I wish I could un-watch this. Nothing enriches your life quite like watching two characters slowly circle the drain for two hours.

Definitely up there in the top ten movies to slit your wrists to.

Although, I must say… A sex scene with a fur coat and Scribbage? Genius.

A colleague’s daughter complained, “You all must have been on drugs if you thought this was a good film.” It’s certainly true the aesthetic is different from today’s films, but in the aesthetic context of “Easy Rider” (1969) and “Cool Hand Luke” (1967), this is definitely an excellent (although far from delightful) cinematic creation. I think it’s a better film than “Easy Rider.”

I suspect that some of the video montages must have been breathtakingly original at the time, and i found the constant memory flashbacks of Joe Buck to be compelling. The brilliance of the film is by taking the story arc of a western and translating the story of the naive but talented gunslinger and the crusty experienced washed-up mentor from red rocks to urban canyons. Watching them eat soup in the squat, watching them talk by flickering candle light, i can’t help but think of a western trail camp site. And the emotional tone of the end of the film seemed so familiar—resonating with the finality of a number of westerns.

I’m left pondering this homage to the western and the contemporary “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” (1969).