The Long Riders (1980)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Phil H

  
  Very good western that has been forgotten about and notable for the casting of the Keach brothers, the Guest brothers, the Carradine brothers and the Quaid brothers in the main roles of the James-Younger gang. Starts off with a bank raid which goes slightly wrong setting the scene… More
  Very good western that has been forgotten about and notable for the casting of the Keach brothers, the Guest brothers, the Carradine brothers and the Quaid brothers in the main roles of the James-Younger gang. Starts off with a bank raid which goes slightly wrong setting the scene for a 'Young Guns' type western only with a sensible stance but unfortunately does then become a little dull throughout the middle. There is allot of dialog and family affairs between the gang members which is fine but you do loose a little interest, this does pick up as you head towards the last section of the film of course and very good it is too. You can see where the 'Young Guns' notion cam from I think from the final big gun battle sequence of the ill-fated attempt to rob the Northfield First National Bank in Minnesota, the whole sequence is lovely with slow motion gun fire, slow motion bullet hits, horses tearing down the main street and finally leaping through a large glass window riders n all. I would say this film was an inspiration for many modern 'rock n roll' type westerns. Despite that the film is completely serious and actually handled very well in terms of historical accuracy and artistic license. Yes allot is fictional but at the same time believeable and there are lots of accounts that have been incorporated into the film which are spot on, mainly the deaths of gang members and of course Jesse James. Not your typical Hill film but he sure made a good one here which deserves a place among the best in the genre, its dirty, realistic, uses great locations and has a good bold cult cast line up, watch out for James Remar as Cherokee Indian Sam Starr in maybe the only bad choice of the film.

• Ken S

  
  Like Sam Fuller? Peckinpah? Walter Hill? The Carradine's? The Keach's? The Quaids? The Guests? Then you'll probably enjoy The Long Riders. It is however ANOTHER retelling of Jesse James and his gang story, but at least this is one of the better ones.

• Bobby H

  
  An amazing portrayal of The Wild West and the most famous gang and notorious outlaws ever to live - The James Younger Gang. Following Jesse James and his gang from it's high peak down until it's last robbery this movie introduces you to some emotional and trying times in… More
  An amazing portrayal of The Wild West and the most famous gang and notorious outlaws ever to live - The James Younger Gang. Following Jesse James and his gang from it's high peak down until it's last robbery this movie introduces you to some emotional and trying times in the life of James and his counterparts. Historically I found it to be one of the most accurate tellings of The James Legend ever told. The idea that the Youngers, James, Millers, and Fords were all played by real life brothers really brought out the chemistry between the actors. You could truly tell they had a love for there brothers and when tension fell between the gang you could truly feel the atmopshere in your heart. This movie is an amazing film. What stops me from giving it five stars? The ending. The Assination of James scene was one of the worst I ever seen, I don't know how it went wrong towards the end but it went from The James Younger Gangs last robbery - skipped all the way to the assination, and then ended on that note. It forgot about personal relationship and truly you only see the Fords very momentarly. This film would of done itself great to stop directly after the fall of The James Younger Gang and let another movie like "The Assination of Jesse James by the coward robert ford" tell that story. Overall though the movie was a great flick and deserves to be owned by any western genre fan.

• Michael S

  
  Way underappreciated mood western. One of Walter Hill's finest films.

• xGary X

  
  Another typically rose-tinted telling of the James-Younger gang's story by action aficionado Walter Hill. A novel cast in which the sets of brothers are all played by real-life siblings combines with a gritty authenticity to give a real feel of the old west. Hill's specialty… More
  Another typically rose-tinted telling of the James-Younger gang's story by action aficionado Walter Hill. A novel cast in which the sets of brothers are all played by real-life siblings combines with a gritty authenticity to give a real feel of the old west. Hill's specialty really is the action side of things though, as the story barely pauses for breath to deal with their personal relationships and the sense of time passing is non-existent, making the film feel very episodic. This is more than made up for by the shoot-out sequences which are some of the most realistically bloody you are ever going to see; the classic Northfield hold-up sequence is one Hill's mentor, Sam Peckinpah, would have been proud of himself.

• Byron B

  
  The gimmick is all the acting siblings playing siblings, but I like it. The Carradine brothers, David, Keith and Robert, play the Younger brothers. The Keach brothers, Stacy and James, play the James brothers. The Quaid brothers, Randy and Dennis, play the Miller brothers. And the… More
  The gimmick is all the acting siblings playing siblings, but I like it. The Carradine brothers, David, Keith and Robert, play the Younger brothers. The Keach brothers, Stacy and James, play the James brothers. The Quaid brothers, Randy and Dennis, play the Miller brothers. And the Guest brothers, Christopher and Nicholas, play the Ford brothers. Ed Miller (Dennis Q.) quickly gets eliminated from the James-Younger gang, but his brother Clell (Randy Q.) stays on as a major organizer with Jesse James (James K.). Frank James (Stacy K.) stays ever close to his brother. The three Younger brothers are loyal and proud members of the gang and are led by oldest brother Cole (David C.), who sometimes clashes with the decisions made by Jesse James. The Ford brothers want to join the gang, but can't get the James and the Youngers to take them seriously. They are ALL good 'ole boys from the South. The main reason they have taken to a life of crime is because they fought for the rebel Confederate force, the losing side. This movie tells a plain and simple story that seems to stick closely to the facts, rather than idealizing these wild west figures. Several of the men have steady women in their lives. Some just rely on prostitutes. Cole Younger has a tricky relationship with Belle Starr (Pamela Reed), a strong minded soiled dove and saloon owner. There is a gap of time in the middle of the story when they all scatter to live more domestically before trying another bank heist. Director Walter Hill slows down a lot of the action shots and even has horses jumping through the big picture windows of buildings in town. The Pinkerton detective agency has been on the trail of the James-Younger gang for a long time and eventually most of the gang gets filled with bullets like Swiss cheese. It has the look of being in the real locations and avoids stylized dialog and camera work. The soundtrack was also very enjoyable with authentic sounding music.

• Jeffrey M

  
  Though it pales in comparison to The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, The Long Riders is still a fine western in its' own right. The cast is especially interesting, with the James, Younger, Miller, and Ford brothers played by actual brothers. This is… More
  Though it pales in comparison to The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, The Long Riders is still a fine western in its' own right. The cast is especially interesting, with the James, Younger, Miller, and Ford brothers played by actual brothers. This is largely successful, save for the casting of James Keach as Jesse James, he simply doesn't have enough charisma or presence to carry the role. On the flip side, David Carradine was fantastic as Cole Younger. To be sure, there are moments of uneven pacing, and the action sequences are often too heavily edited. But all in all, it's a successful gritty and atmospheric western.

• Christopher B

  
  The "gimmick" of this film works very well, casting real brothers to play all the leads. Along with the gimmick though, this is one great western.

• Moe E

  
  At the risk of being beaten mercilessly, I'll say it... Not one of my favorites.

Read all 9 featured audience ratings