What an odd movie. It's something more tender than you might expect of Peckinpah, but it feels wonky and inconsistent. The humor is terribly hokey and just plain unfunny.

978

Peckinpah singing way above his range. No slo-mo gunfights this time; a lackadaisical, even playful Western. So much of it works and so much of it doesn't that it feels rather schizophrenic, and after a while you look forward to the damn thing *finally* ending... but you have to go through a lot of climaxes first. There's something to be said for any movie with David Warner as a priest, but, Jesus Fucking Christ, those AWFUL songs

Flawed film about a flawed man striving to carve out an existence in the west, directed by a flawed man who puts many of his issues on the screen for us to see. All these flaws were pretty endearing to me, though. Peckinpah mixes a harsh view of the world, where giving an inch can cost you everything, with a tender underbelly of love and hope that keeps the darkness at bay. It all comes around to a terrific ending that seals the deal.

An oddly gentle film from Peckinpah but a tad too pretentious and unevenly executed.. Robards is fine.

Marvellous

A nice film, partly excessive in spirit but seemingly restful in nature. If not overwhelming, it's pleasing stuff from a vigorous director.

Not among Peckinpah's best, but still nice.

This is Peckinpah's gentlest and I'd say my fourth favorite. The love between Robards and Stevens is so real and strong. It's all quite a funny and beautiful story. The best is the montage scene with the "Butterfly Mornings" song both the actors sing.

A somewhat unconventional Sam Peckinpah western that perhaps does an even better job of summing up the director's feelings about the Old West than The Wild Bunch. Cable Hogue, brilliantly played by Jason Robards, represents the west itself, and his story is a metaphor for the death of that era. There's also an intriguing subtext about religion and morality. Peckinpah gives the movie a style reminiscent of classic westerns, which mostly works well.

Painfully stupid. Dumb, dumb, dumb gags. There are moments when it's just a "Yakety Sax" away from being a Benny Hill skit. When the movie isn't obnoxious, it's not too bad, but something obnoxious happens about every 3 minutes. The songs are awful, and I've never really cared much for Jason Robards, either. I did kind of like the ending (except for the knowing "golly gee horseless carriages!" shit) but it was far too little, and far too late.

The "Buttterfly Mornings" montage is nice and so is the one with the continuous dialog spread over several scenes. The humor falls flat for the greatest part, though, and the editing is often haphazard. There are some very nice ideas in this movie and fine performances by Robards and Stevens, but all of this doesn't quite come together to form a great movie in the end. Too bad.

Something you wouldn't expect from Peckinpah (with the exception of its main theme), and not successful at all in its attempt at humor, but it delivers something unique. I keep thinking of returning to this based almost solely on Robards' usual greatness.

980

Very Nice