Peckinpah. Peckinpah’s strength is his top 2 films and the massive amounts of style he packed into his short career as director. He was a fierce alcoholic, not unlike another great western auteur- John Ford, but couldn’t function nearly as well and made his last archiveable film at age 49. His weakness would be the depth of filmography (particularly no third film in the top 500) but even his weaker efforts bare the unmistakable markings of his work which makes for great close study.
Best film: The Wild Bunch. A ballet of violence. It’s simply one of the greatest westerns, action films, and films of all-time in have one in my opinion general. It borrows from Kurosawa (who borrows from Ford) as Leone does but is also revolutionary as well.
total archiveable films: 8
top 100 films: 1 (The Wild Bunch)
top 500 films: 2 (The Wild Bunch, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid)
top 100 films of the decade: 4 (The Wild Bunch, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia, The Getaway)
most overrated: Peckinpah doesn’t have one- I guess if people think Convoy should be in my archives I would call that overrated.
most underrated: Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid- is #533 on TSPDT and it’s a borderline top 100 film (#122). I’ve been telling anyone I come into contact with about this film for years. The two different cuts and versions of the film confuses things but if you haven’t seen it do yourself a favor and make it a priority. The opening montage is immaculately constructed, the Bob Dylan ballad death scene with Slim Pickens, and the finale are some of the best scenes in western history. It’s an important film for him and his auteur status as it’s honestly very close to The Wild Bunch in artistic achievement.
gem I want to spotlight: The Getaway. Peckinpah’s trademark here with the opening credits sequence does not disappoint. Here we have a stunning freeze frame opening. Lucien Ballard photography is top notch as is Quincy Jones Score (In the Heat of the Night). Cross-referenced IMDB and sure enough the harmonica that sounds so familiar is from Toots Thielemans who also does Midnight Cowboy (1969)- love it. The first 10 minutes from free frame credits to montage of McQueen in jail is a stunning opening 10 minutes- it’s a brilliant wordless montage…the film never lives up to that but that alone is nearly worth a top 10 of the year eval. Peckinpah is really showing off here as he has a simple lunch meeting and shoots it on a meeting ferry. Trademark slow-motion action sequences. The film does run out of steam.
stylistic innovations/traits: Slow-motion action sequences, nihilism and disenchantment of the world and fellow man… is that Peckinpah or Kurkosawa? Clearly Peckinpah’s goal: “I want to be able to make westerns like Akira Kurosawa makes westerns” came close to fruition for a short spell during the 60s and 70’s. It’s too bad we didn’t have another 10-20 years of him making great films. His films individually and in total are meditations on masculinity. He’s an incredible editor—and not just glorious slow-motion death dances in the shootouts—which are his trademark.
top 10
- The Wild Bunch
- Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid
- Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia
- The Getaway
- Ride the High Country
- Straw Dogs
- The Ballad of Cable Hogue
- Junior Bonner
By year and grades
| 1962- Ride the High Country | HR |
| 1969- The Wild Bunch | MP |
| 1970- The Ballad of Cable Hogue | R |
| 1971- Straw Dogs | R |
| 1972- Junior Bonner | R |
| 1972- The Getaway | HR |
| 1973- Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid | MP |
| 1974- Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia | HR |
*MP is Masterpiece- top 1-3 quality of the year film
MS is Must-see- top 5-6 quality of the year film
HR is Highly Recommend- top 10 quality of the year film
R is Recommend- outside the top 10 of the year quality film but still in the archives
I’d call carpenter a top 100 director. Original, smart, great scores, well directed mise en, masterpieces, cult films, good acting, auteur.
@ Kirk– thanks for the comment– Carpenter is a fantastic director– going to be close. He didn’t quite make the cut when i did this in 2015 but he’s one of 104 directors that have more than 1 film in the top 500 and that’s a very good start. I’m going to be going well beyond just the top 100 so either way you should check back and check out my Carpenter page when i get to it.
Peckinpah is of the best editors in film history
@Finn– this is the truth!
Finally i decided to see the wild bunch, but there is a problem, there are many versions, i would appreciate it if you could tell me which one you saw
@Aldo- I’ve probably seen multiple versions over the past 20 years, but the most recent was the bluray of the “original directors cut” I believe https://www.amazon.com/Wild-Bunch-Blu-ray-William-Holden/dp/B000Q6GX90
@Drake Have you watched Killer Elite(1975) directed by Sam Peckinpah?
@Anderson- I have once, I wasn’t impressed- but will watch again the next time I do a Peckinpah study
Pat Garret & Billy The Kid
– One of the strongest films I have watched in months.
– Soundtracks are a huge part of film that I am drawn to. Regarding Westerns, I’m not a fan of the scores to many of the classic Western films of the 40s and 50s, Morricone scores are however among my favorites ever. Bob Dylan’s score is heavenly and for my money goes toe to toe with some of Morricone’s best works – it gives so much vibrancy and energy to this film. I haven’t listened to Bob Dylan’s solo discography but maybe I should now. It feels transcendent when the score kicks in as Slim Picken’s sherrif is dying.
Peckinpah is one of cinema’s best editors. The snappy cuts are the perfect fit for the brutality of his tales. There is gorgeous magic hour usage (wish there was more in the film) and an overall great attention to blocking. The shot of Coburn on the swing outside the house is particularly great.
– From what I have previously seen, I have not had thought too highly of Coburn and Kristofferson but they give amazing performances as the dueling leads (its great how their deaths respectively open and close the film too from a formal standpoint). Coburn being shaken up after the final showdown is just powerful and Kristofferson brings so much charisma – the characters and performances contrast each other perfectly.
– A masterpiece.
So glad this is on your lists otherwise I probably wouldn’t have found it.
@Harry- I’m thrilled to hear this. Yes all around to your comments here. Thanks for sharing.
Ride the High Country R
The Wild Bunch MS
The Ballad of Cable Hogue R
Straw Dogs HR
Junior Bonner —
The Getaway R
Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid R
Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia HR
Cross of Iron R