Product Details

• Actors: John Rubinstein, Patricia Quinn, Don Johnson, Country Joe and the Fish, Elvin Jones
• Directors: George Englund
• Writers: David Ossman, Hermann Hesse, Joe Massot, Peter Bergman, Phil Proctor
• Producers: George Englund
• Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
• Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
• DVD Release Date: August 24, 2004
• Run Time: 93 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00026L7QS
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #42,509 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Advertised in 1970 as "the first electric Western," Zachariah is an endearingly pretentious effort that prefigures such genre oddities as Jodorowsky's El Topo and Alex Cox's Straight to Hell. The story is the archetypal one about two friends who become gunslingers and must inevitably face off against each other in the finale. But it's treated here as if it meant something deeper, which means that after enjoying 75 minutes of violence we can all agree that peace and love and harmony is on the whole better for children and other living things. Curly haired farm boy Zachariah (John Rubinstein) and eternally grinning apprentice blacksmith Matthew (Don Johnson) are the fast friends who run away from home to join up with a gang of outlaws known as the Crackers (played by hippie folk-rock collective Country Joe and the Fish). These apparent 19th-century Westerners tote electric guitars and are given to staging free festival freak-outs at one end of town to distract from the bank robbery at the other. The boys soon hook up with Job Cain (Elvin Jones), an all-in-black master gunfighter who is also an ace drummer (his solo is impressive), but then drift apart as Zachariah has a liaison with Old West madam Belle Starr (Patricia Quinn) in a town that consists of fairground-style brightly painted wooden cut- out buildings (a gag reused in Blazing Saddles), then gets rid of his outrageous all-white cowboy outfit to settle down on a homestead and grow his own dope and vegetables. Matthew, of course, goes for the black-leather look after outdrawing Cain, and comes a-gunning for the only man who might be faster than he, but the hippie-era message is that once these kids have killed everyone else, they can still make peace with each other and the desert or something, man.

Aside from a Beatle-haired teenage Johnson making a fool of himself by overly emoting to contrast with Rubinstein's nonperformance, the film offers a lot of beautiful "acid Western" scenery and excellent prog rock and bluegrass music from the James Gang, White Lightnin', and the New York Rock Ensemble. Comedy troupe the Firesign Theatre (huge on album in 1970) provided the script, which explains satirical touches like the horse-and-buggy salesman (Dick Van Patten) spieling like a used car dealer and the madam's claim to have had affairs with gunslingers from Billy the Kid to Marshall McLuhan. --Kim Newman

Product Description
Firepower meets flower power in this "outrageous western" (Motion Picture Herald) about two thrill-seeking cowboys who rock the range! Starring John Rubinstein, Don Johnson and Dick Van Patten, and featuring legendary musicians Country Joe and the Fish and White Lightnin', this psychedelic trip through the Wild West is an utterly "unique film experience" (Variety)! Two cowboys (Rubinstein and Johnson) set out for adventure and join up with a band of rock'n'roll outlaws. But as the two friends are seduced by their own quick-draw ambitions, a deadly rivalry grows betweenthem, and they must struggle to find a path to peacebefore they lose more than their reputations and kill more than their friendship!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A movie that was perfect for its time, January 6, 2004

By	Daniel J. Lape (Brisbane, Queensland Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Zachariah [VHS] (VHS Tape)

"Zachariah" has remained one of the most vivid memories of my teenage cinematic years. And I only saw it once. As a 14-year-old in 1970, it was perfectly timed to take advantage of the growing fusion of rock, drugs, rebellion, free love and good times that were evolving through the culture. And it packaged them up in a funny, satirical fashion that was uniquely themed as a Western. I still remember one of the gunfight songs "Zachariah, Zachariah don't go to Apache Wells; 19's tried and 19's died, and you'll make only one."

If you're a hippie product of the 70s era, "Zachariah" is a must see, as much for the fun, gags and drug references, as for the actors who went on to further stardom whether in movies or television.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A campy rock opera set in the wild west..., January 10, 2005

By	Marc Minsker "Mackie" (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

The "western rock opera" is not a genre that has been explored by many directors (probably for good reasons). In ZACHARIAH, director George Englund takes a multitude of long-haired actors into the mountains and desert of California and attempts to create a hip, compelling drama. Don't expect a cathartic experience here. Instead, you'll find yourself laughing at the campy characters, dialogue, and situations which come up as the protagonist, Zachariah (played by John Rubinstein), learns how to shoot a mysterious pistol discovered buried in the sand. Soon he cultivates an intense desire to become a gunslinger, and with the help of his best friend Matthew (played by a very young Don Johnson, later of Miami Vice), he creates somewhat of a reputation for himself. The resident outlaws, known as the Crackers, begin to feel threatened by Zachariah's skills as a gunslinger.

Based on the god-awful dialogue, Zachariah and Matthew's relationship is ambigously gay (though director Englund probably did not intend this to be so) and this seems to produce the most laughs.

So what makes this film a must see? The inclusion of drummer Elvin Jones -- who spent much of his illustrious career as John Coltrane's percussionist -- is its greatest asset. Jones plays the role of Job Cain, a true outlaw with mad drumming skills (as he demonstrates in the film). His influence on Don Johnson's character is so powerful that he is able to separate the ambigously gay duo temporarily and turn them into rivals.

The other cool aspect of this film (which makes it worth purchasing) has to be all of the scenes with County Joe MacDonald and his psychedlic group, The Fish. Here, Country Joe and the Fish play a group of no-good outlaws, who happen to be rock musicians and go by the name of The Crackers.

The opening scene --with The James Gang playing an intense rock tune in the middle of the desert -- is also quite memorable and is slightly reminiscent of Pink Floyd at Pompeii or one of Can's obscure music films.

Patricia Quinn (a.k.a. Alice from Alice's Restaurant) works well as the character Belle Star, a strumpet who runs the local brothel. Her band, The New York Rock Ensemble, also has one memorable scene.

Watch this movie for the wonderful music and have a few laughs along the way.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Zacharaiah, Zacharaiah, you don't need a gun to die..., August 21, 2006

By	j michael rowland "j michael rowland" (Watertown, Tennessee, USA) - See all my reviews

Just a couple of points to add that seem unmentioned by previous reviewers:

One of the eeriest high points of the film is a cameo appearance by the legendary Ragin' Cajun, Doug Kershaw, who plays an itinerant prophet known only as The Fiddler -- part insane oracle and part Orpheus.

The other important point to mention is that the story is a loose retelling of the Hermann Hesse novel Siddhartha. But then... so many things are....

jmr