3. Ballad of Bloody Sam

G!

The first film by 'Bloody' Sam
Peckinpah I gained exposure
To was his most famous: The
Wild Bunch, a western so
Ahead of its time, even if you
Watch it today, you'll still
Think it's better than the
Action movies released just
Last week. In a way, Sam's
Tragically short career was
Defined by the way he helped
Revolutionize the depiction of
Violence on the movie screen,
And to go even further he might
As well take most of the credit
For it, because while Bonnie
And Clyde, Dirty Harry and
A Clockwork Orange were
Also watershed films in the
Portrayal of violence, only
Sam was bold enough to
Return to the subject again
And again. That is not to say
He glorified violence - which
Is an easy thing to do; he
Simply pointed out the
Necessity of violence,
Especially for the outcasts in
The cruel, deterministic place
He saw the world as, where
Survival is the greatest
Virtue. Outcasts are what
His characters are made of;
From his most pedestrian
Character study that is Junior
Bonner to his most sordid
Masterpiece that is Bring Me
The Head of Alfredo Garcia,
The movie's hero is always an
Individual who has been
Abandoned by society
Which has moved on without
Them; an individual who is
Fighting a losing battle and
Has no alternative but to
Continue swimming against
The strong current. Before
The maturation of his personal
Style which included freeze-
Frame titles, slow-motion
Action shots, and intense
Editing, Sam turned out two
Somewhat old-fashioned, and
Immensely enjoyable westerns:
Ride the High Country and
Major Dundee, where his
tendencies of on-location
authenticity and masculine-
Centered narratives already
Showed in surplus. Starting
With The Wild Bunch, every
Sam Peckinpah movie
Became a Sam Peckinpah
Movie, instantly recognizable
From the first titles frame, and
Endlessly controversial as
Some people made them out
To be, especially Straw Dogs,
Which I thought had a good
Point to prove about the
Nature of man, despite the
Pervasive sexual violence in
That picture, which made the
Point all the more valid. There's
Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, a
Mostly sedate revisionist western
Where plot takes a backseat to
Scenery, tone and atmosphere,
The Getaway, a purely commercial
Product crafted with Sam's
Artistry and still works, Cross of
Iron, the most madly devastating
War movie ever made, and
Three other late-career pictures
Not worth mentioning, as they
Were made after alcohol had
Drowned most of the artist
In the man. Perhaps Sam
had it coming; just the sound
Of his name: 'Peckinpah', evokes
In my imagination the image of
Some redneck Peckerwood,
Prone to violence and sadism
In a beer-stained jersey wielding
A short barrel shotgun and a
Cigar hanging off his mouth...
Or maybe that's just me. Ok, this
Monologue is getting weird, that's
It for the indelible, mad auteur
That is Bloody Sam Peckinpah.