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Thread: Sam Peckinpah

  1. #1
    oranjuicejones Guest

    Sam Peckinpah

    "If they move", hisses stern-eyed William Holden, "kill 'em". So begins The Wild Bunch (1969), Sam Peckinpah's bloody, high-body-count eulogy to the mythologized Old West. "Pouring new wine into the bottle of the Western, Peckinpah explodes the bottle", observed critic Pauline Kael. That exploding bottle also christened the director with the nickname that would forever define his films and reputation: "Bloody Sam".

    David Samuel Peckinpah was born and grew up in Fresno, California, when it was still a sleepy town. Young Sam was a loner. The child's greatest influence was grandfather Denver Church Peckinpah, a judge, congressman and one of the best shots in the Sierra Nevadas. Sam served in the Marine Corps during World War II but - to his disappointment - did not see combat. He married Marie Selland in Las Vegas in 1947 and enrolled as a theater graduate student at the University of Southern California the next year.

    After drifting through several jobs--including a stint as a floor-sweeper on "The Liberace Show" (1952)--he got a gofer job with director Don Siegel(Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)--in which Sam had a small part--who took a shine to him and used him on several of his pictures. Peckinpah eventually became a scriptwriter for such TV programs as "Gunsmoke" (1955) and "The Rifleman" (1958) and was the creator of the critically acclaimed western series "The Westerner" (1960).

    In 1961, he directed his first film, the nondescript western The Deadly Companions (1961). The next year, things got better, however. His four-star Ride the High Country (1962) featured the final screen appearances of Randolph Scott and Joel McCrea plus an aging-gunfighter storyline that anticipated The Wild Bunch (1969). Then came major problems with Major Dundee (1965), the film that brought to light his volatile reputation. During hot, on-location work in Mexico, Peckinpah's abrasive manner, exacerbated by booze and marijuana, provoked usually even-keeled Charlton Heston to threaten to run him through with a cavalry saber. Post-production conflicts led to a bitter and ultimately losing battle with the film's producer and Columbia Pictures over the final cut and, as a result, the disjointed effort fizzled at the box office. This contributed to Peckinpah's losing out the job of directing The Cincinnati Kid (1965) with Steve McQueen to Norman Jewison.

    His second marriage now failing, Peckinpah did not begin his next project for two years, but it was the one for which he will always be remembered. The success of The Wild Bunch (1969) rejuvenated his career and propelled him through highs and lows in the 1970s. He would provoke more rancor over violence with Straw Dogs (1971), introduced Ali MacGraw to Steve McQueen in The Getaway (1972), oversee a muttering Bob Dylan in Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (1973) and direct from good (The Ballad of Cable Hogue (1970)) to bad (Convoy (1978)) to worse (Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974)). His last solid effort was the Eastern Front WW II anti-epic Cross of Iron (1977) (Maximilian Schell, James Coburn), bringing the picture in successfully despite severe financial problems,

    Peckinpah lived life to its fullest. He drank hard and abused drugs, producers and collaborators. Being considered for the Stephen King-scripted "The Shotgunners", he died from heart failure in Mexico at age 59. At a gathering after wards, Coburn remembered the director as a man "who pushed me over the abyss and then jumped in after me. He took me on some great adventures".

    Whoever wrote hsi bio hated "Bring me the Head of Alfredo Garcia" which is a great flick. Cable Hogue, The Wild Bunch, Pat Garrett, and Straw Dogs are all classics.

  2. #2
    Jaxxx Guest
    I loved all his westerns, still show them on TCM, and sometimes just show Peckinpah, all day. There's a new box set of his movies out

  3. #3
    Warmed Over Guest
    I just bought Cross of Iron on DVD last week. I remembered seeing it on TV when I was, like, 10--which is kind of amazing given how violent the movie is. I think the last thing he directed was the Julian Lennon video "Too Late for Goodbyes." Alfredo Garcia was great; Convoy, now that was just awful. Never base a movie on a country song about C.B. radio. And then consume massive amounts of cocaine and spend all day in a helicopter, not directing.

  4. #4
    Jaxxx Guest
    God, yes Convoy, what a waste

  5. #5
    Join Date
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    breaker 1-9... breaker 1-9...Pig pen, this is rubber duck...You got your ears on?

  6. #6
    Warmed Over Guest
    This is Rubber Duck, what's your 20, good buddy? Watch out for the smokies on Route 20. I can't believe you remembered their names.

  7. #7
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    Peckinpah's next film, Major Dundee (1965), would be the first of the director's many unfortunate experiences with the major studios that financed his productions. Based on a screenplay by Harry Julian Fink, the film was to star Charlton Heston. Peckinpah was hired as director after Heston viewed producer Jerry Bresler's private screening of Ride the High Country. Heston liked the movie and said to Bresler, "Let's use him." The sprawling screenplay told the story of Union cavalry officer Major Dundee who directs a New Mexico outpost of Confederate prisoners. Peckinpah's first big-budget film had a large cast including, Heston, Richard Harris, James Coburn, Senta Berger, Jim Hutton, Ben Johnson, Warren Oates, R.G. Armstrong and L.Q. Jones. Filming began without a completed screenplay, and Peckinpah chose several remote locations in Mexico causing the film's budget to skyrocket. Intimidated by the size and scope of the project, Peckinpah reportedly drank alcohol heavily each night after shooting. He also fired at least 15 crew members. At one point, Peckinpah's mean streak and abusiveness towards the actors so enraged Heston that the normally even-tempered star threatened to run the director through with his cavalry saber if he did not show more courtesy to the cast. By the time filming ended, 15 days over schedule and $1.5 million over budget, Peckinpah and producer Bresler were no longer on speaking terms. The movie, detailing themes and sequences Peckinpah would master later in his career, was taken away from him and substantially reedited. Major Dundee performed poorly at the box office and was thrashed by critics (though its standing has improved over the years). Peckinpah would hold for the rest of his life that his original version of Major Dundee was among his best films, but his reputation was severely damaged.

    Peckinpah was next signed to direct The Cincinnati Kid, a gambling drama about a young prodigy who takes on an old master during a big New Orleans poker match. Before filming started, producer Martin Ransohoff began to receive phone calls about the Major Dundee ordeal and was told Peckinpah was impossible to work with. In addition, Peckinpah decided to shoot in black and white and was hoping to transform the screenplay into a gritty saga about a kid surviving the tough streets of the Great Depression. After four days of filming, which reportedly included some nude scenes, Ransohoff disliked the rushes and immediately fired him. Eventually directed by Norman Jewison and starring Steve McQueen, the film went on to become a 1965 hit. Peckinpah found himself banished from the film industry for several years.


  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Warmed Over View Post
    This is Rubber Duck, what's your 20, good buddy? Watch out for the smokies on Route 20. I can't believe you remembered their names.
    Breaker breaker, we got a kojak with a kodak out here at mile marker 171. 10-4, good buddy! that was one of my favorite movies when I was a kid. And who can forget the song!

  9. #9
    Jack-O-Lantern Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by Serendipity09 View Post
    Peckinpah's next film, Major Dundee (1965), would be the first of the director's many unfortunate experiences with the major studios that financed his productions. Based on a screenplay by Harry Julian Fink, the film was to star Charlton Heston. Peckinpah was hired as director after Heston viewed producer Jerry Bresler's private screening of Ride the High Country. Heston liked the movie and said to Bresler, "Let's use him." The sprawling screenplay told the story of Union cavalry officer Major Dundee who directs a New Mexico outpost of Confederate prisoners. Peckinpah's first big-budget film had a large cast including, Heston, Richard Harris, James Coburn, Senta Berger, Jim Hutton, Ben Johnson, Warren Oates, R.G. Armstrong and L.Q. Jones. Filming began without a completed screenplay, and Peckinpah chose several remote locations in Mexico causing the film's budget to skyrocket. Intimidated by the size and scope of the project, Peckinpah reportedly drank alcohol heavily each night after shooting. He also fired at least 15 crew members. At one point, Peckinpah's mean streak and abusiveness towards the actors so enraged Heston that the normally even-tempered star threatened to run the director through with his cavalry saber if he did not show more courtesy to the cast. By the time filming ended, 15 days over schedule and $1.5 million over budget, Peckinpah and producer Bresler were no longer on speaking terms. The movie, detailing themes and sequences Peckinpah would master later in his career, was taken away from him and substantially reedited. Major Dundee performed poorly at the box office and was thrashed by critics (though its standing has improved over the years). Peckinpah would hold for the rest of his life that his original version of Major Dundee was among his best films, but his reputation was severely damaged.
    The extended version of Major Dundee (as close to Peckinpah's vision as we're ever likely to see) is now available, and it's pretty good. It's no "Wild Bunch" or "Ride the High Country," but it is highly watchable. Heston's really good in it...

    http://www.amazon.com/Dundee-Extende...0205593&sr=8-1

  10. #10
    disco Guest
    I went through the peckinpaugh period then got bored

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