Powerful

A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

"Barbarosa" stars the great country singer Willie Nelson in the title role: a self-styled outlaw, who makes the acquaintance of bumbling former farmboy Karl (Gary Busey). Karl has accidentally killed his brother in law, and now he's on the lam. Barbarosa isn't particularly looking for a sidekick or a protégé, but he and the eager-to-please Karl forge a strong friendship. As they go around committing robberies, there is a nemesis from Barbarosas' past, Don Braulio (Gilbert Roland) who is eager to put an end to his days.Australian filmmaker Fred Schepisi made his American debut with this thoughtful and likable film, a very nicely shot combination of character study and Western drama. It examines the nature of myths and legends - how they get started, and how they endure. It's intelligent, fairly violent but never overly gory, and fairly visceral. The screenplay by William D. Wittliff has some good lines, and gives us a story and characters worth caring about. It also isn't afraid to make us fill in the gaps, instead of blatantly spelling everything out for us.Nelson is a natural pick for the lead. Barbarosa is somewhat ornery, but basically good hearted, and a feisty and colorful person to boot. Busey's rarely been more appealing, and he and Nelson get some fine chemistry going as their personalities clash. The ladies (Isela Vega, Alma Martinez) are absolutely lovely and are very appealing themselves. Roland, a veteran of Hollywoods' Golden Age, still had a powerful screen presence, and his antagonist is no one dimensional bogeyman. There are also some first rate actors in other supporting roles: Danny De La Paz, George Voskovec as the vengeful Herman Pahmeyer, Howland Chamberlain, Harry Caesar, Kai Wulff, and father and son character actors Roberto and Luis Contreras.Best of all, this film manages to make its points and explore its themes while also wrapping up in a reasonable amount of time (90 minutes all told). It's all gorgeously shot (by Ian Baker) and wonderfully scored (by Bruce Smeaton).Buseys' son Jake has a tiny role as a "cook boy".Eight out of 10.

This movie was apparently never released in theaters. Not sure why. It is in my top 100 westerns. I watch it every year or so, and see something new every time. Willie Nelson is appropriately understated. Busey is perfect for his role.

The second half was an improvement over the first, but I never really could get into the movie. It bounced around too much, taking too long to give the viewer a grasp of what was going on. The Big Bend country was spectacular, but the film was an also ran.

As a western, this movie was so dull and tedious. It has none of the charisma of Young Guns nor the adventure of the Good, Bad and Ugly. There were no gunfire duals, in fact hardly any guns fired at all. What little action there was just showed people falling down after a few gun shots fired. No blood no wounds. Willie Nelson looked too old and too tired for his role. He looked nothing like the supposed "menacing and bloodthirsty" Barbarosa. My vote a 1 out of 10.