From January to May, we're bringing you a selection of the notoriously violent films of "Bloody Sam" aka Sam Peckipah – including THE WILD BUNCH, RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY, STRAW DOGS, PAT GARRETT AND BILLY THE KID, THE GETAWAY and BRING ME THE HEAD OF ALFREDO GARCIA.
A most controversial figure, fuelled by drugs and alcohol in a desperate attempt to keep his head above water, filmmaker "Bloody Sam" Peckinpah delivered some of the greatest western and neo-western films of all-time. Steeped in anti-war sentiments told through blood-soaked violence, hyper-critical views on masculinity gleaned through repulsive displays of misogyny, and an intuitive method of filmmaking that was almost improvisational, the films of Sam Peckinpah provoked the ire of studio bosses and influenced a generation of filmmakers.
With just fourteen films to his name, nearly half of them marred by studio interference, Sam Peckinpah passed away in 1984, at the age of 59. A lifetime of hard living caught up with the filmmaker, but he left behind a small treasure chest of cinematic gems.
From January to May, we'll be taking a look at seven of these gems in our BRING ME THE FILMS OF SAM PECKIPAH strand. These films include RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY, MAJOR DUNDEE, his western masterpiece THE WILD BUNCH, STRAW DOGS, THE GETAWAY, PAT GARRETT AND BILLY THE KID and closing with the utterly bizarre, bloody rampage of vengeance, BRING ME THE HEAD OF ALFREDO GARCIA.
Don't miss these provocative, blood-and-guts thrills on the big screen. They offer a unique alternative to the glory and grandeur summoned from the Westerns of the legendary John Ford. Instead, Sam Peckinpah's Wild West is that of loneliness, disappointment and corruption; told through the eyes of heroes at odds with the establishment, who lived by their own code of honour. Consider the films and characters of Sam Peckinpah a gritty road map to the modern action movie and hero.
132 mins
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