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Post by pimpinainteasy on Jan 16, 2019 3:08:28 GMT
one of the bleakest, sleaziest and funniest action films (western?) of all time.
benny and elita must be the most forlorn spiritually wounded couple, without any kind of future, to ever graze the big screen. the great isela vega acts and drinks warren oates under the table. i cannot think of a more haunting face than hers. it is the face of a whore and the face of a loyal wife who would stand by her imbecilic man, no matter what, rolled into one. she could match her man in acedia and alcoholism. in a way, she is every alcoholic man's dream girlfriend who may not exist.
the film has one of the toughest beginnings. a girl sitting by a swampy river is summoned by her father. the mexican patriarch announces a "fatwah" on the head of the man who impregnated his daughter. the first scenes are awash with a fundamentalist christianity - the meek women's heads covered with shawls and everyone wearing black or dark colors.
is there a grimier film than this? i cannot think of another film in which the arid mexican landscapes are shot so beautifully. the motels, bars, restaurants, cars and people are all covered with dirt. it is one beautiful hell which benny longs to escape from. or does he?
the film is a bit weak in the middle. maybe because isela vega dies. but benny's conversation with the head beside him are amusing. i loved the way PECKINPAH inserts a few seconds of slow motion in between normal action. this film is a great achievement. it is violent, heart breaking and pornographic.
this film must come with a disclaimer at the beginning - not recommended to alcoholics.
(9/10)
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Post by OldAussie on Jan 16, 2019 6:18:45 GMT
2/10 from me but I can see why so many people love it.
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Post by Primemovermithrax Pejorative on Jan 16, 2019 7:57:33 GMT
It certainly had some memorable moments.
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Post by hitchcockthelegend on Jan 16, 2019 12:27:10 GMT
I think it's tops.
One man and his quest for meaning turns into a Peckinpah classic.
El Jefe is outraged to find that his daughter has fallen pregnant to a man who has upped and gone, after learning the identity of the rascal (Alfredo Garcia), he offers one million dollars to anyone who can bring him the head of the Lothario running man. On the trail are hit men Quill & Sappensly, Bennie & his prostitute girlfriend Elita, and some other Mexican bandit types, all of them are on a collision course that will bring far more than they all bargained for.
This was the one film where director Sam Peckinpah felt he had the most control, the one where we apparently get his own cut and not some chopped up piece of work from interfering executives. Viewing it now many years after its release it stands up well as a testament to the work of a great director. On the surface it looks trashy, we have homosexual hit men, grave robbing, potential rape, murders abound, prostitution, lower than the low characters, in short the film is awash with Peckinpah traits. Yet it would be a disservice to even think this film isn't rich in thematic texture, for the journey that Bennie that our main protagonist takes is one of meaning. He is a loser, but we find him on this quest to find not only fortune, but respect and love. It's a bloody trail for sure, but it has much depth and no little Peckinpah humour to push the film to the bloody but triumphant finale. Warren Oates is rewarded by Peckinpah for years of sterling work for him by getting the lead role of Bennie, and he grasps it with both hands to turn in a wonderful performance that splits sadness and vibrancy with deft of ease.
Bring Me The Head Of Alfredo Garcia has a harsh quality about it, be it the violence, or be it the sadness of the characters, but what isn't in doubt to me is that it's harshness is cloaked in Peckinpah splendour. 9/10
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Post by wmcclain on Jan 16, 2019 12:51:37 GMT
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Post by hitchcockthelegend on Jan 16, 2019 12:53:56 GMT
2/10 from me but I can see why so many people love it. Booooooooooo!
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Post by hitchcockthelegend on Jan 16, 2019 13:29:48 GMT
Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974) This is another film widely hated at the time, a box office failure, but which is now a "masterpiece". How does that happen? The lesson: disregard film critics and reviewers. Particularly when they move with the herd. (Yes! Disregard me too! Although I haven't heard from the herd for awhile...) I think a lot of it really is that the advent of time has seen it reappraised by new critics and film fans new to Peckinpah's work. It has to be remembered that for the most part he couldn't buy good publicity back then, a lot of his work shunted out the way and he himself - the way he was - was often under review. Plus of course the material often was too choice for certain cinema goers of the era.
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Post by vegalyra on Jan 16, 2019 16:56:05 GMT
Yeah, great film. One of my favorites of Peckinpah's.
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Post by teleadm on Jan 16, 2019 18:14:18 GMT
I have it on DVD and I have watched it, but I'm not sure what to make of it. I guess it needs more than one viewing to really get the grip of it.
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Post by pimpinainteasy on Jan 17, 2019 5:00:51 GMT
Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974)This is another film widely hated at the time, a box office failure, but which is now a "masterpiece". How does that happen? The lesson: disregard film critics and reviewers. Particularly when they move with the herd. (Yes! Disregard me too! Although I haven't heard from the herd for awhile...) I think a lot of it really is that the advent of time has seen it reappraised by new critics and film fans new to Peckinpah's work. It has to be remembered that for the most part he couldn't buy good publicity back then, a lot of his work shunted out the way and he himself - the way he was - was often under review. Plus of course the material often was too choice for certain cinema goers of the era. so PECKINPAH was a real hell raiser?
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Post by wmcclain on Jan 17, 2019 12:39:10 GMT
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biker1
Junior Member
@biker1
Posts: 1,804
Likes: 743
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Post by biker1 on Jan 17, 2019 12:56:03 GMT
Gave it another shot last year. Again, I just got bored with it. I much prefer the road of junior bonner for Peckinpah.
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Post by hitchcockthelegend on Jan 17, 2019 14:55:30 GMT
Thanks chap, saved me doing the link 
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Post by wmcclain on Jan 17, 2019 14:57:46 GMT
Gave it another shot last year. Again, I just got bored with it. I much prefer the road of junior bonner for Peckinpah. 
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Post by jeffersoncody on Jan 17, 2019 21:21:41 GMT
one of the bleakest, sleaziest and funniest action films (western?) of all time.
benny and elita must be the most forlorn spiritually wounded couple, without any kind of future, to ever graze the big screen. the great isela vega acts and drinks warren oates under the table. i cannot think of a more haunting face than hers. it is the face of a whore and the face of a loyal wife who would stand by her imbecilic man, no matter what, rolled into one. she could match her man in acedia and alcoholism. in a way, she is every alcoholic man's dream girlfriend who may not exist.
the film has one of the toughest beginnings. a girl sitting by a swampy river is summoned by her father. the mexican patriarch announces a "fatwah" on the head of the man who impregnated his daughter. the first scenes are awash with a fundamentalist christianity - the meek women's heads covered with shawls and everyone wearing black or dark colors.
is there a grimier film than this? i cannot think of another film in which the arid mexican landscapes are shot so beautifully. the motels, bars, restaurants, cars and people are all covered with dirt. it is one beautiful hell which benny longs to escape from. or does he?
the film is a bit weak in the middle. maybe because isela vega dies. but benny's conversation with the head beside him are amusing. i loved the way PECKINPAH inserts a few seconds of slow motion in between normal action. this film is a great achievement. it is violent, heart breaking and pornographic.
this film must come with a disclaimer at the beginning - not recommended to alcoholics.
(9/10)
It surely is a great, one-of-a-kind film Pimpin', and I love it with a passion deep and true. Peckinpah was a poet and a visionary.
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Post by Captain Spencer on Jan 18, 2019 1:38:40 GMT
Grim, offbeat, sleazy, dark, and it is indeed a one-of-a-kind Peckinpah movie. A film that I've warmed up to in recent years.
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