Since I could not find a youtube video link of Moviedrome presenter Alex Cox introducing action director Walter Hill’s 1980 western The Long Riders, readers will have to rely on Cox’s intro transcript here. The episode’s original airdate was August 15, 1993 (read here). While it may not be my number one favorite film dealing (whether on the surface or in the center) with infamous outlaw Jesse James and his gang (that honor goes to 2007’s The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford), I nevertheless adore The Long Riders on a whole. The selling points here are the bloody shootouts (a homage to Sam Peckinpah), Ry Cooder’s music score and most fittingly, a cast of real-life actor brothers. The ones in this case would be The Keaches (James and Stacy), The Carradines (David, Keith and Robert), The Quaids (Dennis and Randy) and The Guests (Christopher and Nicolas). Along with his 2004 pilot episode of Deadwood, The Long Riders ranks as two of director Walter Hill’s great westerns. I also admire 1993’s Geronimo: An American Legend, 1995’s Wild Bill and his 2006 two-part television miniseries Broken Trail. If any of you readers are interested, here is a link to my favorite Walter Hill films (read here).

Here is a youtube video link to the film’s original theatrical trailer