Overrated and overhyped

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.

Blistering performances.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

Even avid Dennis Hopper fans may not have seen or heard of this one, a turn of the century Western in which Hopper's character Bick Waner, tries to turn his back on a life of crime and go straight. Things go inauspiciously for him as one job after another goes down in flames, either due to his temper or the whims of his boss. However once it becomes known that he's the former outlaw and train robber Kid Blue, the die is cast and The Kid decides to pull one last job.It was cool to see some of the stellar character actors of the era here - Warren Oates as a wistful dreamer of the ancient Greeks with their notions of man love, Ben Johnson as an arrogant sheriff, and Peter Boyle in an early role as Preacher Bob, an eccentric inventor with unusual insights into the gospels. The film has an interesting share of comedic elements, mostly involving Boyle's character and an Indian named Old Coyote (Jose Torvay), who's made it his mission to get 'pushed under the water' by the preacher. For those not in the know, he wants to be baptized so he can claim his earthly riches.There's no pretense of Western film greatness with this flick, but it is entertaining enough, taking place in the old West town of Dime Box, home of the Great American Ceramic Novelty Company. The story sheds light on the dawning of American capitalism and how small, dusty towns of the era managed to get lucky when an aspiring businessman made his enterprise the center of town life. One has to get a kick out of Reese Ford's (Oates) purchase of a new fangled steel bathtub for $12.29 (without freight charges), as the film tiptoes around the edges of homo-eroticism when Hopper and Oates climb into the tub together to relive the ancient Greek baths. Personally, getting soaped down by the lovely Molly Ford (Lee Purcell) would be a much better deal.Best line of advice comes from Old Coyote discussing menu options with his Indian cohorts and Kid Blue - "If you're hungry, don't eat cow sh_t". I'll be keeping that in mind.

If you like Dennis Hopper, you like this kind of introspective crazy thing about life, so watch it :)This is not a classical 50s or 60s Western - this is about how the Old West may well have been for real. No superstunts a'la "Matrix" her for sure, but there is some funny action!I am only now starting to appreciate the 70s way of making odd movies, with all the less than adequately brainy, all computer tricks, and no substance material coming to our screens these days.It's all about real people doing mundane things, at times doing stupid things, and occasionally doing even really stupid, but outright spectacular things. Nothing is sacred, and conservatives will have to hate this piece, that leaves no legend untouched, and shows the old West at its end in its transition to modern times, in which even steam power can already be made out to be relic some day, but not quite yet. Modern times is a comin! The characters are simply everyday people, hypocritical, twisted, evil, a little nice at times, always mean in a way, denuded of social grace as well as soap and water, except when it serves the purpose of getting closer.This is not a classical Western - this is about how the Old West may well have been for real, spitting, sex, and all.So stuff your dreamworld, because if you want to be a honky cowboy, you may think twice after seeing this one.Boring? Yes, there are boring stretches in this movie. But that too were the good old times. So change your pace and watch a true classic of the 70s Western genre. Did I say a classic, when I said before it isn't? Actually, this one is a classic - just a different kind.

I saw this movie in the mid-70s at the People's Theater in a small town in Kansas (shortly before it burned down (the theater, not the town) & I've been wanting to see it ever since, although I'm almost afraid to now for fear of spoiling my memory of it..The way I remember it, it was set in a Colorado town at the turn of the century (19th to 20th) & it was about capitalism & modernity & the end of the frontier. The classic scene in my memory is Dennis Hopper walking down Main Street with the owner of the new factory, which makes little gewgaws of some sort. The factory owner explains to Dennis Hopper that he needs to get a job in the factory so he can earn money to buy things that other people make in other factories-- (not mentioning, of course, that he skims off his share in the process). Political economy 101 for the wild wild west.I'll admit that it wasn't a cinematic masterpiece-- the only lines of dialogue I remember for sure are Hopper's Native American pal advising him: "If you're not hungry, don't eat cow (censored word)," and somebody yelling, "Shoot that peckerwood, sheriff." On second thought, I probably shouldn't watch it again. Still, I like the beat, I can dance to it, I'll give it a 9.

This film really clicked with me. One of the first times I had seen Peter Boyle and Dennis Hopper. Really enjoyed it. I had just graduated from college. I got to see it in a sneak preview. I have looked for it ever since to see it again.