Review of Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974) by Stuart K — 18 Apr 2010

Sam Peckinpah made some of the most violent, savage films of the 1960's and 1970's, but he always had to make comprimises to apease the Hollywood studios. With Bring Me The Head of Alfredo Garcia, he didn't have to.

He had complete creative freedom and final cut, meaning he went out to make the film he wanted to make. It's a very savage and bleak film, but it's very engaging. Set in Mexico, it has a rich and powerful man known as El Jefe (Emilio Fernandez), discovering his daughter was made pregnant by the titular Alfredo Garcia.

El Jefe sends his two American henchmen Sappensly (Robert Webber) and Quill (Gig Young) out to find Garcia, and they come across American pianist Bennie (Warren Oates), who admits he's heard of Garcia, and Bennie's girlfriend Elita (Isela Vega), admits she cheated on Bennie with Garcia, and he died in a drunken incident.

So Bennie is sent by Sappensly and Quill to get the head before someone else does. It's a film which owes alot to The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, with it's themes of greed and madness. It's a very bleak and uncomprimising film, especially with it's violence and treatment of women.

It's easy to see why Hollywood wouldn't let Peckinpah have his way after this one, but now, it's up there with The Wild Bunch (1969) and Straw Dogs (1971) as Peckinpah's best.