A bank job getaway gone awry—seen that before. But not quite like Alex Cox’s version of bandits on the lam seeking shelter in a deserted desert town. Well, seemingly deserted. The bandits, in this case, are Clash front man Joe Strummer, Cox regular Sy Richardson, Dick Rude, and, in tow, Courtney Love. The dusty, hellish town has two occupants: a gang of sun-addled desperadoes, many drawn from The Pogues, and the memory of other movies made here in the Andalusian desert of The Good, The Bad and The Ugly and dozens of other spaghetti westerns. Cox has written at length about Italian oaters and in this arid tribute he recalls their sweeping vistas and dire motivations. Shoot-outs ensue, revelry and indulgence abounds, and all the while the wicked women of the town try to con the visiting villains out of their loot. Arch, indulgent, and antiheroic, this film reads like a Peckinpah pic but from the other side of the camera. “I turned down the opportunity to direct The Three Amigos and made Straight to Hell instead,” says a cocky Cox. Watch for cameos by Dennis Hopper, Grace Jones, Jim Jarmusch, and Elvis Costello. Returns is six minutes longer than the original 1987 release—and crueler.

—Steve Seid

• Written by Cox, Dick Rude. Photographed by Tom Richmond. With Joe Strummer, Courtney Love, Sy Richardson, Dick Rude. (91 mins, Color, Blu-Ray, From Microcinema International)