hobartdrivejack

This is a wonderful surreal gonzo movie of the early seventies. Why it was ever released is beyond me! John Voight is perfect as the boxer hoping to get to the Olympics from the small town of "Buddyville". The relationship between Voight and his girlfriend is fascinating. Anne Archer is stunning in one of her early roles. Charles Eastman directed his original screenplay which reminds you of the later works of Terence Malick. The ending has a "Days of Heaven" feel to it. I enjoyed the use music in the film especially "Laugh Laugh" by the Beau Brummels. When was the last time you heard the Beau Brummels? The dialog has a "inner" quality to which adds to surrealness of the film. Check this one out you won't be disappointed!

I just watched this film for the first time in over twenty five years. This is a case where the film was better than I remembered it! It's sparse and unique. The cowboys in the film are actually juvenile delinquents a small group of street (prairie) thugs led by Jeff Bridges. A civil war draft dodger played by Barry Brown who comes with a little bit of money from his mom joins the gang and along the way they commit various small time crimes which eventually escalate to violence and death. The sparse piano score is excellent. Jeff Bridges character is so dislike-able that he's likable? We wonder what he's going to do next and thus holds our interest. Many revisionist westerns have certain smugness to them. This is the way the west was type of thing. This doesn't! Robert Benton is talented writer/director, this and his "The Late Show" are two of the most underrated films of the seventies. Look for a early John Savage.