmare inducing. Co-ordinator Craig Baxley should take a bow for his constant but never over-excessive use of jaw dropping stunts. Bodies literally fly through the air with an exquisite force that manages to bring home the impact of a gunshot with adeptness. Long Riders also boats more than its share of accurately realised set locations. But unlike Michael Cimino, Hill never over indulges or looses the plot to period preciseness, so the sheen is never overpowering or unwelcome.

Although Long Riders may not hold the masterpiece status of such often-touted westerns as The Wild Bunch, Unforgiven or even Dances with Wolves, it's still a five star movie. It's superbly acted, impressively casted, flawlessly directed and it boasts some of the greatest music that you're likely to find this side of an opera. Many people often consider Tombstone to be ‘the all time great popcorn western.' Well, I can only presume that's because they haven't actually seen this long forgotten classic slice of storytelling. If you're a fan of the Wild West and you've let this slip you by, then you need to be asking yourself why

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.

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')

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.