Lee Van Cleef and Warren Oates square off in this tale about a maniacal bandit named Remy (Oates), who has his gang stage some wholesale slaughter while they make off with some booty from a robbery. Oates is a bit over the top (method acting is the worst type to go over the top with), especially in the poorly-conceived scene where he shoots the river. | The script tends to focus on the struggle for control, where it's a game of tug of war to grab the upper hand. It was good to see Mariette Hartley in such a naughty role talking DIRECTLY into the camera about what qualities constitute the essence of a REAL WOMAN. Van Cleef never did explore a comic side. Beautiful Colorado scenery and a fine attention to detail in this western set in the late 1860s. Over the top, cheesy performances by the actors who are walking, talking caricatures of Western villains and heroes.

Barquero; Film poster. In the title role we have Lee van Cleef as the most impressive ferryman in film history - making his colleague at the Styx worry about the security of his job. It all explodes into a violent and bloody battle, leading to a final confrontation between the two. I mean if Oates would have at least tried to find a shallow river crossing, instead of obsessing about Van Cleef's barge, things might have moved along at a more tolerable pace.

Solid action film with a significant difference going for it.

Barring their way is a river--crossable only by means of a ferry barge. However, it's vital that they obtain a barge in order to cross a river and make it to freedom. As it is, with all the shouting back and forth across the river, nothing really happens for long stretches. When Remy and his band arrive, Travis refuses to cross back to pick them up, knowing that Remy and his men will kill everyone else after they cross the river. Awards Too much gratuitous violence in the beginning scene spoils an otherwise great film.

"Barquero" ended up on my must-see list for a number of reasons. Finally saw this tonight, its been called the "most Italianate of American Westerns" by some critics (more so than Eastwoods contemporary Hang em High) and I'll have to admit it really starts off like gangbusters, after the unusual opening credits sequence (its shot to resemble an oil painting looking as if the film is being projected upon a canvas).

Around 1970 the Western genre had a new lease of life from the success of the Spaghetti Western. There's a problem loading this menu right now. First of all because it's a so-called American Spaghetti western, which basically means (in my book, at least) that it's raw, uncompromising and violent in comparison to those polished and politically correct John Wayne flicks. Lee is up against Warren Oates and his bandits who need his ferry to transport their booty.

Yep that's right. So bad it's good, but very very good. And the man in charge, Travis (Van Cleef), turns out to be a very cool customer. Quickly browse titles in our catalog based on the ones you have picked. Seasoned Hollywood helmer Gordon Douglas of "Them" directed this gritty, no-nonsense shoot'em up "Barquero" with Lee Van Cleef as the eponymous frontier type named Travis who owns a ferry on the Rio Grande.

Marie Gomez is an actress, known for The Professionals (1966), The High Chaparral (1967) and The Wild Wild West (1965). He's FAQ Cleef is good at showing that he has no real concern for the villagers, but is absolutely set on not letting Oates' bandits burn his barge. Tensions run deep in both camps regarding the next plan of action. But the town massacre in the opening scene just goes on and on, with senseless killings of innocents. Travis and his woman, Nola, transport the nearby settlement's inhabitants and a group of passing settlers to the river's far side. I would have given this an 8 or 9 rating, but I simply cannot recommend a movie that needs dozens of murders to set the stage.

A gang of outlaws and a bunch of townsfolks each find themselves stuck at the wrong side of a river, leading to a tense ego-contest between the embittered and asocial ferryman Travis and the vicious but indecisive gang leader Remy. This is one of many attempts to marry the classic Western with this new style, and it does it quite convincingly. I couldn't remember if I had saw it or not, but watching it again I can see possibly why. It's all about the two stars in this Western drama. The Barquero is determined to not let the plunderers cross. Perhaps there is an edited version available that shortens the opening sequence. Barquero (1970) Movies, TV, Celebs, and more... Oscars Best Picture Winners Best Picture Winners Golden Globes Emmys STARmeter Awards San Diego Comic-Con New York Comic-Con Sundance Film Festival Toronto Int'l Film Festival Awards Central Festival Central All Events

Mr. Van Cleef declines. Marvin, Bronson, and others like Claude Akins, Neville Brand, and Jack Elam, Finely crafted production by Aubrey Schenck, with most of its action confined to a spot on the Rio Grande where a bunch of "squatters" have set up a primitive frontier town and a man (the "barquero", Van Cleef) has built a barge connected by rope to cross the river. After a massacre in a nearby town, outlaw Warren Oates and his gang flee towards Mexico.

The villagers led by CLIFF and FORREST TUCKER escape to the other side of the river on the barge, leaving the bandits stranded in the village. A tense standoff develops between Remy and his gang, and Travis and the inhabitants and settlers, who occupy opposite sides of the river. Translation of barquero at Merriam-Webster's Spanish-English Dictionary. Both Remy and Travis have to contend with dissenters within their own camps. However "Barquero" is far superior to the many "Spaghetti" imitators and deserves to stand on its own as a great Western. They then head for the boat with a plan of crossing the river then burning the barge.

Furthermore, the William Marks & George Schenck screenplay is simple, clear-cut, but violent. Select the department you want to search in.

A motley crew of bandits led by Jake Remy(Warren Oates)have finished plundering a defenseless town and their get away and escape from capture hits a snag.

The picture narrates as a renegade motley group (Warren Oates, Kerwin Matthews, Armando Silvestre) executes a massacre when they are robbing the village's inhabitants . Things get turned upside down when Warren Oates and his men kill a whole town and steal a bunch of guns. The gathering of thugs need to cross a river and the only way across is by a barge controlled by the Barquero(Lee Van Cleef). In this film the are both seen as 'good guys' who join forces to protect the local people.

The problem is that the barge is across the river on the other side and in possession of barquero(bargeman)Travis(Lee Van Cleef), his mountain tracker pal, Phil(Forrest Tucker, stealing every scene he's in)and a group of religious squatters. It stars Lee Van Cleef, Warren Oates, Forrest Tucker, Kerwin Matthews and Mariette Hartley. Duel of titans : Lee Van Cleef against Warren Oates, Underrated and forgotten but classic Western, Helluva casting combo with Van Cleef versus Oates but subpar execution, American-Italianate Western that burns out too soon, Entertaining western led by its lead performances, "I shot and scalped a lot of freckle-faced kids".

After an ear-splitting gunfight to open up proceedings, it really does slow up mid-way and even stalls before reaching a crackerjack climax where Cleef and Oates come to blows. But there's a river in their way and they can only cross by ferry barge. - MERK.

Unlike The film suffers from a few very tedious parts and Gordon Douglas' direction is rather monotone, but the locations and performances are great. The titular barquero, Travis (Lee Van Cleef), isn't going to let him use his barge. Marie Gomez, Actress: The Professionals. Like contemporaries Charles Bronson and Lee Marvin, Lee Van Cleef did his

Bandit Warren Oates and his gang, with booty acquired from destroying a nearby town, demand passage on the ferry--or else! also one strange hero as he is in Barquero. External Reviews When a bandit leader (Oates) and his group plunder and burn a nearby town, killing everyone, they make fast tracks to the barge, only to find the town evacuated and the barge on the other side of the river, with Cleef and his woodsman friend (Tucker) reluctantly defending the mostly nebbish townspeople. Fascinating "psychological oater" has cold-blooded killer Jacob Remy(Warren Oates in a phenomenal performance)and his band of murderous cutthroats needing to use a barge in order to cross a river into Mexico. Barquero is a 1970 American Western film directed by Gordon Douglas.

While there is plenty of Van Cleef time in "Barquero", and the Warren Oates factor is a plus, this talky western borders on boring. "Barquero" to me was somewhat of a disappointment, and in no way challenges Lee Van Cleef's performance in "The Big Gundown" or some of his other non Leone westerns. The standoff at the river was simple good vs evil, with goodness and evil on both sides. Almost the entire film takes place in one location, and the script just doesn't make a lot of sense. That should have been enough to keep Barquero afloat and my terrible puns at bay (ahem). Consequently, we are treated with the rare sight of a naval battle in a Western. The struggle over the access of the barge becomes a standoff. It's all about the slow winding suspense of the morality situation, than just cracking out the gritty and bloody violence. He knows it will be destroyed to prevent others from following. What sets "Barquero" apart from all other westerns is that this is the first time that a horse opera has been made where the hero is a ferry man. Remy is advised by Marquette, a Frenchman he trusts. The film is clearly influenced by the Spaghetti tradition, most clearly displayed in the drugged-up, psychotic villain, Jake Remy, who bares similarities to the character of Indio in "For a Few Dollars More".

Synopsis: Jake Remy leads a gang of outlaw cutthroats making their escape toward Mexico from a successful robbery.

But the rip-off isn't too dramatic, it works quite fine. | That violence overshadows the epic performances of Lee Van Cleef, Warren Oates, Forrest Tucker, Kerwin Matthews, John Davis Chandler, and Marie Gomez. What follows is a stand-off between the violent outlaws and Van Cleef, who finds himself the reluctant protector of the villagers across the river. Maybe he just didn't have one. Secondly, the basic premise is incredibly simple yet original and intriguing. In this film the are both seen as 'good guys' who join forces to protect the local people. The two sides finally meet with each one on opposing sides of the river. The balance of "Barquero" shows what happens as two men engage in a battle of wills. The barquero called Travis has his own life-style and his own death-style . But the river stands between the bandits and freedom. Special notice should go to the oil-painting opening credits - interesting, good choice. An interestingly hearty western, that's a little more than your copy and paste genre effort and helping out are the imposing two leads Lee Van Cleef and Warren Oates. Oh they were outstanding adversaries, but when it came to shove they were given too little to do as they basically stand-off against each other from across a river. And last but not least, because the lead actors in "Barquero" are two of the most robustly charismatic but criminally underrated actors in history. In other words, "Barquero" qualifies as unique. Metacritic Reviews. I think it's safe to say that both Lee Van Cleef and Warren Oates lift the film to a much higher level, and it wouldn't be even half as recommendable if their roles were played by different actors. Even with a broad river separating them, there's a continuously intense and ominous rivalry between these two über-machos. They flee but are stopped by a barge's owner (Lee Van Cleef) in the frontier on river Grande . I couldn't believe how brilliant the colors were and how clear the picture was after all these years.