Sam Peckinpah has always been defined as the ultimate maverick when it comes to film directors.
He had his own vision and style for his films and frequently clashed with his producers and the heads of the studios. Warner Brothers has released four of his greatest films, The Wild Bunch, The Ballad of Cable Hogue, Ride the High Country, and Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, here in a glorious 6 disc box set that is the best of 2006 so far.
He was given the nickname “Bloody Sam” after the success of The Wild Bunch and its operadic violence. The nickname was offensive to him because it took his films, a mix of action and morality tales, and reduced them to violent pieces of celluloid. While violence was frequently a statement in his films, it was one of several dozen.
That nickname would negatively stereotype him and his work for the rest of his career. His unique style, however, would influence generations of film directors including Walter Hill, a Peckinpah collaborator from the Getaway, Tony Scott, Quentin Tarantino, Brian DePalma, Martin Scorsese, Francis Coppola, and John Woo just to name a few.
Peckinpah was a contradiction in many ways, much like his characters in his films. He was known to be a sensitive and poetic man who hid that side from the world. The side he did show and that added to his out-of-control reputation was that of a relentless, hard-living, self-destructive alcoholic who later developed a cocaine habit that essentially killed him before his time.
Peckinpah (left) with Holden on the set of The Wild Bunch
Each of the films in the set contain a detailed and fascinating commentary with Peckinpah Biographers/Documentarians Nick Redman, who co-produced the 1996 Oscar nominated documentary The Wild Bunch: An Album in Montage, Paul Seydor, who authored Peckinpah: The Western Films: A Reconsideration and wrote,directed, and co-produced the aforementioned documentary on The Wild Bunch, Garner Simmons, author of Peckinpah: A Portrait in Montage, and David Weddle, author of If They Move Kill Em: The Life and Times of Sam Peckinpah. These men know the films inside and out from every angle and every interpretation and listening to them is a joy.
The films also contain trailer galleries of Peckinpah films as well as vintage/new documentaries. Each of the films contained here is a classic in its own right and, in the case of Hogue, High Country, and Pat Garrett, have rarely been seen. They all involve one’s morality and ultimate fate in the world and will affect each viewer differently. As rich and as colorful they are with story, dialogue, actors, and cinematography; they demand multiple viewings. This set can be found on Amazon in the low $50 range and is one helluva investment.
Sam Peckinpah’s The Legendary Westerns Collection is now available at Amazon . As of yet, there is not a release date for the set in the UK. Visit the DVD’s database for more information. Each title in the set is also available separately.
Peckinpah at work
The Wild Bunch - The Original Director's Cut (Two-Disc Special Edition) is now available at Amazon and AmazonUK . Visit the DVD’s database for more information.
Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (Two Disc Special Edition) is now available at Amazon . It is available for pre-order at AmazonUK for an August 7th release. Visit the DVD’s database for more information.
Ride the High Country is now available at Amazon . As of yet, there is not a release date for the UK. Visit the DVD’s database for more information.
The Ballad of Cable Hogue is now available at Amazon . As of yet, there is not a release date for the UK. Visit the DVD’s database for more information.
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