Barbarosa (1982)
Karl Westover, an inexperienced farm boy, runs away after unintentionally killing a neighbor, whose family pursues him for vengeance. He meets Barbarosa, a gunman of near-mythical proportions, who is himself in danger from his father-in-law Don Braulio, a wealthy Mexican rancher. Don Braulio wants Barbarosa dead for marrying his daughter against the father's will. Barbarosa reluctantly takes the clumsy Karl on as a partner, as both of them look to survive the forces lining up against them.
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Too much of everything
Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.
Best movie ever!
The movie really just wants to entertain people.
Naïve, but eager farmhand Karl Westover (a fine and amiable performance by Gary Busey) goes on the lam after he accidentally kills his brother-in-law. Karl befriends shrewd and resourceful outlaw Barbarosa (wonderfully played with tremendous rascally charm by Willie Nelson), who teaches Karl how to survive in the wild.Director Fred Schepisi offers a flavorsome and meticulous evocation of a past time and place, relates the story at a measured pace, makes the most out of the dusty and desolate Tex-Mex prairie frontier setting, and puts a welcome and refreshing emphasis on people over action. William D. Wittliff's provides a wealth of witty dialogue and a surprisingly intricate narrative in which the relationships between the various clearly delineated characters are quite compelling and complicated. Moreover, the natural and engaging chemistry between Nelson and Busey gives this picture a winning surplus of pure heart and appeal; they receive sturdy support from Isela Vega as Barbarosa's lusty estranged wife Josephina, Gilbert Roland as the vengeful Don Braulio, Danny De La Paz as the angry and relentless Eduardo, George Voskovec as the vindictive Herman Pahmeyer, Alma Martinez as the sweet Juanita, and Luis Contreras as slimy bandito Angel. Both Ian Baker's crisp widescreen cinematography and Bruce Smeaton's harmonic score are up to par. A real sleeper.
Barbarosa is a terrific western, very under-rated, and easily deserving a higher place in the pantheon of oaters.Many posters correctly point out the film's theme of legend-building, how the myth of the Barbarosa started and grows.But there's another key and tragic element to this fine film - the cost young men must pay to fuel their fathers' hatred and rivalries. The sons of both German settler and Mexican patriach must sacrifice their very lives, attempting to settle old scores for fathers.Sadly, it's an all-too-familiar story for mankind, as generations of old men seem all-too-willing to sacrifice flesh and blood for notions of revenge and honor. Great flick.
The title role of Barbarosa is played by Willie Nelson and he's a former Texas Ranger turned outlaw who's on the run from his various crimes and from his in-laws who don't like him very much. They resent this Anglo marrying into their family and family patriarch Gilbert Roland got his leg shot off while trying to break up that marriage. He's lost several other family members in trying to kill Nelson to avenge that.But Nelson picks up Gary Busey a farm kid on the run from a feud himself because he accidentally killed his brother-in-law. Busey takes up with Nelson and his outlaw ways and the two become an amiable pair.Judging by the other reviewers Barbarosa seems to have a bit of a following. I wouldn't call it great by any means, still it's certainly entertaining enough for the discriminating western fans.Barbarosa's significance to me is that it is the farewell performance of Gilbert Roland whose career went back six decades into the silent era when he was touted as a would be Valentino successor. His career never quite fit that mold, but he was always a favorite of mine. The part as the family patriarch is not the usual carefree, but tough Gilbert that we usually see. He's an understandably bitter man in this film and it was a good performance to go out on.Western fans won't mind this one and Nelson and Busey have a nice chemistry between them.
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