Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973)

Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid may be the most beautiful and ambitious film that Sam Peckinpah ever made. The time is 1881. Powerful interests want New Mexico tamed for their brand of progress, and Sheriff Pat Garrett (James Coburn) is commissioned to rid the territory of his old gunfighting comrades. He serves fair notice to William Bonney--Billy the Kid (Kris Kristofferson)--and his Fort Sumter cronies, but it's not in their nature, or his, to go quietly. Peckinpah's theme, more than ever, is the closing of the frontier and the nature of the loss that that entails. But this time his vision takes him beyond genre convention, beyond history and legend, to the bleeding heart of myth--and surely of himself.

This is one strange and original movie. In 1973 most American reviewers responded by panning it and deriding its director, whom they saw as having betrayed the promise of Ride the High Country, been swept up in his own cult of violence, and become incoherent as a storyteller. Coherence wasn't helped by MGM's cutting at least a quarter-of-an-hour out of the finished film and removing a bitter, retrospective prelude. Subsequent releases have restored a lot of material, and now there's more widespread appreciation of the depth and power of Peckinpah's achievement.

The cast, teeming with fine character actors, is extraordinary, making the gallery of frontier denizens vivid and resonant. Coburn's Garrett, a man who comes to loathe himself for his mission yet cannot abandon it, is the high-water mark of the actor's career. L.Q. Jones, Luke Askew, Harry Dean Stanton, Jack Elam, and Richard Bright create indelible moments, and Slim Pickens becomes the center of an unforgettably moving scene. The presence of Kristofferson (just starting out as an actor) and Bob Dylan (whose enigmatic role is nearly wordless) nudges us toward recognizing Old West outlawry as an early form of rock stardom--flesh-and-blood gods for a primitive society to feed on. --Richard T. Jameson Amazon.com essential video

Sound Problem

I am giving this movie 5 stars, because the 1988 Turner version is one of the greatest movies ever made. This is disc 2. The new re-recut version has some new merits, but overall isn't as good as the Turner version. The problem with this disc, which is huge, is that there is a flaw on the transfer. During the last few minutes, the sound is totally whacked. The Dylan song used just before, and during the end credits is all askew and warped. I bought this disc and noticed it. Then I rented it and the same problem was there. I don't know when, or if, this problem will ever be addressed or fixed. And I can't seem to find anyone else who mentions it in posts. I'd love feedback on this. The movie is a masterpiece. One of the greatest westerns ever with Once Upon a Time in the West, The Searchers, Rio Bravo -- but this transfer has this huge flaw. It's like if the Mona Lisa had a smashed tomato in the top right corner. Or someone spray painted their gang symbols on it. All this emotion, and drama is built up and at the end the flow is cut and lost. Anyone have any thoughts on this? (The old VHS had perfect sound [but was pan-and-scan, not letterbox], the very old laserdisc [if anyone remembers these] was letterboxed and perfect sound - but laserdiscs are like 8-tracks now.) June 22, 2008

Pat and Billy

A great western, one of the best. They don't make them like this anymore.
Beautiful photography and Dylan's music made it even better.
Many thanks to Amazon for super service. June 14, 2008

Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (Two-Disc Special Edition)

I have always felt that Sam Peckinpah was one of the most under rated directors of the great American Western, and of other genres as well. (i.e. Straw Dogs). Superbly shot and well acted (except for, maybe, Bob Dylan - Of course he can't sing either, but is always worth watching and listening to, if you can decipher the mumbling). May 21, 2008

A Mishmash

Take a Billy the Kid script and throw James Colburn together with Kris Kristofferson and Bob Dylan and you get an incongruous film unworthy of Sam Peckinpah.

I still gave it three stars because it has a few moments and the movie has value as a seventies cultural piece.
The Shut Mouth Society
The Shopkeeper March 17, 2008

Pat Garrett and Billy The Kid

A true classic with a great Bob Dylan playing a character pretty much like the real Bob Dylan... enigmatic and terse with a phrase. My sons thought it dragged a bit but I was pretty pleased with the stars and with the plot. Not a perfect piece but certainly one worth watching and owning. November 25, 2007

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