Rating: 
Summary: A flawed but beautiful western
Review: The script is a cliched mess, filled with lines that are forced retro-mythological and obvious, not to mention monosyllabic. Jesse's marriage proposal is a lumbering embarrasment.Several of the performers appear to sleepwalk through their roles. Although this isn't the case with the wry performance of David Carradine who delivers his finest peformance and the spicey Pamela Reed as an iron tough and manipulative Belle Starr. And yet this film by director Walter Hill somehow works. The photography by Ric Waite is absolutely dreamlike in its frail beauty. The costume design is romantic without being frilly. The cutting is tight. Hill's framing is carefull and rich and most of all, Ry Cooder's magnificent score breathes poetry. All of these technical elements add up to make a flawed, but rich western film well deserving of a bigger following. Personally, if I could walk out of real life and into the imagined world of a film, this film, along with "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid", "A Hard Day's Night", "The Adventures of Robin Hood" and "Lonesome Dove" would be one that would be ideal. The technical achievements of this film all work together to overcome its other limitations. It is a film that truly creates a unique atmosphere of a time and place that really didn't exist in history but rather in folk tales and American Legendary Dreams. This DVD, although devoid of any extras (I would love to have Walter Hill's commentary!)gloriously transfers Waite's photography. My advice is to buy Ry Cooder's soundtrack on CD, put in the DVD, turn down the sound and enjoy.
Rating: 
Summary: One of the Top Five Westerns Ever Made
Review: There is not a single misstep in this movie. From the clothes, to the language, to the attitudes, you are taken back in time and kept there for a fascinating story. I love westerns, am very picky about them, and this one is truly one of the best. Wonderful direction and cinematography. The attempted escape in Minnesota should be considered an absolute classic. And look for an amazing fight scene involving Cole Younger, Belle Starr, and Sam Starr. Or as Belle would say, "Have a chew!"
Rating:
Summary: one of the best!
Review: This a very stylish western with a great cast, plenty of action, colorful characters, and a wonderful soundtrack.
Rating:
Summary: Adult Western, Well Done.
Review: This appears to be a pretty accurate account of the James-Younger Gang, focusing on their Northfield, Minnesota bank robbery. The James and the Youngers are protrayed as outlaws who were influenced by thier civil war service in and around Missouri. They had killed and stolen in service to their cause and then kept it up after the war ended. But they are not shown in a particularly heroic light. Instead, they are shown as clannish desperadoes who are supported by the locals. David Carradine in particular does a good job as Cole Younger. The movie does a good job showing the peer pressure put on them after the Pinkerton people get their brother killed. It also shows the Ford brothers selling out Jesse James' life to the Pinkertons. It does leave out the part in Northfield where the citizenry supposedly went into a hardware store and began grabbing rifles off the shelves with which to repel the invaders. This movie gets gorey and gritty in spots, has cathouse scenes, and is not a "cowboy" movie to show to young kids.
Rating: 
Summary: Overall, Underwhelming
Review: This film was, when all is said and done, a great deal more style than substance. Because the James/Younger stories are reasonably well known, the director may have felt comfortable leaving a number of loose threads at each end of the cloth. He shouldn't have. Also, by distributing the focus around on 6 or 7 characters, he spreads himself far too thin. In a number of instances involving peripheral characters, I had the strong suspicion that a full director's cut might have created a sufficient context to explain something, but someone else got slap happy in the cutting room. As a result, the release version wound up seeming something like a mere series of tableaux with little character development from beginning to end. The main in depth portion involved the Northfield shootout at the end, which seemed to be a Wild Bunch redux and that was already a bit old by 1980. Other aspects such as the cinemetography and casting were quite good, but only served to allow The Long Riders to climb up to mediocrity overall.
Rating:
Summary: Classic Western
Review: This is a solid action packed western. Also try: "Lawman",
"The Wild Bunch", and "Chato's Land".
Rating:
Summary: Great!
Review: This is as close to the truth as legends can ever be.
Rating:
Summary: excellent
Review: This is may all time favorite version of the story of the James and Younger gang. I liked other versions but this one really has the Southern ambiance and the thrill of what legends are all about. Cheers to all those who made this such an extraordinary Western!
Rating:
Summary: the james and youngers ride again
Review: This is the Western that out Peckinpahs Pekinpah! A gritty and bloody look at the greatest band of outlaws in American history with perfect casting and Walter Hill makes it look authentic and legendary all at once. Long Riders is a wonderful movie that hits the target and then some. It's a real Western gem.
Rating:
Summary: Decent
Review: This movie is worth one time's watch, but if you want to see a real movie about the James gang, watch the Northfield Minnesota Raid starring Robert Duvall as Jesse James. Duvall really grimes it up in that movie.
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