Watch Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid For Free

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Blistering performances.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Finally Got The DVD Recently. Hadn't Seen The Film In Years But Enjoyed It Again After All These Years. I Am A Big Fan Of Sam Peckinpah Got Most Of His DVD'S. Also A Big Fan Of Westerns Especially On Stories Of Pat Garrett, Billy The Kid and John Poe. Plus Cracking Soundtrack By Bob Dylan Love His Songs Also

Sam Peckinpah's "Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid" has much in common with "One-Eyed Jacks"; Marlon Brando's take on the Billy the Kid story, which was based on Charles Neider's novel, "The Authentic Death of Hendry Jones". Although Neider's book, ridiculously renamed "Guns Up" in a Pan paperback edition (the one I read), is a fictionalised account, it is an unforgettable masterpiece, invoking a unique sense of nostalgia for the Old West. Peckinpah loved the book and was inspired to write what turned out to be the first screenplay for "One-Eyed Jacks", later made by Marlin Brando who changed just about every element. Although Peckinpah dropped out of that project early, when he finally got a chance to make his version, he moved a long way from Neider's book. In fact, the script moved closer to the historical record. However, although Neider's book is not credited, it's obvious that Peckinpah tried to capture its spirit. The story tells how Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid once rode together, but eventually found themselves on opposites sides of the law. When Billy brutally escapes from jail, in one of the film's best sequences, it sets in motion a ruthless hunt by Pat Garrett, which can only have one ending.Peckinpah actually frames the film with the death of Garrett. This sequence along with others have the trademark Peckinpah slow motion deaths with arching blood spray - techniques that had already become a little hackneyed even by 1973.However, the central problem was in Peckinpah's casting of Kris Kristofferson. Not so much, as many reviewers have suggested, that at 37 he was too old to play Billy the Kid, but more because he just didn't project the necessary sense of danger; he comes across as too affable, too laid back. Brando in "One Eyed Jacks" gave a stunning performance as a man with a dangerous edge, and although it might seem unfair to compare the two, that lack of threat is a key weakness in Peckinpah's film.Bob Dylan is in the movie and also provides a couple of very nasally songs on the soundtrack; his presence isn't just anachronistic, it's bizarre.On the other hand, James Coburn is just about perfect as Pat Garrett, and the rest of the cast is probably the greatest coming together of iconic stars from western movies ever - Chill Wills, Slim Pickens, Jack Elam, LQ Jones, Katy Jurado, Gene Evans, Paul Fix and others - one of the joys of the film is in spotting them.Apparently the film was badly cut by the studio. Despite that, and some strange decisions by Peckinpah himself, the film is nothing less than interesting. But because of all the tampering, like Brando's film, it misses out on greatness. As for Neider's book, it still awaits the right filmmaker to give it the definitive treatment on the screen.

It should be stated up front that we will never get to see the version of PAT GARRETT AND BILLY THE KID that Sam Peckinpah intended for the public; the movie was rushed into release after a truly torturous production in Durango, Mexico, highlighted by a battle between the stubborn director and MGM head James Aubrey. The studio was only interested in a product to pump up the cash flow as it prepared to build The MGM Grand in Las Vegas and thought a Peckinpah western-his biggest since THE WILD BUNCH-would be a huge hit, During the production, Peckinpah, having a distinctive and abiding dislike of the studio brass, often proved to be his own worst enemy when he made no attempt to humor MGM and had the editing taken away from him and his crew. The result, released to theaters in the summer of 1973, was a butchered work that only sporadically hinted at the greatness that could have been. Now thanks to the miracle of DVD, we have two restored versions: the 1988 TCM version and the 2005 Special Edition. Both of them contain scenes slashed out of the original and give a fuller glimpse of the epic Peckinpah wanted and intended to make.These restored "Director's Cuts" make some things very clear:Peckinpah wanted PAT GARRETT AND BILLY THE KID to be another look at his favorite theme of the passing of the Old West and the price that was paid for leaving it behind. The day of the open range is passing for New Mexico, statehood beckons and the veterans of the range wars, Garrett, the Kid and the men that road with them, have to go according to the powers that be (the Santa Fe ring). The older Garrett decides to throw in with the Ring, becomes Sheriff of Lincoln County and agrees to do the dirty work of getting rid of the Kid and the others. But Garrett clearly does not reckon with the guilt that comes with the job and the blood that will ultimately stain his hands. But Peckinpah rewrote much of Rudy Wurlitzer's original script to work in a very contemporary political angle; looking at it another way, PAT GARRETT AND BILLY THE KID is all about the clash between the counter culture of the late 60's and the Establishment. The casting of songwriter and singer Kris Kristofferson only underscored this theme, along with the addition of Bob Dylan to the cast while contributing to one of the all time great soundtracks. The Santa Fe ring that buys off James Coburn's Garrett could easily stand for Richard Nixon and all the reactionary millionaires that poured tons of money into his campaign. In this way Peckinpah was quit ahead of the curve in that when he touched up Wurlitzer's script, the crimes of Watergate were still being covered up successfully. Either way, the movie becomes a sad dirge for not only the passing of the Old West, but for what was best about America itself-a land where a man could be free to live as he pleased. The script, even with Peckinpah's contributions, lacks coherence and is mainly a collection of great set piece scenes, some of them dominated by great veterans of westerns, both of the screen and TV. For no other reason alone, PAT GARRETT AND BILLY THE KID is worth seeing for the cast, which includes: Jason Robards, Jack Elam, Slim PIckens, L.Q. Jones, Katy Jurado, Richard Jaeckel, Paul Fix, Dub Taylor, Elisha Cook Jr., Barry Sullivan, Luke Askew, Harry Dean Stanton, Chill Wills, Richard Bright, Emilio Fernandez, Matt Clark, and R.G. Armstrong. Where was Strother Martin? The shootout with Jones's Black Harris, which culminates with Pickens's death, is one of the most unique things in any western-watch for the expressions on Jurado's face as Pickens faces his last moments. Simply unforgettable; so too is Wills's obscene monologue and Billy's escape from the jail in Lincoln, where he has a final confrontation with Armstrong's fanatical deputy Bob Ollinger. There are also many others like Garrett's confrontation with the man on the raft that are rightly legendary. All of it livened up with some of the most memorable dialogue in any western.It is also clear that Peckinpah's considerable talent was starting to wane by the time he made this film-there is some clunky symbolism, such as Billy taking an open armed Christ on the cross stance when arrested by Garrett, and other scenes (Paco's death) are just badly written in a way that the Peckinpah at the top of his game would never have filmed.Still, PAT GARRETT AND BILLY THE KID is the great master's last western, a genre he loved dearly, and if it is not perfect (and non Peckinpah fans can find many faults), he still managed to say what he meant and get what he wanted up on the screen. It really does hold up.

Skip it – This is a filthy, shameless, porno western with more sex scenes than gunfights. James Coburn stars as Pat Garrett, and isn't half bad as a cowboy. But director Sam Peckinpah butchered this classic story by trying to push the envelope with nudity and violence every chance he gets. The only reason, and I mean the only reason, I would see this subpar western is to see Bob Dylan as Billy the Kid's knife-wielding side kick. Dylan isn't a good actor by any stretch of the imagination, but it's just such a strange choice for a role that it's worth a look. Dylan also does all the music in the movie. Consensus: Dylan should stick with what he does best. The music is great, albeit a little out of place for a western. 3 out of 5 action rating