Singer-songwriter Kris Kristofferson is well-cast in his first film as Cisco Pike, a musician with some success a few years behind him, now just another struggling performer in Southern California. Busted twice for dealing, he's gone straight, hoping to get back into the music business which has quietly passed him by. The narcotics officer who nailed Cisco comes to him with a proposition: having just lucked into 100 kilos of weed, he wants Cisco to sell it all off in two-and-half days, give the cop 10 G's and keep the rest of the profits for himself. Writer-director B.L. Norton (whose script was reworked by an uncredited Robert Towne) creates a deceptively lackadaisical atmosphere, yet the paranoia and desperation is palpable. The vivid cinematography is by Vilis Lapenieks; performances by Kristofferson (who also contributes four songs to the soundtrack),Gene Hackman, Karen Black, Antonio Fargas, Roscoe Lee Browne and Harry Dean Stanton are each in their own remarkable. There are some problems with the film, mostly narrative: an unexplained sequence midway has Hackman's narc apparently following Cisco as he deals to his clients, leading to a violent argument that sort of dead-ends; also, Cisco is given several chances to explain his actions at crucial points in the story, but each time he frustratingly clams up (this is a problem that runs throughout the movie). Otherwise, a perceptive, quirky effort with funny asides and lovely throwaway moments. **1/2 from ****

I recall loving this film when I saw it upon release in 1972. It seemed to capture something of the moment that so few films did and I fell in love with the songs of Kris Kristofferson. Recently picking up an Italian poster for the film encouraged me to revisit it. Actually, hard to find but I found I had a DVD. The film is fine, Kristofferson is great as is Karen Black, for most of her performance. Indeed, she is great at first but seems to fade a little in the final scenes. Viva is okay but perhaps a little old in the role, seeing her now alongside the kitten like Joy Bang. There are not a lot of songs here and the central story regarding the drug dealing sets ones eyes rolling at the thought but the dialogue, the cinematography and colourful and evocative creation of the freewheeling lifestyles remains attractive and compelling. One slight item of curiosity is that IMDb suggests there is talk of a threesome but no nudity, whereas quite clearly we see Kristofferson with Viva and Bang in a brief topless frolic. It is blink and you miss it stuff, so whether it was intended to be cut out, I don't know and can't remember whether or not it was in in the cinema release!

Tedious in it's lack of motion, "Ciscoi Pike" is well acted, but doesn't really have a storyline. It just sort of meanders about with Kristofferson trying to sell $10,000 worth of drugs while under the thumb of the rarely seen Hackman. Harry Dean Stanton finally makes a welcome appearance in the final third of the film, but to little effect. Today there would be almost no audience for this severely outdated piece of nostalgia. Hackman is barely in the film, yet receives top billing. Karen Black and H.D. Stanton simply are along for the ride as Kristofferson makes his rounds dealing. Very forgettable and not recommended as entertainment. - MERK