I'm a fan of weird movies, but I'd never heard of this until it popup in a Firesign Theatre fan group.
As far as I know, this the only example of a hippiesploitation surreal Western musical - well, sort of musical. The characters don't sing, but they throw in real groups from the time, including Country Joe and the Fish and the James Gang. Of course, they're simply thrown into the Old West playing their electric instruments without comment.
The two main characters are the eponymous Zachariah, played by John Rubinstein (you might not recognize the name, but you've seen him in a million things), and Matthew, played by a very young Don Johnson in his only second movie role.
They are close friends (and as close to being gay as you could get away with at that time) who set off to become gunslingers. They both get very good, but then follow separate paths, with Zachariah going on a Siddhartha-like quest to find himself.
I suspect the copious weed smoking in the movie was real, as several characters appear to be VERY high much of the time, but I have to admit I genuinely enjoyed this movie, both the story and the music.
I mean, how often do you get a drum solo in a Western?
As far as I know, this the only example of a hippiesploitation surreal Western musical - well, sort of musical. The characters don't sing, but they throw in real groups from the time, including Country Joe and the Fish and the James Gang. Of course, they're simply thrown into the Old West playing their electric instruments without comment.
The two main characters are the eponymous Zachariah, played by John Rubinstein (you might not recognize the name, but you've seen him in a million things), and Matthew, played by a very young Don Johnson in his only second movie role.
They are close friends (and as close to being gay as you could get away with at that time) who set off to become gunslingers. They both get very good, but then follow separate paths, with Zachariah going on a Siddhartha-like quest to find himself.
I suspect the copious weed smoking in the movie was real, as several characters appear to be VERY high much of the time, but I have to admit I genuinely enjoyed this movie, both the story and the music.
I mean, how often do you get a drum solo in a Western?