Response
As The Shooting was never released theatrically, and had sparse television showings, it initially had a very limited core of fans. Those critics who did manage to view the film were extremely enthusiastic, and generally found it superior to Hellman’s companion western, Ride in the Whirlwind. Danny Peary in Cult Movies (1981), after admitting that he had difficulties with the “puzzling” climax, noted “But while the end may ask more questions than it answers, the exciting journey that brings us to this point is one of the most rewarding sequences in the history of westerns.” Leonard Maltin said it was an “…ultimately powerful film with an offbeat performance by Nicholson as a hired gun…and an incredible, unexpected finale.” David Pirie in Time Out wrote, "Probably the first Western which really deserves to be called existential....Hellman builds remorselessly on the atmosphere and implications of the 'quest' until it assumes a terrifying importance in itself...What Hellman has done is to take the basic tools of the Western, and use them, without in anyway diluting or destroying their power, as the basis for a Kafkaesque drama." Phil Hardy's The Aurum Film Encyclopedia: The Western notes that "Hellman's calculated style, replete with disorientating close-ups and strange moments...confirm the detached fatalism of his story. This is a marvelous film." James Monaco's The Movie Guide described the film as "ighly effective, playing with various levels of character and ideas....it is a fine western stylization that should not be missed." Jonathan Rosenbaum has referred to the film as the first acid western, and cited it as an inspiration for Jim Jarmusch's Dead Man. The Shooting has a 100% favorable rating on the "Critical Tomatometer" at the Rotten Tomatoes website.
In 2000, The Shooting was released on DVD by VCI Entertainment, and included an audio commentary by director Hellman and actress Perkins. The DVD helped bring this once obscure title to the attention of a much wider audience.
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