Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid

Ol' Pat... Sheriff Pat Garrett. Sold out to the Santa Fe ring. How does it feel?

Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid is directed by Sam Peckinpah and written by Rudy Wurlitzer. It stars James Coburn, Kris Kristofferson, Bob Dylan, Slim Pickens, Katy Jurado, Chill Wills and Barry Sullivan. Music is scored by Bob Dylan and cinematography by John Coquillon.

One time they were friends, cohorts in crime, but now Pat Garrett is the law and his objective is to bring down Billy the Kid.

It seems to be an absolute when writing about a Sam Peckinpah film that it was plagued by studio interference. Pa...

_**Peckinpah’s lyrical (dull) Western with a great cast and Dylan’s music**_

In 1881 New Mexico, Pat Garrett (James Coburn) is now a lawman working for ranch barons who want Garrett to take out his former wild friend, Billy the Kid (Kris Kristofferson). Everything leads to the final showdown at Fort Sumner. Bob Dylan is on hand as a stranger who assists Billy while notable actors show up for bit parts, usually just to get shot to death (R.G. Armstrong, Matt Clark, L.Q. Jones, Slim Pickens, Jack Elam, Katy Jurado, Chill Wills, Jason Robards, Richard Jaeckel, etc.).

“Pat Garrett and ...

James Coburn has something of the Angel of Death to him in this rather pace-less but still quite enthralling story of these two men after they'd ceased being on the same side. His alter-ego here (Kris Kristofferson) is having some fun in New Mexico to the chagrin of some cattle ranchers and so they employ "Garrett" to come be their sheriff and settle things down. He warns his erstwhile buddy to skedaddle, but of course he doesn't and so a posse is formed to chase him out or track him down. With both men determined in their own way to never give in, a lethal denouement begins to look like it wi...