 "The New York Times" called it "exceptionally good".Along with Nélson Pereira dos Santos' 1963 drama,"Vidas Secas" (""Barren Lives""), and Glauber Rocha's 1964 film "Deus e o Diabo na Terra do Sol" (known in English as ""Black God, White Devil""), "The Guns" is part of Brazil's "Golden Trilogy" of Cinema Novo and regarded as one of the key films that brought worldwide attention to Brazilian cinema.Dialogue from the film is sampled on the 2002 album "1º Comunique" by Brazilian post-rock band Retórica.