Highly contentious Sam Peckinpah film - an important one in his career because it was the last time he made what was arguably a masterpiece. Walter Hill said the film was a turning point in the director's career because it marked the time he went downhill - although Hill admits the film has many fans. What is certain is that the movie has claims for greatness that none of Peckinpah's later films do (at the moment that it - you never know with critical revisionism).
The film had a legendarily troubled production and post-production: some problems caused by Peckinpah, others by MGM. This version I watched was supposedly a director's cut. I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would; didn't think it was a masterpiece but it was a very good film centering around the last few days of Billy the Kid (Kris Kristoffersen).
Billy is a good looking kid who is determined to live life like the old "free" ways; the film seems sympathetic to this point of view at times, even Garrett (James Coburn) defends him, and some of the henchmen of Chisum, the rich land owner bent on civilising the country are shown to be horrible violent rapists - but also there's no doubt Billy is a gun-toting psycho who kills at whim and is better off dead. (He reminded me at times of the violent leader of a hippy cult). Kristofferson is scary and charismatic in the role; Coburn solid in support.
Strongest feature of the film is Bob Dylan's evocative score, esp "Knocking on Heaven's Door". When this is used the film is terrific, such as Slim Picken's death. I also enjoyed the dialogue, and the general feel of the film - it has been described as "elegiac" and that certainly suits. Many other cowboy faces appear, including Jack Elam and Chill Wills.
True to Peckinpah style there are two scenes where people slap hookers around, cowboys sleep with hookers, and in one scene Coburn is in bed which what looks like five hookers. There's also lots of whiskey. Still I can't help feeling some fans of the film are overly inlfuenced by the fact that it was cut by the studio - film fans love the pain of the lost masterpiece, butchered by unthinking accountants, sending a career of a genius into spiral (eg The Magnificent Ambersons). I saw this on VHS and kept wishing it was on DVD so I could see what had been cut by the studio and what had been cut by Peckinpah.
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