It Feels Like Times Have Changed

The legend of Pat Garrett and his notorious outlaw friend-turned-enemy Billy The Kid was a story that "Bloody" Sam Peckinpah had wanted to film a long time. In fact, in his TV writing days in 1957, he had written a screenplay adaptation of Charles Neider's book "The Authentic Life Of Hendry Jones", loosely based on that legend. The film wound up being made as ONE EYED JACKS by its star Marlon Brando, but Peckinpah's script was all but discarded (he wasn't the only victim of Brando in this deck; the director was to have been no less than Stanley Kubrick, but Brando took over and, in Peckinpah's words, "screwed it up").

Peckinpah got another shot at the legend in mid-1972, this time from a script by Rudolph Wurlitzer, and it appeared, as a result of his smash hit THE GETAWAY, that he would be able to create a definitive film along the lines of THE WILD BUNCH. Sadly, however, the penny-wise, pound-foolish bigwigs at MGM yanked the film out of his hands, and the result was a chopped up, disjointed film where the drama was overshadowed by bloody shootouts. Thankfully, a version as close as possible to Peckinpah's final cut is on video, and that is the film being reviewed here.

Framed by the death of Garrett at the hands of the so-called "Santa Fe Ring", the film stars James Coburn as Garrett, who is forced to tell his old friend (Kris Kristofferson) to clear out of the New Mexico territory. Kristofferson loudly proclaims that his friend has sold out:

Billy: How does it feel?
Garrett: It feels like times have changed.
Billy: Times, maybe. Not me.

Thus, the stage is set for one of the greatest of all Greek tragedies, this one a distinctly American one. Even after Kristofferson escapes from the Lincoln County jail, killing two of Coburn's deputies (Matt Clark, R.G. Armstrong), Coburn doesn't relish the thought of having to go after him, especially not with Chisum (Barry Sullivan) and the other big ranchers breathing down his neck. It becomes a classic case of a felon not wanting to be caught being chased by a lawman who doesn't really want to get him. Many of their respective friends are gunned down by the other, including Sheriff Baker (Slim Pickens). The final showdown happens right back at where the film began--at Fort Sumner.

Less violent than THE WILD BUNCH, and more cynical in tone than anything Peckinpah had done up to that time, PAT GARRETT is marked by two great performances by Coburn and Kristofferson in the title roles, as well as a cameo role by Bob Dylan, who also does the appropriate and sparse acoustic score. Other cameo roles are supplied by big names such as Jason Robards, Jack Elam, Harry Dean Stanton, Matt Clark, Richard Jaeckel, and Katy Jurado. And as is typical of Peckinpah, he fills out the rest of the cast with his Usual Suspects: L.Q. Jones, John Chandler, Jorge Russek, Emilio Fernandez, and Dub Taylor.

The burnished tone of the film is due to the fine cinematography by British cameraman John Coquillon, who provided that same look to Peckinpah's excellent 1971 psychological horror film STRAW DOGS; and the film itself was shot under extremely difficult conditions (which included bouts with influenza) during the winter of 1972-73 in Durango, Mexico.

Choosing to moderate the violent montages of his past movies, Peckinpah created a bleak but appropriate elegy for the Old West, and commented on how the West not only became corrupted, but how corrupted America had become after the Vietnam debacle. PAT GARRETT AND BILLY THE KID was his last film in the Western genre, and it is one of the greatest ever made. It is essential viewing for those who appreciate sagebrush sagas, though its 'R' rating for nudity, language, and violence requires some parental discretion.