Zachariah | 
| Director: George Englund
Actors: John Rubinstein, Patricia Quinn, Don Johnson, Country Joe And The Fish, Elvin Jones
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
Category: DVD
List Price: $14.98
Buy New: $6.97
You Save: $8.01 (53%)
New (38) Used (11) from $6.38
Rating:  22 reviews
Sales Rank: 33384
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dvd, Subtitled, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), French (Subtitled)
Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 93 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.5
MPN: MGMD1006757D
ISBN: 0792861507
UPC: 027616909060
EAN: 9780792861508
ASIN: B00026L7QS
Theatrical Release Date: 1970
Release Date: August 24, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Studio: Tcfhe/mgm Release Date: 05/13/2008 Run time: 92 minutes Rating: Nr
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
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| Customer Reviews: Read 17 more reviews...
 A movie that was perfect for its time January 7, 2004
Daniel J. Lape (Brisbane, Queensland Australia)
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
"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.
 A campy rock opera set in the wild west... January 10, 2005
Marc Minsker (Washington, DC)
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
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.
Zacharaiah, Zacharaiah, you don't need a gun to die... August 21, 2006
j michael rowland (Watertown, Tennessee, USA)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
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
Story-line based on Herman Hesse's novel "Siddhartha" August 21, 1999
mickiq@earthlink.net (Iowa, USA)
7 out of 8 found this review helpful
Despite all the "first electric western" hoopla, there is an eerie truth about awakening conveyed throughout this eccentric, eclectic, perverse adaptation of Herman Hesse's novel "Siddhartha." The characters are all there Siddhartha, Govinda, Kamala (Bell Starr!), the Old Ferryman, and more.
You missed the point February 6, 2003
9 out of 11 found this review helpful
The plot is a parody of Hermann Hesse' Siddartha. It is the life story of Gautama Buddah. This novel was very popular in colleges in the late 60's and early 70's
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