Philip Austin

Surreal rock western that sees Zachariah (John Rubinstein) getting a mail-order pistol and setting off with his friend Matthew (Don Johnson) to become a gunfighter. The pair team-up with travelling rock band and part-time bank robbers, The Crackers; meet up with burlesque queen Belle Starr (Patricia Quinn) and a myriad of odd characters before the pair grow apart and a violent rivalry develops between them. "Zachariah" is a comical, electric western very loosely based on the Siddhartha and the early life of the Buddha. George Englund's direction is diffuse, eccentric and rambling but captures a bit of the spirit of the time. He also manages to keep it from becoming indecipherable and despite some strange interludes manages to give it a good deal of coherence. The music is great, with Country Joe and the Fish and The James Gang bringing some great electrified country folk numbers, played out against panoramic old west backgrounds. Overall this is a silly, fun, trippy and gleefully entertaining rock 'n' roll western; very much a timepiece but enjoyable for all that.… (mer)