Sam Peckinpah's West: Legacy of a Hollywood Renegade (2004)

Spattered with blood and controversy, Sam Peckinpah's Westerns revolutionized their genre. SAM PECKINPAH'S WEST: LEGACY OF A HOLLYWOOD RENEGADE goes in search of the man behind these ... See full summary »

Director:

Tom Thurman

Writer:

Tom Marksbury

Stars:

Sam Peckinpah, Kris Kristofferson, Fern Lea Peter

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sam Peckinpah	...	Himself (archive footage)
Kris Kristofferson	...	Narrator / Himself
Fern Lea Peter	...	Herself
Harry Dean Stanton	...	Himself
Matthew Peckinpah	...	Himself
Billy Bob Thornton	...	Himself
L.Q. Jones	...	Himself
Garner Simmons	...	Himself
David Thomson	...	Himself
David Weddle	...	Himself
Garth Craven	...	Himself
Paul Seydor	...	Himself
Elvis Mitchell	...	Himself
Michael Madsen	...	Himself
Roger Ebert	...	Himself

Storyline

Spattered with blood and controversy, Sam Peckinpah's Westerns revolutionized their genre. SAM PECKINPAH'S WEST: LEGACY OF A HOLLYWOOD RENEGADE goes in search of the man behind these legendary films. Through a poignant array of film clips and rare interviews, the documentary reveals a tortured artist whose genius and demons changed the Western forever. Interviewees include actor/director Billy Bob Thornton, Benicio Del Toro, Paul Schrader, film critic Roger Ebert, actors who worked with Peckinpah such as Harry Dean Stanton, Stella Stevens, L.Q. Jones and others. The personal side of Peckinpah will feature interviews with family members, sister Fern Lee, son Mathew Peckinpah, plus exclusive home movies and photos.

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Plot Keywords:

street shootout | filmmaker | archive footage | character name in title

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Genres:

Documentary

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Certificate:

TV-14

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 July 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

Hollywoodin lainsuojattoman perintö

Company Credits

Production Co:

FBN Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Elvis Mitchell: There is so much of Peckinpah that is finally about failure - and it's hard to watch... it's hard to kind of acknowledge that a man can make epics about failure.

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Connections

Features Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974)

User Reviews

Heavy on the "Cable Hogue" clips and anecdotes, otherwise a fine documentary...

The westerns of filmmaker Sam Peckinpah (1925-1984) are discussed by movie critics, relatives, friends, former employees and actors. As directed by Tom Thurman for the Encore channel, and narrated by "Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid" co-star Kris Kristofferson (in his grizzled, early morning whiskey voice), this special never quite gets at what was eating at Peckinpah for the twenty years he spent behind the camera. He had his biggest commercial success with his most brutal film, 1969's "The Wild Bunch", though he preferred to quickly put that picture behind him and focus on more elegiac stories (such as "The Ballad of Cable Hogue" from 1970). Footage from a rare "Cable Hogue" documentary is used to give us a glimpse of Peckinpah in action, but this rather backfires (mostly it's footage of star Stella Stevens in various seductive poses). Peckinpah was dismayed that when he removed himself from violent on-screen action (such as with "Junior Bonner"), viewers abandoned him. He couldn't find success telling straight stories, and so eventually went back to supplying the bloodshed audiences seemed to want but critics crucified him for. Yet Peckinpah understood this helpless dichotomy better than anyone...whether or not he was able to work out his demons on film is a matter only the artist could ever answer.