Best of the Willie Westerns
B-A-R-B-A-R-O-S-A!!!!!!! The best, by far of the Willie Westerns. Both lead performances (Nelson & Busey) are what you would expect from each actor, yet at the same time over the top and flawless. A must have for any western fan even though it is pan-scan 4:3. Let us hope that we soon get a proper widescreen version, Please!
(also from Director Fred Schepipi see "ICEMAN")

The Vandal's Cut
First, I LOVED "Barbarosa." I was one of the underwhelming few who tracked it down when it was in its original theatrical release, and greedily recorded it on VHS from a widescreen cable broadcast. Alas, that recording is gone, along with a heartbreakingly large quantity of other presently unobtainable material.

The fatal flaw with this product is that it is presented ONLY in what they ironically call "full-screen" format; chop off nearly half of what you saw on the theater screen, and you get "full-screen." This film has been tragically butchered.

The logic of producing this product in this manner utterly eludes me. Those of us who appreciate and value good films enough to lay out our money for an individual title on DVD want to experience the vision of the director who made it, and/or re-experience, as nearly as possible, what we first saw in the theater; not the "vision" of some nameless technician artlessly cropping two noses to fit into the same frame.

This is not a widely known film. Who is more likely to seek out and buy this title? Someone who appreciated it in its original form, and now wants to see it again, or watch it with others he believes could share in his appreciation of it? Or, someone who just needs something the right size and shape to fill the blank picture tube of his standard format television? I posit that ANY piece of junk will fill that empty space, and such a person is far more likely to fill it with free broadcast content than to pay to fill it with this film which they probably never heard of in the first place! I believe that anyone who is looking for this movie will be disappointed or angry that it was hacked apart; it reminds me of knocking the arms and head off from a statue to get it into a packing crate. This was a good-- I'd say great-- movie. No one had to do a thing except transfer it to digital and ship it out the door, and I'd have bought it, and loved it. The director had one vision; whose vision is THIS? Instead of "the director's cut," we're presented with "the vandal's cut."

This is an awful shame, because, as I said in the beginning, I love this movie in its true form. I believe the story is memorably good, the photography was beautiful, the actors were well-chosen. If you can get past the fact that this film was vandalized, there is still much to like. I'm going to wait and hope for an undefiled version to be released, or record it on my computer the next time I see it shown in widescreen on cable. But, if you're too impatient for that, or seeing the original version did not spoil this version for you, then I can recommend this. "Barbarosa" is one of my favorite movies... but, sadly, I do not recognize this version as that movie.

Another Vote for Widescreen
I loved this western when it came out. An tight, elegant script by Lonesome Dove screenwriter Bill Witliff, plus a sense of landscape-as-psychology from Aussie director Fred Schepisi.

Most movies are acceptable in full-screen. This is not one of them. I'll buy the DVD when it is released in its proper format.

Barbarosa
Barbarosa

I have to agree with Gayle Roberts-Thomas--As this is my alltime favOrite western, WHAT HAPPENED TO THE MISSING SCENE that I only saw once ??????????

Terrific little-seen western on an awful DVD
Fred Schepisi's "Barbarosa" was all but buried on its initial release in 1982, and has seldom been seen since. That's too bad, because William D. Wittliff's literate, poetic script shows genuine feeling for -- and an insider's knowledge of -- the American West. With memorable performances from Willie Nelson and Gary Busey, "Barbarosa" is worth seeing. Unfortunately, the full-frame video transfer here is awful. Given the poor quality of this DVD, the price comes as something of an insult.