I know, I know, it's been a while. The problem was I suffered from burnout a while back coincidentally while watching today's very film and despite encouragement for those who read this blog too many things got in the way.
Let me break it down quickly for you, I first started writing the review back in September of last year. However with only having one eye on the screen (damn modern technology and the ability to instant-message at your fingertips...) I drifted off and in my opinion, didn't give the movie a fair enough shake.
In the interim, I watched a whole batch of Netflix movies, recent cinema releases, played video games, read comics and graphic novels, added to my music library and month upon month, the poor blog got left by the wayside. There's far too much content to go back and review (an attempt to do a Brucie bonus review was attempted and abandoned on Christmas Eve last year also). But I can try to get back on the horse with Too Many DVDs.
As I write this, it's April 2020 and well, as you know, COVID-19's done a number on us. As a result, I certainly have free time on my hands so there's little excuse not to delve back into the library again. So 'Pat Garett And Billy The Kid' take 2 it is then.
Yes, I'm aware 'Pat Garrett And Billy The Kid' doesn't start with a 'W' but it is part of the Sam Peckinpah Western Collection I'm working my way through which so happened to contain 'The Wild Bunch', our last reviewed film that DID start with a 'W'. Look, it makes sense in my world.
Interestingly enough, I can't seem to remember all that much about today's film so let's get to it and revisit and review:
PAT GARRETT AND BILLY THE KID (1973 dir. Sam Peckinpah)
The Kid had subtly disguised himself to look like a country music singer...
Why I watched it/Why I liked it:
This fell under the umbrella of Westerns you really oughtta see, back when I was on my big western kick, or should that be trail?
Regardless some kind soul (and this rarely occurred during my stay in CEX) had traded in a bunch of his westerns at the time giving me the ripe opportunity to procure them for myself and catch up with a bunch of classics.
I was familiar with Pat Garrett and Billy The Kid mainly due to its soundtrack from one of the film's co-stars Bob Dylan and to date, the only scene I can remember is the 'Knocking On Heaven's Door' scene.
But I vaguely remember enjoying its stark bleakness and overall tone of the movie. It somehow had enough of an impact on me that I clearly wanted to keep the movie thereafter and yet while I must have only first watched it during my living with Ross and Jo days, I can hardly remember a bloody thing about it, which in a way is good, it gives me an opportunity to revisit the film with fresh eyes once again.
If I think it'll stay in the collection:
I'm sure I'm going to enjoy this all over again honestly. I have my frappé at the ready and might cue up a bit of One Foot In The Grave afterwards to wash away the bleakness afterwards. But hey, it's got my boys James Coburn and Kris Kristofferson in it and it's a Sam Peckinpah movie, all should be well, right? Right?
The review:
So I left the previous two sections from the first attempt of the blog post. Obviously as previously stated, the first time around, I had little patience for the film and found myself easily distracted throughout.
I'm pleased to say that I found the patience this time around and certainly found the film much more enjoyable. It's an interesting thought-provoking piece which explores the tropes of not only the western but also the law and who's really on the right side of it.
It's interesting to see James Coburn's, Pat Garrett, our sheriff, our lawman, clad entirely in black, a trope often reserved for the villain of the piece. We witness his obsession with bringing his one-time friend down, how he ropes in innocents ultimately bringing them to his doom and his once clean reputation as law abider and a family man brought down by adultery and greed.
Kristofferson's Billy The Kid, on the other hand, is beloved, killing only those who seek to bring him in but beloved by the locals wherever he goes, causing them no quarrel. It's the men who work for the land owner's who are portrayed as evil here with Pat Garrett roped in amongst them.
It is of course far from the truth, picking up any factual account of William H. Bonney will reveal that the man was quite the shit and it's surprising how he's sort of been recast as this western equivalent of Robin Hood. That being said both leads play their parts excellently and the whole thing ties together with that nice Bob Dylan soundtrack. His performance in it is far less memorable, throwing in the odd line here and there and nodding a lot.
There are of course some nice gunfights and some really solid character actor turns here too but the film noticeably starts running out of steam by act 3.
Billy the...ermm... Man. Proof that Kris Kristofferson should never be without facial hair.
It is slow. Lacking the pace of the previous Peckinpah film, 'The Wild Bunch', those without patience (like I was back in September) will find the movie lags a little. There are some gorgeous shots but this feels like a slow ambling Peckinpah. Much like one of his characters that have been gutshot, he staggers towards the finish line.
And dear god, the amount of breasts in this movie. Had there been another five minutes of breast shots, this film might actually be classified as pornography with a hint of western. Hey, I don't mind seeing a breast in a film but there's gratuitous and then there's this...
If you have the time, this can be a rewarding film but as I said, it isn't without its flaws and you need to be in the right frame of mind to enjoy it.
Should it stay or should it go?
It stays. For now. It's a bit difficult to throw it on the trade pile when it's part of a boxset. Removing it would leave a weird game in the box leaving it prone to get squashed. Ask me again in five years time and my answer might be different. As it stands it gets a respectable 7 out of 10 this time around.
And with that, the albatross around my neck for this review is done! Normal service can now be resumed, sadly with another Peckinpah film that I remember watching but can genuinely remember nothing about. This bodes well...
Until next time, but hopefully not as long as last time, I remain,
Matt Major.
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