Major Dundee

Directed by Sam Peckinpah and screenplay by Peckinpah, Harry Julian Fink, and Oscar Saul from a story by Fink, Major Dundee is the story of a Union cavalry officers who bands together a group of Army regulars, Confederate soldiers, and Indian scouts to destroy the Apache who had been attacking towns in Texas and New Mexico. The film is a western set during the American Civil War where a man has to put aside differences and settle old grudges just so he can do what is right for America against the Apache as Charlton Heston play the titular role of Major Amos Dundee. Also starring Richard Harris, Jim Hutton, Slim Pickens, Ben Johnson, Warren Oates, Senta Berger, and James Coburn. Major Dundee is a thrilling and captivating film from Sam Peckinpah.

Set in late 1864 during the final months of the American Civil War, the film is about a Union cavalry officer who is trying to go after the Apache following an attack on a fort where many of its residents including women and children were killed with some kids taken by the Apache. Realizing he’s outnumbered and needs volunteers, he asks the help of a Confederate captain and other Confederates who are at a fort as prisoners in exchange for their pardons. With a group that includes a few Indian scouts, African-American Union soldiers, and a ragtag group of thieves and cowboys. Major Amos Charles Dundee would go after the Apache through Mexico despite the fact that Mexico is under the control of the French who are American allies. Along the way, the group of men who are very different and with very different loyalties must band together as well as deal with Major Dundee’s thirst for glory.

The film’s screenplay is interesting not just for the development of Major Dundee but also several characters that include Captain Benjamin Tyree (Richard Harris) who was once a friend of Dundee until Tyree was court-martialed following a duel where Dundee was the deciding vote. Tyree reluctantly agrees to help Dundee in taking down the Apache but once they finish the mission, Tyree wants to settle the score with Dundee. Still, Tyree was able to get some of his men and other Confederate soldiers to volunteer in the hopes that they will be pardoned though they still have to follow Dundee’s orders which they reluctantly do as well as share the same rations with African-American soldiers. Much of the film is told through the eyes of a young trooper named Ryan (Michael Anderson Jr.) who is a bugler as he volunteers to join the company where he does a lot of the narrating as he expresses his thoughts and the length of the journey to find the Apache.

Other characters such as the one-armed scout Samuel Potts (James Coburn) and the inexperienced. Lt. Graham (Jim Hutton) are characters who watch everything from afar but also kind of serve as consciences in the film with Potts being someone who is a tracker that knows his role. The script also has this unique structure where much of the first half is set in New Mexico and Texas with the second half set in Mexico where there is a change in the morale of the men but also in the setting. Especially where Dundee and Tyree start to compete for the affections of an Austrian widow living in a small pueblo that had been captured by the French. Upon liberating the pueblo and getting a break from battle, it is clear that Dundee has stirred up more trouble with the French as well as some schism in his company as it is clear that pride and ego sometimes get in the way of what is really important. Especially as Dundee has to realize what he must face and know that he can’t do it all by himself.

Sam Peckinpah’s direction is quite vast as it play into the world that is the West as it’s shot entirely in various locations in Mexico. Peckinpah’s usage of the wide and medium shots play into look of the deserts, mountains, and rivers as while maintaining some intimacy in the way he shoots the characters through close-ups and medium shots. Especially in how he would shoot some of the dramatic moments and tension that looms into the film as Peckinpah adds that air of realism about the group of people Dundee is leading. Peckinpah’s usage of low-angles also play into the way Dundee rules over everyone but also in the fact that Dundee sees himself in such a way that it is somewhat disconnected from reality where he would eventually get grounded.

The 2005 restoration version of the film which runs at a running time of 136 minutes is considered by many Peckinpah historians and purists as an improvement over the 123-minute theatrical cut from its original 1965 release. For years, the theatrical version strayed away from the elements of graphic violence and other things that some believe hindered the film as the restored version would feature these things and more. Especially in how Tyree is introduced and how some of the characters cope with death and some of the decisions that Dundee makes. The battle scenes are quite intense where Peckinpah maintains that air of frenzy in how chaotic the battle is as well as creating that air of camaraderie between Dundee and Tyree who are both at their best when they fight together side-by-side. Overall, Peckinpah creates an exhilarating and intense film about a Union cavalry officer trying to stop the Apache with the aid of a ragtag group of volunteers including members of the Confederate army.

Cinematographer Sam Leavitt does brilliant work with the film‘s cinematography that is filled with gorgeous colors of many of the daytime exteriors including the detail in the look of the flags as well as some unique lighting for scenes set at night. Editors Howard Kunin, William A. Lyon, and Donald W. Starling do excellent work with the editing as it‘s got some style with its rhythmic cuts for the action and suspense as well as some nice transition dissolves. Art director Alfred Ybarra does nice work with the set design from the look of the forts as well as the pueblo that Dundee and his company would liberate.

Costume designer Tom Dawson does terrific work with the costumes from the ragged clothes of some of the volunteers to the stuffy uniform of the French army that Dundee‘s men mock. The sound work of James Z. Flaster and Rafael Ruiz Esparza do superb work with the sound as it play into the atmosphere of the deserts as well as in a party sequence as well in some of the battle scenes. The film’s music by Christopher Caliendo, for its 2005 restoration, is amazing as it has that nice mixture of orchestral bombast with traditional Mexican-based music with the latter to play for much of the film’s second half as the score, that replaces the original 1965 score by Daniel Amfitheatrof, is considered an improvement.

The film’s marvelous cast include some notable small roles from Aurora Clavel as a woman who helps Dundee regain his health, Begona Palacios as a woman Ryan had an affair with at the pueblo, Albert Carrier as a French lancers commander, Jose Carlos Ruiz as an Apache scout Ryan is suspicious about, Karl Swenson as Dundee’s second-in-command at the fort, and Michael Pate as the Apache leader Sierra Charriba who tries to cause trouble against the army. Other noteworthy small roles as members of the company under Dundee include Dub Taylor as the horse thief Priam, John Davis Chandler as a racist Confederate soldier, R.G. Armstrong as the reverend who is the company’s moral guide, L.Q. Jones and Warren Oates as a couple of brothers who are loyal to Tyree, Brock Peters as the African-American soldier Aesop who leads his small band of African-American soldiers that eventually gets the trust of the Confederate volunteers, and Slim Pickens in a fantastic performance as the drunken mule-packer Wiley.

Ben Johnson is terrific as Tyree’s loyal sergeant Chillum who is reluctant to take orders from Dundee yet proves to be very helpful. Mario Adorf is superb as Sgt. Gomez as Dundee’s right-hand man who is able to organize things as well as help Tyree late in the film following some of the chaos in the third act. Senta Berger is wonderful as Teresa Santiago as an Austrian-born widow of a doctor who becomes an object of affection for Dundee as well as Tyree to a lesser extent on the latter as she copes with the chaos of war. Michael Anderson Jr. is excellent as Ryan as a young bugle trooper who gets his first real taste of battle as he recalls a lot of the things he sees in the narration as well as reflecting on his own misjudgment and understanding of things. Jim Hutton is brilliant as Lt. Graham as an inexperienced artilleryman who hasn’t had much time in the battlefield yet would eventually do things to help Dundee and prove his worth in battle.

James Coburn is amazing as the one-armed, half-Indian Samuel Potts as this scout is who is kind of the film’s conscience as he is someone that knows what the Apache would do but also cope with their actions as well as what Dundee tries to do. Richard Harris is phenomenal as Captain Benjamin Tyree as this Confederate soldier that does have a legitimate grudge with Dundee yet is willing to help him destroy the Apache while being someone who is a gentleman and knows what to do in handling things where he still upholds some aspect of honor. Finally, there’s Charlton Heston in an incredible performance as the titular character as this cavalry officer who is hoping to attain some glory following some mistakes he made at Gettysburg while he copes with his duty as Heston isn’t afraid to display flaws into the character where Heston does ham it up a bit but also display a vulnerability and humility as it’s one of Heston’s more overlooked performances.

Major Dundee is a remarkable film from Sam Peckinpah that is highlighted by the top-notch performances of Charlton Heston, Richard Harris, and James Coburn. In its 2005 restoration version, it’s a film that features a great ensemble cast, amazing battle scenes, and compelling themes on duty and honor. It’s a film that isn’t just a western that plays with its convention but also create something that is thrilling. In the end, Major Dundee is a sensational film from Sam Peckinpah.

Sam Peckinpah Films: The Deadly Companions - Ride the High Country - Noon Wine - The Wild Bunch - The Ballad of Cable Hogue - Straw Dogs - Junior Bonner - The Getaway - Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid - Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia - The Killer Elite - Cross of Iron - Convoy - The Osterman Weekend - The Auteurs #62: Sam Peckinpah

© thevoid99 2016

Noon Wine (1966 TV Film)

Based on the short novel by Katherine Anne Porter, Noon Wine is the story of a farmer who takes a man into his home to help revive their dairy farm only for its fortunes to end in tragedy. Written for television and directed by Sam Peckinpah as part of ABC‘s Stage 67 TV movies, the TV film is a look into a man trying to do what he thinks is right only to be caught up in secrets and lies. Starring Jason Robards, Olivia de Haviland, and Theodore Bikel. Noon Wine is a chilling yet evocative TV movie from Sam Peckinpah.

Set in the late 1800s in Texas, the film revolves around a dairy farmer who meets a Swedish immigrant from North Dakota and hires him to work in his farm. For three years, things seem to go well for the farmer and his family until a man comes in asking questions which leads to a tragic outcome. It’s a TV film that explores a man trying to protect his own fortunes as well as another man unaware of the latter’s past as it creates all sorts of trouble. Sam Peckinpah’s script doesn’t just explore the world that Royal Earle Thompson (Jason Robards) live in but also what he is trying to protect despite the fact that he doesn’t do much for his farm letting this immigrant named Olaf Eric Helton (Per Oscarsson) to do much of the work with Thompson’s sons. With an ailing but able wife in Ellie (Olivia de Haviland) questioning what her husband is doing, it would eventually lead to some tragic outcomes as it relates to Helton and a man trying to find him.

Peckinpah’s direction is very simple although it is very typical of the TV films made in the 1960s. Especially as it doesn’t go for anything visually-astonishing for something that is more intimate where there is a lot of medium shots and close-ups to play into the world of farm life in the late 19th Century. While it is shot on tape, which was the norm for the times, Peckinpah is still able to create some images as well as moments that play into the suspense and drama. Especially for the moment right around half of the film where Thompson meets Homer T. Hatch (Theodore Bikel) as it would be a meeting that would undo everything Thompson is trying to create and protect. It would set a change of tone of sorts for the film but it would also some realities that Thompson and his family are forced to face as the outcome is tragic. Overall, Peckinpah creates a riveting yet haunting film about a family’s fortune undone by tragedy.

Cinematographer Lucien Ballard does excellent work with the black-and-white photography where despite its grainy look and low-key lighting does help play into the period of the times. Editor Arthur Schneider does nice work with the editing as it is straightforward with a few stylish dissolve montages to play into the progress of the farm and Thompson‘s fall late in the film. Production designer Walter Scott Herndon does terrific work with the look of the farm Thompson and his family live in as well as the courthouse late in the film. Costume designer Joe Markham does brilliant work with the costumes as it has looks that are ragged as it play into the look of Helton and the Thompson boys as well as the more revered look late in the film of Thompson and his wife. The sound work of John Pawley is superb for its sound to play into some of its natural elements as well as a few effects for dramatic purposes. The TV film’s music by Jerry Fielding is wonderful as it is this mixture of orchestral and country-folk music to play into the times with the former providing some element of dramatic tension.

The TV film’s brilliant cast include some notable small roles from Steve Sanders and Peter Robbins in their respective roles as Thompson’s sons Arthur and Herbert, L.Q. Jones as a deputy, and Ben Johnson as a local sheriff trying to deal with the chaos that happened late in the film. Per Oscarsson is terrific as the quiet Helton as a Swedish immigrant who does his work and tend to himself while rarely socializing with the family whose respect he slowly gains. Theodore Bikel is fantastic as Homer T. Hatch as this man trying to find Helton for reasons he wouldn’t divulge as he would later antagonize Thompson in a way that would cause trouble. Olivia de Havilland is amazing as Ellie Thompson as an ailing wife trying to make sense of all of the chaos as well as some of the moral implications over what had happened. Finally, there’s Jason Robards in a marvelous performance as Royal Earle Thompson as this farmer that is trying to control things as he sees Helton as a chance to succeed only to be undone by himself as it’s a performance filled with bravado and power as it is one of Robards’ great performances.

Noon Wine is an excellent TV film from Sam Peckinpah that features great performances from Jason Robards and Olivia de Havilland. While it’s a TV movie that isn’t easy to find and rarely shown anywhere. It is still a gem that is worth seeking out as well as something fans of Peckinpah’s work must see. In the end, Noon Wine is a brilliant TV film from Sam Peckinpah.

Sam Peckinpah Films: The Deadly Companions - Ride the High Country - Major Dundee - The Wild Bunch - The Ballad of Cable Hogue - Straw Dogs - Junior Bonner - The Getaway - Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid - Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia - The Killer Elite - Cross of Iron - Convoy - The Osterman Weekend - The Auteurs #62: Sam Peckinpah

© thevoid99 2016

The Ballad of Cable Hogue

Directed by Sam Peckinpah and written by John Crawford and Edmund Penney, The Ballad of Cable Hogue is the story of a prospector trying to make a life for himself in the Arizona desert with the aid of a prostitute as he deals with the West starting to change in the final years of the frontier. The film marks a change of pace for Peckinpah in the western genre as he goes for a character study into a man trying to salvage an element of the Wild West in its final moments. Starring Jason Robards, Stella Stevens, L.Q. Jones, Strother Martin, and David Warner. The Ballad of Cable Hogue is a witty yet touching film from Sam Peckinpah.

Set in the late 19th Century, the film is about a man who finds water in an Arizona desert after being left for dead by criminals who betrayed him as he would create a watering hole between two towns as a way to make money but also live his life that he would share briefly with a prostitute. It’s a film that is about a man who would become a prospector where he hopes to succeed despite his lack of education while being something that matters for the West where he would find this watering hole by accident and do something for travelers. Along the way, he would later encounter the modern world and changing times as he and those who were part of the Wild West would be taken aback by. The film’s screenplay doesn’t just explore the journey that Cable Hogue (Jason Robards) would take but also the man himself. Hogue is quite stubborn in his ways as he is someone that is from the Wild West and has old ideas about the ways of the world.

The script also has Hogue falling for this prostitute in Hildy (Stella Stevens) who also lives by her own code yet wants to become rich to go to San Francisco and live the good life. While Hogue understands what Hildy wants, he is reluctant to let her go once she would stay at his watering hole for a while where the two have this very unique relationship. Another friendship that Hogue would have is with a preacher in Joshua (David Warner) whom he meets early in the film as Joshua is a very unconventional character that has a thirst for emotionally-vulnerable women but is also a man that is willing to help despite his quirks. The script does have a structure as it relates to Hogue’s attempt to create a watering hole between towns as much of the first half is about that where he would succeed. In the third act where it has been a few years since he had founded the watering hole, there is that air of revenge as it relates to the men that left him for dead but also an encounter with the modern world that he as well as those he know are baffled by.

Sam Peckinpah’s direction has an air of style where it has a few violent moments but it is mostly restrained as he goes for something that is more intimate not just visually but also tonally. While it opens with this stylish sequence of Hogue being betrayed and stranded all alone in a desert, it is among some of the moments in the film where Peckinpah would go into style as well as some of the funny moments with some fast-motion sequences that is about humor. Peckinpah’s usage of the wide shots to capture much of the scenery shot on location in Nevada with the town scenes shot in Arizona. Peckinpah’s usage of medium shots and close-ups as it plays into some of the people that Hogue befriends as well as some of these moments that play into the world that he is creating. Even in a moment where Joshua would comfort a young woman in a very sexual way as Peckinpah makes no qualms about how women are treated where he would shoot Hogue staring at Hildy’s cleavage. It’s all part of Peckinpah’s sense of fun while balancing it with moments that are serious such as some of the events in the third act as it relates to the modern world that Hogue would encounter. It’s ending isn’t about loss but the end of an era that these characters hold so dearly about as the 20th Century and everything else about it would emerge. Overall, Peckinpah creates a light-hearted yet compelling film about a prospector’s life and his attempt to do something in the Wild West.

Cinematographer Lucien Ballard does excellent work with the cinematography from the naturalistic look of many of the scenes set in the day as well as some lighting for scenes set in the interior and exterior at night. Editors Lou Lombardo and Frank Santillo do amazing as it has some stylish cutting with its fast-motion and a few slow-motion cuts as well as some jump-cuts and stylish usage of dissolves. Art director Leroy Coleman and set decorator Jack Mills do brilliant work with the set design from the look of the home and stop that Hogue would live and run as well as the look of the town. The sound work of Don Rush is terrific as it play into some of the natural elements of the location along with scenes that are quite playful in its usage of sound effects. The film’s music by Jerry Goldsmith and lyricist Richard Gillis is wonderful for its mixture of orchestral textures with folk-based instruments to play into the feel of the West with some songs that would be themes for its three central characters as they are catchy but also helped tell the story.

The film’s marvelous cast includes some notable small roles from James Anderson as a local preacher, Susan O’Connell as a grieving woman that Joshua would comfort, Peter Whitney as a bank president who would give Hogue money for the business, R.G. Armstrong as a land prospector who turns down Hogue over the land that Hogue had bought, and Gene Evans as a husband who is angry over Joshua and his antics. Slim Pickens is superb as the stagecoach driver Ben Fairchild as someone who does business with Hogue as well as be a friend of him as he would often stop at his home. Strother Martin and L.Q. Jones are fantastic as Hogue’s former crime partners in Bowen and Taggart, respectively, with Martin as the more cowardly of the two and Jones as the one who is conniving and greedy.

David Warner is excellent as Reverend Joshua as a preacher who would help Hogue build his home and business as well as be this eccentric man of God who has a weakness for vulnerable women as it’s a very complex yet witty performance. Stella Stevens is amazing as Hildy as this prostitute who takes a liking to Hogue for who he is while helping him run his business briefly as she would fall for him but also deal with his stubbornness. Finally, there’s Jason Robards in a phenomenal performance as the titular character as this man who is left for dead in the desert as he would discover an oasis where he would use to become a prospector as he does whatever he can to make it succeed as it’s Robards in one of his finest performances.

The Ballad of Cable Hogue is an incredible film from Sam Peckinpah that features great performances from Jason Robards, Stella Stevens, and David Warner. While it’s a different kind of western of sorts from Peckinpah, the film is still an engaging as well as entertaining that plays into Peckinpah’s ideas of the West as well as creating something that is sensitive and funny. In the end, The Ballad of Cable Hogue is a spectacular film from Sam Peckinpah.

Sam Peckinpah Films: The Deadly Companions - Ride the High Country - Major Dundee - Noon Wine - The Wild Bunch - Straw Dogs - Junior Bonner - The Getaway - Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid - Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia - The Killer Elite - Cross of Iron - Convoy - The Osterman Weekend - The Auteurs #62: Sam Peckinpah

© thevoid99 2016

Ride the High Country

Directed by Sam Peckinpah and written by Peckinpah, William Roberts, and N.B. Stone Jr., Ride the High Country is the story of two aging gunslingers who are tasked to transport gold from a remote mining town as they deal with new rules in the American West. The film is an exploration of two men who take a job with a young man as they try to maintain a sense of honor in the West. Starring Randolph Scott, Joel McCrea, Mariette Hartley, Warren Oates, Ron Starr, Edgar Buchanan, and James Drury. Ride the High Country is a rich and exhilarating film from Sam Peckinpah.

Set in the early 20th Century in the age of automobiles and sideshows, the film revolves a former lawman who asks an old friend to aid him in transporting gold for a bank by going to a remote mining town. With the aid of a young cowboy, the two men go on a two-day trip into the mountains where they would later be joined by a young woman who is going to the same town to be married. It plays into two men trying to do something with what could be the final moments of their lives as well as find some meaning in a world where honor and duty seems to fall by the wayside in favor of a world that is changing. The film’s screenplay that is written by N.B. Stone Jr., with un-credited re-writes by Sam Peckinpah and William Roberts, play into two men who were friends as they served in both sides of the law where money is now what they need.

For the lawman Steve Judd (Joel McCrea), he is asked by a bank to do a job after six miners were killed but Judd couldn’t do the job alone as he runs into his old friend Gil Westrum (Randolph Scott) who works as sideshow artist as he used to be a great sharpshooter. Westrum brings in a young cowboy named Heck Longtree (Ron Starr) to aid them as Longtree is a young man that has a lot to learn as he has won races and is good with a gun but is also very immature. Notably as he tries to pursue a young woman he would encounter in Elsa Knudsen (Mariette Hartley) during a stop at a barn that is run by Elsa’s father Joshua (R.G. Armstrong). That all happens in its first act where the second act is about the journey to this remote mining town where Elsa’s fiancée Billy Hammond (James Drury) lives as they would marry.

Yet, Heck is uneasy about Hammond and his brothers where it would lead to a conflict that would finally come ahead in its third act. Especially as the Hammonds represent everything Judd and Westrum are uneasy with as they try to keep things to themselves. Unfortunately, ideals of what Judd and Westrum are about would come to ahead for each other as Judd is very stubborn about doing the job so he can get a measly reward. Westrum realize the worth of the gold would conspire with Heck about taking the gold which does lead into this conflict until the Hammonds get involved where it’s not about gold but rather about what is what and who does it belong to. The sense of honor and disdain for modern times is evident in the script as there is also some strong dialogue that plays into this old world vs. new world mentality that would eventually collide in its climax.

Peckinpah’s direction is quite simple in terms of the compositions he creates yet he infuses the film with a lot of wide shots to capture the landscape as it is shot on location in Inyo National Forest, Bronson Canyon, and other locations in California. Peckinpah opens with the film with Judd riding into town thinking he is getting some kind of heroic welcome when there’s a horse race happening as he has to contend with cars and new rules. It plays into that sense of the modern world where old men are treated with a lack of respect as Judd would find Westrum in costume that shows Westrum’s own sense of desperation for money. Peckinpah doesn’t really go for a lot of stylish shots with the exception of a wedding reception involving Elsa and Billy Hammond that plays into the craziness that Elsa is embarking on.

Yet, Peckinpah plays into something that is more of an ode to the Westerns of the past as he brings this sense of conflict on a visual scale to play into what was happening in the modern world. The direction doesn’t include a lot of gunplay until its third act as Peckinpah is more concerned about the journey and what Judd and Westrum would encounter such as Elsa’s very religious father where they sort of agree with his stance on the world but are fully aware that not everything he says is right. There is a bit of tension that goes on but Peckinpah keeps it very restrained as he just lets things play out slowly until its third act where Heck’s suspicions about Billy Hammond not only come true but realizes what he has to do.

Peckinpah’s usage of close-ups are low-key as it does play into the tension that goes which includes Judd and Westrum’s own complicated relationship where they don’t trust each other but they would rather stick together than trust someone else. Most notably as they have to deal with forces who don’t play into this code of honor and duty but rather for their own selfish reasons which forces Judd and Westrum to do what they must do. Overall, Peckinpah creates a very captivating yet thrilling film about two old gunslingers trying to transport gold for a bank and cope with the new world around them.

Cinematographer Lucien Ballard does brilliant work with the film‘s cinematography with its lush and colorful look of the exteriors including some of the interior and exterior scenes set at night as it plays into the beauty of the American West. Editor Frank Santillo does excellent work with the editing as it is very straightforward with the exception of a few rhythmic shots for the scenes set at the wedding ceremony. Art directors Leroy Coleman and George W. Davis, with Henry Grace and Otto Siegel, do fantastic work with the look of the Knudsen family farm and house as well as the camp where the Hammonds live in.

Sound recordist Franklin Milton does nice work with the sound to play into the atmosphere of the locations as well as some of the action that occurs in the film. The film’s music by George Bassman is superb for its orchestral-based score that features elements of country-folk music to play into the tone of the West as it ranges from being playful to being very serious in some of the scenes with its bombastic orchestral themes.

The film’s amazing cast includes some notable small roles from Carmen Phillips as a saloon girl Heck flirts with early in the film, Percy Helton and Bryan Foulger as a couple of brothers who have issues with Heck over a race he won early in the film, and Jenie Jackson as the saloon owner Kate who is a woman that is clearly larger than life. Other noteworthy small roles include Eugene Buchanan as a judge in the mining town as he has a superb moment in officiating the wedding while John Anderson and John Davis Chandler are terrific in their respective roles as Elder and Jimmy Hammond who are just as crazed as their brothers. Warren Oates and L.Q. Jones are excellent in their respective roles as Henry and Sylvus Hammond as they both have a sense of craziness and dark humor to their performances.

James Drury is wonderful as Billy Hammond as the lead brother who is to marry Elsa where it turns out that he is exactly what Heck suspects him to be. R.G. Armstrong is superb as Elsa’s father Joshua as a religious man who tries to protect Elsa as he believes that there are no men worthy of her. Ron Starr is brilliant as Heck Longtree as a young cowboy who is a friend of Westrum who tries to get things his way and flirt with Elsa only to realize the way things are as he would eventually gain Judd’s trust. Mariette Hartley is fantastic as Elsa Knudsen as this farmer’s daughter who is initially excited by the presence of men where she later accompanies them on her way to getting married as she later copes with the realities of marriage and what a woman really needs in a man.

Finally, there’s the duo of Joel McCrea and Randolph Scott in incredible performances in their respective roles as Steve Judd and Gil Westrum. McCrea brings a low-key approach to his role as Judd as someone that is trying to maintain some sense of honor while being stubborn in doing what is right though he’s getting paid more than Gil. Scott brings a more livelier approach to the character of Westrum as well as a sense of conflict into helping his friend or take advantage of what he is transporting. McCrea and Scott definitely have great rapport together as it is clear that they know what their characters are as well as the sense of duty and honor they’re trying to hold on to.

Ride the High Country is a phenomenal film from Sam Peckinpah that features great performances from Joel McCrea and Randolph Scott. With an amazing cast, beautiful cinematography, and a compelling theme on old men adapting to a new world. It’s a film that is enchanting in its study of duty and honor as well as coping with a world where the rules have changed. In the end, Ride the High Country is a spectacular film from Sam Peckinpah.

Sam Peckinpah Films: The Deadly Companions - Major Dundee - Noon Wine - The Wild Bunch - The Ballad of Cable Hogue - Straw Dogs - Junior Bonner - The Getaway - Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid - Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia - The Killer Elite - Cross of Iron - Convoy - The Osterman Weekend - The Auteurs #62: Sam Peckinpah

© thevoid99 2015

Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid

Directed by Sam Peckinpah and written by Rudy Wurlitzer, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid is the story of an aging Pat Garrett who is hired by wealthy cattle barons to hunt and kill his friend Billy the Kid. The film is an exploration of friendship and betrayal in the Old West as well as the final days of the West as James Coburn plays Pat Garrett and Kris Kristofferson stars as Billy the Kid. Also starring Jason Robards, Slim Pickens, Katy Jurado, Richard Jaeckel, Chill Willis, and Bob Dylan. Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid is a wondrous and evocative film from Sam Peckinpah.

Set in 1881 in New Mexico, the film is about Pat Garrett being asked by forces with political ties to hunt down and kill his friend Billy the Kid. While it is a simple story, the film is more about a sense of change that looms in the American West where Billy the Kid is a representation of someone that doesn’t play by the rules as he spends much of the film trying to live his life and find ways to play under his own rules. Pat Garrett meanwhile is a man that is conflicted about hunting the Kid down as just wants him to go to Mexico or deal with him by himself instead of letting others kill him. Even as he meets with individuals who are part of a secret ring of cattle barons who not only want the Kid dead but want to do things their way to the world that is the West.

Rudy Wurlitzer’s screenplay opens with Garrett’s death as he is gunned down by a group of mysterious men as it adds some ambiguity into why he is killed. It plays into not just the sense of change that Garrett didn’t want to be a part of but a change that already happened as it inter-cuts with a time where Garrett had just become a sheriff where he meets the Kid as they shoot down the heads of chickens. It plays into a moment where things were simple as Garrett and the Kid are friends though Garrett knows he is now the law and he is instructed to capture the Kid. Yet, Garrett tells the Kid on what he has to do where he wants him to be safe and not be killed in the hands of the law. However, the Kid is a freebird that just refuses to do what anyone tells him as there is someone who admits to killing some people whether they were good or bad.

The script also plays into that sense of changing times where Garrett is forced to uphold the law as he struggles to do things his way but finds himself coping with these changes. Especially as he would be forced to work with men who are part of this secret ring as they do things in ways that not only disgusts Garrett but also the Kid who would encounter some of these things on his way to Mexico which would force him to seek refuge in the place in Old Fort Sumner. It is in that moment where both the Garrett and the Kid are forced to realize that the ideas of the Old West is coming to an end where Garrett would have to make a decision to either adapt or die. A decision that the Kid wouldn’t stand for as the inevitable is to come.

Sam Peckinpah’s direction is very entrancing for not just the way he pictures the American West but also into how its sense of mythology and codes are being pushed aside in favor of greed. The film is very stylized in not just the way Peckinpah shoots some of the violence but also in the way people lived in those times. There is a looseness to the direction where Peckinpah puts in some humor over some of the situations the Kid would get into but also play into someone that would kill someone when he didn’t want to but had no choice. With its usage of wide and medium shots along with some close-ups, Peckinpah takes great stock into the world that surrounds these characters but also plays into a sense of change that is looming. Most notably a scene where Garrett and an aging sheriff in Colin Baker (Slim Pickens) try to confront a gang only for things to go wrong as it plays into a world that is changing.

The direction has these tense moments in the drama such as a meeting Garrett would have with New Mexico’s leader in Governor Lew Wallace (Jason Robards) who would introduce Garrett to this group of cattle barons who are part of a secret ring in New Mexico. Most notably as it plays into the sense of change that would emerge that the Kid would later see when he encounters a group of men killing a friend and raping his wife to show an ugliness in a new world that he doesn’t want to be a part of. It would all play to the inevitable as the climax where Garrett would do what has to be done since it plays into a new world that neither he nor the Kid could be a part of. Overall, Peckinpah creates a mesmerizing film about two friends who are both forced to go against each other in an ever-changing world.

Cinematographer John Coquillon does brilliant work with the film‘s cinematography from the usage of lights for some of its nighttime interior/exterior scenes along with some gorgeous and naturalistic images for the scenes in the day including a shootout involving Sheriff Baker. Editors Roger Spottiswoode, David Berlatsky, Garth Craven, Tony de Zarraga, Richard Halsey, and Robert L. Wolfe, with additional editing by Paul Seydor for the 2005 special edition, do amazing work with the editing in creating some unique slow-motion cuts for some of the action along with rhythmic cutting for some of the drama and suspense. Art director Ted Haworth and set decorator Ray Moyer do excellent work with the design of the sets from hideout that is Fort Sumner as well as the look of Lincoln where the Kid was supposed to be hanged until his escape.

The sound work of Harry W. Tetrick and Charles M. Wilborn is superb for the naturalistic sound it captures along with some sound effects in the sound of gunfire and knives that are thrown. The film’s music by Bob Dylan is fantastic as the soundtrack album features some country-folk instrumentals and a few songs including one of Dylan’s greatest songs in Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door that is played in one of the film’s most poignant moments.

The casting by Patricia Mock is great as it features notable appearances from such noted Western character actors like L.Q. Jones as a bandit Garrett confronts in a shootout with Sheriff Baker, Jack Elam as Garrett’s ragged deputy Alamosa Bill Kermit, Emilio Fernandez as the Kid’s Mexican friend Paco, Chill Wills as a saloon owner named Lemuel Jones who knows Garrett, screenwriter Rudy Wurlitzer as a friend of the Kid in Tom O’Folliard, Luke Askew as a cattle baron that is part of a secret ring in Santa Fe, Richard Bright as a member of the Kid’s gang, Rutanya Alda as a prostitute who lives in Fort Sumner with the Kid and his gang, Charles Martin Smith as an early member of the Kid’s gang who encounters a horrifying shootout, and Aurora Clavel as Garrett’s wife Ida who appears in the film’s 2005 reconstructed special-edition version. Other notable small roles include Harry Dean Stanton as a member of the Kid’s gang in Luke, Matt Clark as a deputy sheriff the Kid befriends, R.G. Armstrong as a sheriff who despises the Kid, and John Beck as a hired gun for the secret Santa Fe ring who is eager to kill the Kid.

Barry Sullivan is terrific as a cattle baron named Chisum that the Kid used to work for as the Kid learns what Chisum’s men would do that would disgust the Kid. Slim Pickens is fantastic as the aging sheriff Colin Baker who aids Garrett in trying to find the Kid while Katy Jurado is wonderful as Baker’s wife who helps them both while being great with a shotgun. Richard Jaeckel is superb as a friend of Garrett in Sheriff McKinney who helps Garrett late in the film to capture the Kid while Jason Robards is amazing in a brief but memorable performance as Governor Lew Wallace who tells Garrett what is at stake in capturing the Kid as he is part of a new world order. Bob Dylan is excellent as a young bandit named Alias who joins the Kid during the film’s second act as he proves to be very handy with a knife.

Finally, there’s the duo of James Coburn and Kris Kristofferson in phenomenal performance in their respective roles as Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid. Coburn brings a rugged yet weary role to Garrett as a man who is now part of the law as he deals with the new rules of his role as well as times that are changing which adds to the conflict in capturing the Kid. Kristofferson brings this sense energy and joy into the role of the Kid as someone who is a total free spirit that doesn’t believe in rules as he copes with a world that is very difficult and troubling. Coburn and Kristofferson have great rapport together in how they both share similar views towards the world as they’re both being pulled into different directions.

Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid is a remarkable film from Sam Peckinpah that features exhilarating performances from James Coburn and Kris Kristofferson. The film is definitely one of Peckinpah’s finest films (whether in its preferred 1988 122-minute preview version or the 115-minute special edition version) as it plays into the myth of the American West and how it would change. Especially as it features an incredible soundtrack from Bob Dylan that plays into the mythological elements of those times. In the end, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid is a riveting film from Sam Peckinpah.

Sam Peckinpah Films: The Deadly Companions - Ride the High Country - Major Dundee - Noon Wine - The Wild Bunch - The Ballad of Cable Hogue - Straw Dogs - Junior Bonner - The Getaway - Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia - The Killer Elite - Cross of Iron - Convoy - The Osterman Weekend - The Auteurs #62: Sam Peckinpah

© thevoid99 2015

A Prairie Home Companion

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 6/19/06 w/ Additional Edits.

Throughout his entire career, Robert Altman has made films that always explored different worlds and genres. Films like M.A.S.H., McCabe & Mrs. Miller, Nashville, The Player, Short Cuts, and Gosford Park along with favorites like Images, The Long Goodbye, California Split, 3 Women, Brewster McCloud, Cookie's Fortune, Vincent & Theo, and The Company. All of these films revealed Altman's talent for telling little stories with many people as they all come together to explore something. Ever since starting in the 1960s, Altman has become a major influence in American cinema as he has inspired many directors to handle huge, ensemble stories. In 2006, in his 80s, Altman received a Lifetime Honorary Academy Award for all of his work. That same year, he released what would be his final film in A Prairie Home Companion.

Based on the same radio program created by playwright Garrison Keiller, the film version of A Prairie Home Companion tells the story of the radio program broadcasting its final show in its native Minnesota. Directed and produced by Altman with Keiller writing the script, the film reveals the end of an era as Altman explores the world of radio and performance. With an all-star cast that includes Altman regular Lily Tomlin plus Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline, Tommy Lee Jones, Virginia Madsen, Maya Rudolph, Woody Harrelson, John C. Reilly, Lindsay Lohan, and Keiller as himself. A Prairie Home Companion is a true testament to the talents of Robert Altman.

After the owners of the Soderbergh family deciding to sell the famed Fitzgerald Theater, which broadcasts the radio program called A Prairie Home Companion, it's a hard day for everyone. For an ex-detective turned security supervisor named Guy Noir (Kevin Kline), he's spooked by the haunting presence of death as the radio program is to play its final show. For leader Garrison Keiller, he decides to give the show a good send off as the stage manager Al (Tim Russell) and makeup lady Donna (Sue Scott) are saddened that they'll never see all of the musicians and people who will be there. To join the final broadcast is a country legend named Chuck Akers (L.Q. Jones), the Johnson Sisters, and the country team of Dusty (Woody Harrelson) and Lefty (John C. Reilly). Joining her mother Yolanda (Meryl Streep) is a young poet named Lola (Lindsay Lohan) who helps her mother and aunt Rhonda (Lily Tomlin) while writing poems about suicide.

The show is played featuring many of the regulars of the radio program including a voiceman (Tom Keith), the duo of Robin & Linda Williams, Jearlyn Steele, and Keiller who sings and opens the program while doing little commercials in between. While he performs and does his program, Yolanda and Rhonda reminisce about the days when they did the radio program with the rest of their late sisters which they still grieve about. Dusty and Lefty rehearse their own comedy routines for the program while Guy Noir is intrigued by a mysterious woman (Virginia Madsen) who turns out to be an angel watching the show in its final broadcast. The Johnson Sisters perform as do the duo of Dusty and Lefty while something happens to one of their performers as seen by the makeup lady and the lunchlady (Marylouise Burke).

The specter of death is nearing on its program as Guy asks the pregnant stagehand Molly (Maya Rudolph) to be on the lookout as things only overwhelm all of the performers. Garrison doesn't know what to do while dealing with his own issues with Yolanda over a brief fling they had many years ago as he talks with Lola about her late father and the angel about a joke. Things get worse when the new owner (Tommy Lee Jones) arrive to get ready to destroy the Fitzgerald Theater for a parking lot as he watches the final performance. Guy wants Molly to call in the angel as he tries to understand the owner's intentions for his new parking lot. With the show closing down, Al wants Dusty and Lefty to clean their act for the show which ends up becoming a disaster. Lola decides to help out by performing where the show leads to a final send-off while Garrison doesn't want to admit its over as the end come nears for A Prairie Home Companion.

Stories about the end of an era or an end of something is often told in a very sad way but for Robert Altman, who too might be on his way out. The end is not really the end at all. Even for a 30-year old radio program that people love to listen and laugh with is filled with a lot of spirit and joy. With a script Keiller wrote based on a screen story he did with Ken LaZebnik, Altman manages to capture the spirit of the radio program by doing the film exactly on the Fitzgerald Theater right smack down in the middle of St. Paul, Minnesota. Even the script that Keiller wrote shows the atmosphere of theater and music as things don't go the way they plan while everything is a disaster and people become unsure of what to do. Still, it's the right script that brings the antidote to the style of Robert Altman.

Altman uses his mastery of multiple storylines and overlapping dialogue to convey this story of a final performance by letting many characters know what they're feeling and their own anxieties. Even the specter of death is felt throughout the entire film as an angel is coming by while the new owner comes in to represent the changing times. Though Altman isn't making some kind of political statement into the world of corporations, he's really talking more about what a radio program means to the people who listens to them or be part of the program. Altman is able to make the audience aware of what's going on while keeping up with the storylines as he goes for long shots in certain sequences while cutting to another part of the story in the film. He also captures the tension, sadness, and joy that is part of the radio program as Robert Altman, with a little help from stand-in director Paul Thomas Anderson, shows his mastery in the art of creating a world right in front of his eyes.

Helping Altman with his unique, intimate vision is cinematographer Edward Lachman whose lighting technique harkens the days of old cinema of the 1950s and 60s in the film's exterior sequences and scenes in the diner across from the theater. The film's interiors filled with blue coloring and huge, white background lights for some of the staging reveals the grand presentation of the radio station along with some wonderful, yellowish lighting for some of the film's interior scenes. Lachman's dreamy, intimate presentation is a real highlight for the film. Production designer Dina Goldman and set decorator Tora Peterson also captures the atmosphere of the stage by re-creating little background sets and placing props to give the sense of intimacy of the story. The look of the film in its production and photography shows the true authenticity of the stage. Costume designer Catherine Marie Thomas also does wonderful work for the film's costumes whether it's the more extravagant clothing of the Johnson sisters, the cowboy suits of the Dusty & Lefty, to the noir clothing that the Dangerous Woman and Guy Noir wears.

Editor Jacob Craycroft does great work in giving Altman's unique presentation a nicely paced, leisurely style while giving perspective on the multiple stories while cutting when a story is done to a performance on stage. Craycroft's editing is truly masterful for its presentation on all the stories and tension as it rings true to Altman's work. Sound mixer Drew Kunin and sound editor Eliza Paley also does great work on the sound where the whole films sounds like it's done exactly in a theater. The sound of the film help captures the atmosphere as well as the music that is playing in the background on some scenes while the music comes out fully.

Finally, there's the music of the film which is the heart of the movie and the radio program. With a group of musicians who all played on the radio program including Robin and Linda Williams, Jearlyn Steele, and Keiller himself, all the actors do perform and sing the songs that in that film. In many ways, the music is true to the program's spirit as it leans more towards traditional country music, jingles, and traditional pop. Many of the film’s song performances are wonderful while several of them indeed standout with some altered lyrics done by Keiller. Songs like Lindsay Lohan's Frankie & Johnny, the Bad Jokes song by Dusty & Lefty, and a wonderful country ballad by the Johnson Sisters are amazing to hear. Even the final song in the film, Red River Valley brings a wealth of emotions whether its sadness and joy, it captures the spirit of the radio program as it becomes one of the best film soundtracks of the year.

The film's cast which includes such regulars of the radio program like Robin & Linda Williams, Jearlyn Steele, Tom Keith, bandleader Richard A. Dworsky, and Prudence Johnson are all wonderful, notably Tom Keith whose sound effects are hilarious. Smaller performances like Marylouise Burke as the Lunch Lady, Sue Scott as makeup lady Donna, Tim Russell as Al, and L.Q. Jones as Chuck are all notable in their roles as they bring the sadness of the fading radio show while L.Q. Jones gives a great performance of a country song on the stage. Lindsay Lohan gives a wonderful performance as a jaded youth who learns about what joy the radio program brings a she manages to give a great rendition of Frankie & Johnny as Lohan proves to be a very good actress despite her other film choices. Maya Rudolph is very funny as the pregnant Molly who is trying to keep things organized while dealing with Guy Noir's paranoid suspicion.

Tommy Lee Jones is also excellent as the cynical Axeman who feels that times are changing and acts very still while watching its final broadcast while not being aware of what the radio program means to people. Jones does a very good job in representing someone who thinks he can take away things only to realize that its spirit will never be gone. Kevin Kline gives one of his funniest performances as Guy Noir which shows Kline's mastery in physical and reactionary comedy. Kline manages to bring a nice, noir-like approach to dialogue in some scenes while his comedic scenes are pure gold which owes more to the style of Charlie Chaplin. Virginia Madsen is also amazing as the angelic Dangerous Woman who brings a chilling presence as she reminisces her joy of the program and what led to her own death as Madsen brings an old-school, entrancing quality reminiscent of 1940s acting. Garrison Keiller is also great for playing himself as he often reveals his own brand of comedy while bringing charm to his real self that is often enjoyable about Keiller.

Woody Harrelson and John C. Reilly are truly the funniest duo of film as Dusty & Lefty with their not-so-intelligent personalities and off-putting comments. Their performances truly brings the right kind of humor that aren't for everyone, notably the Bad Jokes song which features some really funny bad jokes. Harrelson is wonderful for his own charming personality while the often great character actor Reilly is great for his own comedic timing, including the time to fart as the guy should be in every movie. Meryl Streep and Lily Tomlin are amazing in their role as Yolanda and Rhonda Johnson. With Streep doing the more showy role and Tomlin as the more comedic performance, both women do great work in their own individual roles as Streep does a great Midwestern accent as Tomlin says some funny things in the film. When they perform on stage, both women are surprising in their own performances as a ballad they sing shows the range of their voices as its proof that these two ladies can sing.

While the film isn't anywhere as movies like Nashville or Short Cuts, A Prairie Home Companion is still an amazing and exuberant film from the great Robert Altman. Thanks to a great cast, a great crew, great music, and the work of Garrison Keiller, A Prairie Home Companion does belong in the list of films that Altman has made that people can enjoy. While the film may not bring more people into the radio show, at least he makes them aware of what kind of program the show is. For this, Altman succeeds in capturing the spirit of what is A Prairie Home Companion as he bows out with style. If anyone is a fan or new to his work, A Prairie Home Companion is a true testament to the spirit and talents of Robert Altman.

Robert Altman Films: (The Delinquents) - (The James Dean Story) - Countdown (1968 film) - (That Cold Day in the Park) - M.A.S.H. - Brewster McCloud - McCabe & Mrs. Miller - (Images) - The Long Goodbye - Thieves Like Us - California Split - Nashville - Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson - 3 Women - (A Wedding) - (Quintet) - (A Perfect Couple) - (HealtH) - Popeye - (Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean) - (Streamers) - (Secret Honor) - (O.C. & Stiggs) - Fool for Love - (Beyond Therapy) - (Aria-Les Boreades) - (Tanner '88) - (Vincent & Theo) - The Player - Short Cuts - Pret-A-Porter - (Kansas City) - (The Gingerbread Man) - Cookie's Fortune - Dr. T & the Women - Gosford Park - The Company - (Tanner on Tanner)

© thevoid99 2011