I managed to get an uncut version of this rare western, and I thought it was very engaging. Now, I will freely admit that the screenplay is full of holes (like: How does the party know what Oliver Reed's character looks like? Why doesn't Hackman kill Reed when he has the chance? Why won't Reed admit defeat?) which definitely prevent this from becoming the epic, sweeping western it is obviously trying to be. (As well, most of the main characters are written poorly.)
Yet at the same time, I was immediately hooked and engaged until the end credits started. Though the movie has all of those above faults (and more), there is some really good stuff here. The locations... photography...production values... are all top-notch. And whoa, all of that violence! The bloddy shootouts and sniper attacks give Sam Peckinpah a real run for his money. People who don't like westerns probably won't like this movie, but western fans like myself will likely embrace it, flaws and all
Yet at the same time, I was immediately hooked and engaged until the end credits started. Though the movie has all of those above faults (and more), there is some really good stuff here. The locations... photography...production values... are all top-notch. And whoa, all of that violence! The bloddy shootouts and sniper attacks give Sam Peckinpah a real run for his money. People who don't like westerns probably won't like this movie, but western fans like myself will likely embrace it, flaws and all