Movie thoughts and fiction updates.
#13 in my ranking of Sam Peckinpah's filmography. Having trashed his reputation across all of Hollywood, Sam Peckinpah could only return to Martin Baum and United Artists, this time on a much shorter leash than with Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia, and work with a story based on an unremarkable novel (Monkey in… Continue reading The Killer Elite
#1 in my ranking of Sam Peckinpah's filmography. What an exploitative, trashy title, and what a sad, beautiful film behind it. Working with independent producer Martin Baum and his connections at United Artists, Sam Peckinpah was able to find funding for the script he had written with Gordon Dawson. Leaving Hollywood behind and filming in… Continue reading Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia
#2 in my ranking of Sam Peckinpah's filmography. Roughly mangled in editing by then president of MGM, James Aubrey, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid was dismissed at the time as a lesser work of a filmmaker whose best days were well behind him. Sam Peckinpah's newest western was supposed to be another The Wild… Continue reading Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid
#10 in my ranking of Sam Peckinpah's filmography. This is Sam Peckinpah completely selling out to Steve McQueen in order to find some kind of financial success, and it works. It's not deep. It's not moving. It is pretty consistently entertaining, though. This is a Steve McQueen vehicle first and foremost, and Peckinpah brings the… Continue reading The Getaway
#7 in my ranking of Sam Peckinpah's filmography. With filming on Straw Dogs wrapped and before he'd finished editing it (his English editing team had to be moved to America, apparently), Sam Peckinpah found the funding for him to film a script he found and loved by Jeb Rosebrook about an aging rodeo performer and… Continue reading Junior Bonner
David Vining, Author 