Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974)

An American barroom pianist and his prostitute girlfriend go on a road trip through the Mexican underworld to collect a $1 million bounty on the head of a dead gigolo.

Director:

Sam Peckinpah

Writers:

Gordon T. Dawson (screenplay) (as Gordon Dawson), Sam Peckinpah (screenplay)

Stars:

Warren Oates, Isela Vega, Robert Webber

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Warren Oates	...	Bennie
Isela Vega	...	Elita
Robert Webber	...	Sappensly
Gig Young	...	Quill
Helmut Dantine	...	Max
Emilio Fernández	...	El Jefe (as Emilio Fernandez)
Kris Kristofferson	...	Biker
Chano Urueta	...	Manchot, the bartender
Donnie Fritts	...	John (as Donny Fritts)
Jorge Russek	...	Cueto
Chalo González	...	Chalo (as Chalo Gonzalez)
Don Levy	...	Frank
Enrique Lucero	...	Esteban
Janine Maldonado	...	Theresa
Tamara Garina	...	Grandmother Moreno

Storyline

A family scandal causes a wealthy and powerful Mexican rancher to make the pronouncement--'Bring me the head of Alfredo Garcia!' Two of the bounty-hunters thus dispatched encounter a local piano-player in their hunt for information. The piano-player does a little investigating on his own and finds out that his girlfriend knows of Garcia's death and last resting place. Thinking that he can make some easy money and gain financial security for he and his (now) fiancée, they set off on this goal. Of course, this quest only brings him untold misery, in the form of trademark Peckinpah violence.

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Plot Keywords:

character name in title | piano player | death | bounty hunter | neo noir | 

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Taglines:

Why is his head worth one million dollars and the lives of 21 people?

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller | Western

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Mexico USA

Language:

English Spanish Latin

Release Date:

13 March 1975 (Mexico)

Also Known As:

Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia

Filming Locations:

Chalco, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico

Box Office

Budget:

$1,500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Optimus Films,Estudios Churubusco Azteca S.A.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

With the exception of a few key people, the crew was entirely Mexican. Sam Peckinpah hired director of photography Álex Phillips Jr., one of Mexico's premiere cameramen. They bonded over a dislike for wide-angle lenses, an admiration for zooms and multiple camera setups. Peckinpah told him, "I make very few takes, but I shoot a lot of film because I like to change angles. I shoot with editing in the back of my mind".

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Goofs

As Bennie crosses inside his apartment, alone, and talks to Alfredo's head, a crewman in black clothing is visible, ducking behind an adjacent transom. His arm reappears a second later, as Bennie reaches for a bottle in the pantry.

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Quotes

Bennie: Nobody loses all the time.

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Crazy Credits

There are only three credits at the beginning of the film: The production credit, the two stars, and the story/screenplay. Everything else is at the end, and the film's title is the very last credit.

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Connections

Referenced in Gilmore Girls: Welcome to the Dollhouse (2005)

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Soundtracks

J.F.
by Arturo Castro

User Reviews

Violent, Beautiful, Ugly, Haunting.

Watching this unforgettable near masterpiece for the first time it's impossible to understand why it isn't regarded as one of the greatest movies of the 70s - a decade that produced an astonishing amount of classics. How Maltin can dismiss it with the throwaway comment "sub-par bloodbath" defies belief! Almost everything about this movie is perfect, but the cornerstone is Warren Oates performance, perhaps his greatest. Rarely do you see such a completely engrossing, believable portrayal of a man who has lost EVERYTHING, who knows he cannot win, but also knows that he must keep going to the very end. Once seen, never forgotten may seem like a trite comment, but in this case it says it all. You will NEVER forget this movie!