tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post5900286339774349383..comments2024-01-11T05:02:32.321-05:00Comments on Goodfella's Movie Blog: #10: Sam PeckinpahDavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07134196370913749544noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-4298753012461455502011-11-17T10:19:41.085-05:002011-11-17T10:19:41.085-05:00Mon classement:
1°) La horde sauvage.
2°) Les chi...Mon classement:<br /><br />1°) La horde sauvage.<br />2°) Les chiens de paille.<br />3°) Croix de fer.<br />4°) Guet-apens.<br />5°) Coups de feu dans la Sierra.<br />6°) Apportez-moi la tête d'Alfredo Garcia.<br />7°) Osterman Week-end.<br />8°) Un nommé Cable Hogue.Tietie007http://tietiecinema.over-blog.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-1756826943167860022010-11-15T08:08:05.909-05:002010-11-15T08:08:05.909-05:00I always believed that Sam was an honest filmmaker...I always believed that Sam was an honest filmmaker. In Hawks' or almost any other film before, death was quick. Like ticker tape at the bottom of the news cast. Just cannon fodder. I believed Sam realized that violence and death should never be glorified nor have no second thought. That's someone's life being taken away, regardless if it's a Nazi or a heroic Cowboy, violence is violence...and it's ugly. Doing it any other way, and criticizing him for it, speaks volumes on the value of life in society.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-90605054970826588172010-07-12T12:16:04.857-04:002010-07-12T12:16:04.857-04:00I've tried thrice to post this, but my Interne...I've tried thrice to post this, but my Internet connection kept getting all weird on me. Anyway, I've only watched one Peckinpah, The Gateway, and I loved it, definitively makes me want to check out more. Oh, and is it just me or the opening sequence for that movie is just perfect?<br /><br />And as for Noon Wine, well, I do know where to get it, but it involves an obscure torrent-tracker and some more-or-less legal downloading (I say more-or-less, since the film doesn't have any official release, which is "more" legal, or at least less immoral, than downloading one who has one).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-77627507580724730992010-07-12T09:22:31.268-04:002010-07-12T09:22:31.268-04:00Love Peckinpah and he certainly was a true origina...Love Peckinpah and he certainly was a true original and helped redefine the western. I also appreciate his uncompromising worldview which certainly defined his unique take on cinema. My faves:<br /><br />1. Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia<br />2. The Wild Bunch<br />3. The Getaway<br />4. Junior Bonner<br />5. Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid<br />6. The Killer Elite<br />7. Straw Dogs<br />8. The Ballad of Cable Hogue <br />9. Major Dundee<br />10. Cross of IronAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08164105442273577128noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-44808822100297698292010-07-11T21:25:12.630-04:002010-07-11T21:25:12.630-04:00Once again, I messed up the dates of this series. ...Once again, I messed up the dates of this series. Ha! Well, this is a bit of a surprise, but there's little question that this is a major American director, even though I have never been a fan of THE WILD BUNCH. Yet, so many do revere this film.<br /><br />1 Straw Dogs<br />2 Ride the High Country<br />3 Cross of Iron<br />4 Battle of Cable Hogue<br />5 Major Dundee<br />6 The Getaway<br />7 Pat Garrett and Billy the kid<br />8 Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia<br />9 Junior Bonner<br />10 The Wild Bunch<br />11 The GetawaySam Julianonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-37083788396377716202010-07-11T20:24:32.139-04:002010-07-11T20:24:32.139-04:00Doniphon -
"...there have been times in my ...Doniphon - <br /><br />"...there have been times in my life when the only things I've had are Peckinpah and Malick."<br /><br />I've been there too (recently) with my movie watching, although I sense that you are saying that this in a much more expansive way than me. But I understand and appreciate the sentiment and can understand how someone could turn to those two masters. I have watched Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia twice and still can't make complete sense of it in my own mind. Sometimes I think I love it, others I think I just kind of like it. But, I am always attracted to movies that give that kind of reaction, that call me to return to them. So that is actually a compliment coming from me.Davehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07134196370913749544noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-65184988539758361272010-07-11T18:45:04.426-04:002010-07-11T18:45:04.426-04:00My ten favorites:
Bring Me The Head Of Alfredo Ga...My ten favorites:<br /><br />Bring Me The Head Of Alfredo Garcia<br />The Wild Bunch<br />Pat Garrett & Billy The Kid<br />Ride The High Country<br />Cross Of Iron<br />Straw Dogs<br />The Ballad Of Cable Hogue<br />Junior Bonner<br />The Getaway<br />Major Dundee<br /><br />Bring Me The Head Of Alfredo Garcia is the best movie Warren Oates, my favorite actor, ever starred in, and it may be his best performance too. Along with Days Of Heaven it's one of my favorite American films of the seventies. Love so much of Peckinpah's stuff though; I've said it before and I'll say it again, there have been times in my life when the only things I've had are Peckinpah and Malick.Doniphonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02407443845368110678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-27301930985035404372010-07-11T16:48:18.897-04:002010-07-11T16:48:18.897-04:00John - Yes, a clear progression can be seen from t...John - Yes, a clear progression can be seen from the work of Mann's "psychological westerns" of the 50s straight through to Peckinpah, no doubt.Davehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07134196370913749544noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-45921765251428436962010-07-11T16:47:13.401-04:002010-07-11T16:47:13.401-04:00Samuel - Good point and one that I agree with. In...Samuel - Good point and one that I agree with. Interesting rankings as, excluding Straw Dogs, our top 9 consist of the same films... those top 10 Peckinpahs are probably universal, with the others falling in behind.<br /><br />Maurizio - I have been fascinated with Billy the Kid since I was a kid and have read the book that you just finished. It is definitely a fun read. The best book I have ever read on the Kid is Frederick Nolan's "The West of Billy the Kid." Kristofferson's age never really bothered me in the film, mainly because the age difference between Pat and Billy was at least maintained to where it felt right (even though in real life, they were less than ten years apart). I'll disagree on The Wild Bunch being overrated, but as I say, it is one that took me a little while to warm to.<br /><br />JAFB - Awesome... you can drop me a line at dave.hicks03 @ yahoo.com<br /><br />C.K. - I haven't seen The Osterman Weekend, but it sounds like I'm not missing a whole lot. I don't know that Peckinpah would have done much of meaning in the 80s, as from what I gleaned from the Peckinpah bio that I finished last week, is that he was very much played out. Drugs, fights with against producers and the system, drugs again, alcohol... they had all really taken their toll. I love the work of Fielding as well, but I'll have to disagree on Dylan's music being wrong for the film. I love that soundtrack. Perhaps a melding of the two could have been accomplished?<br /><br />Gerald - Straw Dogs is one that I still grappled with after multiple viewings, as is one of his other ultra-violent films Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia. The fact that it is not so easy to simply cast aside as yet more senseless violence I think attests to the skill and interest with which Peckinpah manages to frame it. You can use "auteur," I just sometimes feel like it gets a bit overused or that I'm not completely understanding its meaning. The way you frame the issue though, it definitely works better for me as a term when considering a director's career in totality rather than on a film by film basis.Davehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07134196370913749544noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-22068905198077036662010-07-11T14:18:47.352-04:002010-07-11T14:18:47.352-04:00Dave:
I dislike, nor can I handle, excessive viol...Dave:<br /><br />I dislike, nor can I handle, excessive violence in film. But for some reason – perhaps plot inherent justification – it does not bother me in Peckinpah. I first saw The Wild Bunch in a large New York theatre. I was shattered by its power and I still am. But it was a very different film (not to say experience) on that immense screen than in my living room. I remember admiring and discussing Straw Dogs, but it has been ages since I have seen it. And Ride the High Country is often with us. I have a high regard for that swan song of two of our western giants. I have not seen Peckinpah’s other films in recent enough times to venture a listing.<br /><br />A thought on “revisiting … after having delved deeper into a director’s other work.” Given your hestitancy to use the French word I will not repeat it. But I have to attribute much of my proclivity to look at the totality of a director’s work to Andrew Sarris. In so doing, revisits and reassessments became the norm. By the 1960s, I estimate that I had seen at least 5000 films (granted most as a young person). Yet I lacked a method of organizing those I had remembered. Sarris suggested a way to categorize: directors. And from that, also came a guide to assessing. Look at the totality of the director’s work, particularly recurring themes, and determine his place in the hierarchy of your personal tastes. (I think this series of yours has roots in that soil.) Thank you.<br /><br />Best <br /><br />GeraldGordon Pashahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18177101489742741815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-9973413312845895972010-07-11T08:34:35.978-04:002010-07-11T08:34:35.978-04:00One of the tragedies of Peckinpah's dissipatio...One of the tragedies of Peckinpah's dissipation and early death is that we'll never know how he would've fared in the blockbuster-minded and synthetic 1980s. Would he have become a champion of indie filmmakers and focused on more character-driven stories? Actually, every single Peckinpah movie is a character-driven story--every durned one of 'em--so I guess I answered my own question. I'd love to have been able to see Peckinpah's perspective on film after the Vietnam era had finally been put behind us and see what kind of stories he might've told...I tend to dismiss his final effort, The Osterman Weekend.<br /><br />I hold Junior Bonner in the same high esteem as Mr. Wilson does; brilliant film, though not unlike two other 1972 rodeo-themed films: <i>The Honkers</i> and <i>CW Coop</i>.<br /><br />Another aspect of Sam's work I absolutely love are the films scored by composer Jerry Fielding, whose music has been famously described as "a man in a green suit walking in a forest." It's said that that refers to the music's inconspicuousness but I also interpret that as Fielding's ability to bring out the human element in its surroundings, as Fielding's music excelled at highlighting a character's psychology and inner feelings. Pat Garrett, flawed gem that it is, needed Fielding's music, not Bob Dylan folk songs.Abe Lucashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13991534345391655980noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-21150912078765560822010-07-11T06:20:30.369-04:002010-07-11T06:20:30.369-04:00My ranking is based on my memory as I have not see...My ranking is based on my memory as I have not seen many of these films in years that is except for the top two. I have Straw Dogs, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, the Getaway, and Major Dundee in my pile of films to be rewatched. I think Samuel hits it right on the nose by saying that Peckinpah follows in the tradition of the "adult" westerns of Mann and Co. As much as I like John Ford and Hawks, their films are fairy tale versions of the west...not that there is anything wrong with that, "The Searchers" remains for me a masterpiece and arguably the greatest western ever made.<br /> <br />The Wild Bunch<br />The Ballad of Cable Hogue<br />Straw Dogs<br />Ride The High Country<br />Pat Garrett and Bill the Kid<br />Major Dundee<br />The Getaway<br />Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia<br />The Deadly CompanionsJohnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01808503055317962289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-91400616459613822232010-07-11T04:56:55.560-04:002010-07-11T04:56:55.560-04:00Wow, you seem to be exhausting the whole filmograp...Wow, you seem to be exhausting the whole filmography off late. <br /><br />And give me your email id. I'll tell you where you can get Noon Wine.Just Another Film Buffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17880550053788464732noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-47611494892934891442010-07-11T01:24:55.255-04:002010-07-11T01:24:55.255-04:00Nice selection Dave. Peckinpah is such a great dir...Nice selection Dave. Peckinpah is such a great director. I'm 100% with you on Pat Garrett and Billy The Kid. I recently finished reading the biography by Michael Wallis called "Billy The Kid The Endless Ride". Its amazing how little they actually know about his life. If you take out all the unsubstantiated stories of his exploits there is very little that is factual and concrete. <br /><br />1. Pat Garrett And Billy The Kid<br />2. Bring Me The Head Of Alfredo Garcia<br />3. The Ballad Of Cable Hogue<br />4. Ride The High Country<br />5. Straw Dogs<br />6. The Wild Bunch (overrated)<br />7. The Getaway<br />8. Junior Bonner (have only seen parts)<br /><br />The top two are favorites of mine. Kristofferson makes me think the movie should of been retitled Pat Garrett and Billy The Middle Aged Man. A small flaw in a great film. Which cut do you like better the 88 or 2005 version? Peckinpah was such a contradiction. He was a walking, talking violent loving hippie.....M.RocaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-25946644309376865942010-07-11T01:00:17.413-04:002010-07-11T01:00:17.413-04:00Dave, while I don't think as highly of Pat Gar...Dave, while I don't think as highly of Pat Garrett as you do I appreciate your high ranking of Peckinpah's work as a whole. He strikes me not so much as something new but as a continuation or culmination of the American "adult" western that Mann, Boetticher and others practised in the 1950s, with a more sensual appreciation of everyday life that served him well outside westerns. Here goes:<br /><br />1. The Wild Bunch<br />2. Ride the High Country<br />3. Junior Bonner<br />4. Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia<br />5. The Getaway<br />6. The Ballad of Cable Hogue<br />7. Cross of Iron<br />8. Major Dundee<br />9. Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid<br />10. The Killer Elite<br />11. Convoy<br /><br />I last saw Straw Dogs on TV back in the 80s, and I don't remember it well enough to rank it.Samuel Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00934870299522899944noreply@blogger.com