Saddle up this unjustly neglected 1982 western directed by Australian Fred Schepisi with a mythic eye for landscape and an affinity for the old adage "when legend becomes fact, print the legend." Willie Nelson, in one of his best screen roles, stars as Barbarosa, an ex-Texas Ranger turned outlaw, who's not only at odds with his vengeful father-in-law (screen legend Gilbert Roland), but whose exploits are also the stuff of folk songs that spread his infamy. Gary Busey costars as the naïve farm boy (who also has family issues--he accidentally killed his brother-in-law), whom Barbarosa takes under his grimy wing. Given the fact that Barbarosa received a scant theatrical release and has long been unavailable on VHS, this should be a welcome addition for Nelson fans and western buffs. But hold on there pardner--even if we ignore the complete lack of extras (which is okay, since the film stands by itself), Artisan has committed the rather unpardonable error of releasing this original 2:35:1 aspect ratio film in a rather severely cropped full frame version only. Since horsewhipping is no longer in fashion, let's just call this an optional purchase. (K. Lee Benson)
Barbarosa
Artisan, 90 min., PG, DVD: $14.98 Volume 18, Issue 3
Barbarosa
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
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