I made a post on the old board about good ole Sam but nobody was interested...

Anyway, awesome awesome director. Peckinpah was a true original. The Wild Bunch is one of the greatest action films ever, probably the greatest western ever. Straw Dogs is amazingly brutal, so is Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia. Pat Garret and Billy the Kid, Ride the High Country, and The Ballad of Cable Hogue are all good films. Bob Dylan was actually a character named "Alias" in Pat Garret. Cool stuff.

Yes, Peckinpah directed some westerns, but his westerns were about dispelling myth and legend. They were a reaction against the right-wing God/guns/"the bible is the way" approach by many films of that genre in the 40s and 50s. Peckinpah took an anti-war stance against the war in Vietnam and sought to make movies so violent that they shocked people out of the media's desensitization. Of course, this didn't entirely work.

But his films are still great though

And I highly recommend them....
















and the man himself:

Thanks for this thread, what an amazing post! I can only reiterate what you've said, because you've said it all so perfectly. He was awesome beyond words as a director, and really set a standard for the way action scenes should be shot and delivered. I can't disagree that "The Wild Bunch" was the greatest Western ever. In fact, I believe you're right. And certainly, it laid some very important groundwork for films not only in its own genre, but also in genres that extended to Hong Kong cinema. I found that some of the shootouts in John Woo's "The Killer" resembled those in "The Wild Bunch." The style was so neat and interesting, because Peckinpah was really intricate with his action.

The man deserves more credit than he's received, and he's certainly a memorable, important filmmaker. I second those recommendations. Thank you, Glorified Version!

No prob. I didn't expect to get any responses, but I'm glad somebody here is familiar.

The Wild Bunch is the real deal. The filmmaking behind the movie is truly remarkable. The opening and final scenes of the film really defined how action scenes can be shot and intercut with slow motion effects. It makes mince meat out of anything in Scarface or any of Schwarzeneggars films. Really amazing stuff.

My favorite Peckinpah film happens to be Pat Garrett just because it was almost tragically Shakesperean in the way it portrayed Garrett's fall into deprativity after he accepts the offer to kill Billy. According to a film teacher of mine, Paul Seydor, a Peckinpah biographer, had been hired re-edit Pat Garrett along with some other guy....Peckinpah's original version had been badly butchered by the corporate scumbags at the studio, so it only focused on the shootouts rather than the dialogue which was essential in conveying Peckinpah's message about the actions of the characters. So expect a DVD release of this film along with Ride the High Country (also great) sometime in 2005. Seriously!

Anyway, great story telling. Straw Dogs and Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia are also excellent films, and very disturbing.

The Wild bunch is CLASSIC!

Just saw Straw Dogs....wow

I hope the WIld Bunch remake doesn't happen.

i really need to see more peckinpah

wow this thread is old

I think my favorite Peckinpah film is now Straw Dogs, hands down. One of the best films of the 70s.

what kind of name is that, peckinpah? dude's name ain't no peckinpah. i don't know waht he's trying to do with that shit. he couldn't survive in the real WILD WEST. the texas triangle. the suns. the lakers, nuggets. sam peckinpah wouldnt hold anything down on the basketball court.

peckinpah.

I just wrote a glowing review of Straw Dogs over on the What are you watching thread. I have Bring Me The Head sitting on my table right now. I can't wait. I just started with netflix this past month, and all I'm doing is loading it up with Peckinpah and Eastwood stuff.

First time I ever even heard of Peckinpah was in a Snot song called "Deadfall" pretty rad song. Check it out if you never heard it.

Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia ends spectacularly, but the middle "romance" acts are pretty slow

is "viva fuckin' france man" or some variation a line from a peckinpah film?

I never got into The Wild Bunch, and I have no idea why. There are some problems with Straw Dogs, but it is a fascinating movie that I thoroughly enjoy. I liked Al's review of it in the other thread. It made me want to check it out again. Those are the only two Peckinpah I've seen so far, but The Ballad of Cable Hogue is, ironically enough, being sent to me by Netflix right now. If I like that one, I'll check out Alfredo Garcia and some others. If not, I'll put off Peckinpah for a later date.

Finished The Wild Bunch the other day. I loved it. Revolutionary of course when it comes to violence in cinema, especially westerns.

Straw Dogs. Another good one. Too bad some jackass director is going to remake it.

just finished up with Alfredo. Good flick. More action sprinkled throughout the movie, but honestly I think I might like Straw Dogs better. I've just never seen anything like it. Alfredo had some great fucking shootouts though. Much like Hoffman (though he was a bigger pansy in the beginning) I just did not invision this guy Benny going on to be such a badass. And a damn good shot to boot.

I love how The Wild Bunch captures the ghosts that haunt the Old West, often in a voice of amazement and awe.

The film is pretty bloody by 60s standards and caused a scandal, but coupled with the fact that Peckinpah was unapologetic in his depiction of violence, we can really see how brilliant of a director he really was. Great ending sequence.