Overlooked Movies -- Barbarosa

I read once that Barbarosa didn't get much of a theatrical release, but Brownwood, Texas, where I was living at the time, was the target audience for a western with Willie Nelson back in the early '80s.  So were Judy and I, so we got to see it in the theater.  We both thought it was great.

Willie Nelson plays the legendary outlaw Barbarosa, and while he might not be the world's best actor, he can play Willie Nelson better than anybody.  That's what he does here.  Gary Busey plays Karl, the young man who comes of age in the story with Willie as his mentor.  This was back in the days when Busey was mostly sane and a good actor.  He's very good indeed in this movie.

Busey is running away from a family feud.  He's accidentally killed his brother-in-law, whose father has sworn that Karl has to die.  Barbarosa's own feud is with the Zavala family, led by Gilbert Roland.  So the two are on the run from both the law and the Zavalas and the two families.  There are a number of encounters with outlaws and the family members, and Karl is hesitant to kill anybody or to steal.  Barbarosa is pretty disgusted with him throughout.  

Eventually Karl returns home.  Things do not go well, and soon he's on the run again.  He meets up with Barbarosa for the climactic scenes, which I won't discuss here because you really need to see them for yourself.

There's a lot of humor in this movie, and the scenery (mostly the Big Bend country of Texas, I think) is great.  So is the story, and you can't beat the camaraderie between Busey and Nelson.  There's some fine stuff about families and what makes a legend and what kind of lives people choose to lead, too.  If you're looking for a good western and haven't seen this one, check it out.