Barely released originally in 1971, Peter Fonda's western "The Hired Hand" has gained a reputation over the past 30 years as an overlooked and forgotten minor masterpiece. Unfortunately, time has a habit, from time to time, of clouding people's perceptions. "Hand" is a slow moving, slow talking, pretentious film, with a thin story line and plenty of pregnant pauses between the sparse dialogue. Dealing with a wandering cowpoke who returns to his abandoned wife after years of absence, director Fonda tries too hard to attempt a lyrical, sensitive tragedy dealing with anger, sexual frustration and sudden shocking bouts of violence. But his slack, off-hand approach to the material sabotages any real impact. With the exception of a fine performance by Verna Bloom as Fonda's long-suffering wife, "The Hired Hand" meanders along with no particular place to go until its predictable ending.