Barbarosa

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!

After accidentally killing his brother-in-law in a fight a young farmer by the name of "Kurt Westover" (Gary Busey) rides away from his small German immigrant village in Texas and heads for the Mexican border in an effort to escape the vengeance of his father-in-law "Herman Pahmeyer" (George Voskovec) and his other two sons "Otto Pahmeyer" (Kai Wulff) and "Floyd Pahmeyer" (Wolf Muser). However, not being used to the life of a fugitive, Kurt soon finds himself out of his element and it's then that he meets a notorious outlaw by the name of "Barbarosa" (Willie Nelson) who reluctantly takes him under his wing and teaches him how to survive against both nature and ruthless people in general. It's also during this time that it's revealed that Barbarosa has met a similar situation with his father-in-law "Don Braulio Zavala" (Gilbert Roland) who has also sent family members after him to avenge the murder of two of his sons as well. But what neither Don Braulio nor Herman Pahmeyer realize is that-based on the mutual support of their two intended targets--gaining their revenge is going to be even more difficult from that point on. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this turned out to be a surprisingly better film than I initially realized due in large part to the acting of Willie Nelson who seemed quite suitable for his specific role. Admittedly, a couple of the scenes could have used a bit more substance here and there but all things considered I found this to be an enjoyable film for the most part and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.

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.

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

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.