this Poitier/Belafonte Western, situated in the Reconstruction, is one of my favorites. it's aged great and don't understand why it is so unjustifiably obscure.

Fuck BUTCH AND SUNDANCE. It doesn't have Sidney Poitier wielding two sawed-off shotguns.

BUCK AND THE PREACHER rules.

Rock solid western elevated by a great score and an incredible wild card performance from Harry Belafonte, who I don't think I've ever seen act in anything before (except his cameo in Black Klansman). Sheer big screen pleasure, they kill Cameron Mitchell like two thirds of the way through and you don't even really miss him, remarkable.

fuck the canon, make Buck and the Preacher the new Butch and Sundance - it's a better buddy movie, a better western and Ruby Dee provides the emotional core. Plus, I'll take any excuse to never listen to Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head again tbh.

The preacher had my favorite edition of the Bible

From the mind that brought you GHOST DAD, comes this post-Civil War tale of safely leading the newly emancipated slaves toward the promised land and Harry Belafonte playing a cracked-out fake reverend. 

And yet, the easier lineage to draw here is to STIR CRAZY. Yes, really. For when the dust blows over BUCK AND THE PREACHER settles into something of a double act situation, with ever-graceful Poitier taking on the mantle of straight man. 

Despite the historical resonance and lived-in aesthetic, there’s an easy-going, highly watchable finesse that Poitier imbues for his first turn behind the camera. For every Civil Rights parallel there’s a rambunctious bank break-in and a handful of Leone-esque mean-mug zoom ins. 

A spritely brothel raid to account for every grim casket pile-up. And it works! Just don't ask me to explain how.

Well, I'm here, ain't I? And they's dead, ain't they?

This is so underrated. Sidney Poitier, Ruby Dee, and Harry Belafonte are all great, and Cameron Mitchell is deliciously grotesque as the lead raider. The soundtrack, composed by Benny Carter, is another highlight. I want to watch more Harry Belafonte films! He was hilarious as the roving preacher. In the brothel scene, Belafonte’s hysterics seemed like a huge influence on Arsenio Hall’s iconic Reverend Brown role in Coming to America.

few things on this Earth go harder than Sidney Poitier dual wielding double barrel sawed-off shotguns

I'll tell ya, this will be popping up as a recommendation on THE LAST VIDEO STORE in a few weeks on one of the best episodes of anything I've ever recorded with a dream guest you'll never guess.