Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (1973)

Just what I expected

Best movie ever!

Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Set in 1880s New Mexico this film tells the story of Sheriff Pat Garrett and his hunt for his old friend, the outlaw William H. Bonney... aka 'Billy the Kid'. Early on Pat catches up with Billy and arrests him but he isn't in custody for long as he escapes from the jail in the town of Lincoln, killing two deputies in the process. Billy reunites with friends and head off. Garrett is soon looking for him again and it is only a matter of time before the two will meet again... before then though many other people will die.As one might expect from Sam Peckinpah there are some bloody moments; most notably when Billy guns down a deputy with a shotgun loaded with dimes. Still by today's standards the blood shed is fairly mild. The plot is fairly simple without twists and turns; that suits the subject matter though. Neither of the two protagonists are particularly sympathetic; both are quick on the draw and aren't too bothered by killing people... in fact nobody seems bothered by the violent deaths; children watch as men are gunned down in the street. James Coburn impresses as Garrett and Kris Kristofferson is solid, if a little old, as Billy the Kid. The rest of the cast, which includes many familiar faces is pretty good; even singer Bob Dylan, who also provided the film's music, puts in a good turn as a man who calls himself 'Alias'. Overall I'd certainly recommend this to people who like their westerns gritty with morally ambiguous characters rather than obvious heroes and villains.

According to this movie, all everyone ever did in the Wild West was drink, shoot, kill, whore around, sleep, eat, ride and repeat. I have no doubt that things were tough and rough but this had too much emphasis on sex and killing. I did like the dialog as it sounded believable and true to the West. Billy the Kid was hot grease and settled all differences of opinion with his shootin irons. He wasn't bad per se just quick on the draw. Back then, a mans reputation preceded him and Billy became known for killing more than anything else. He finally went along with it all and of course it cost him his life. The rule is simple. If you live by the gun you die by it and it can come at anytime especially when you least expect it. That's why Mexico was so popular to escape to. You could break the law in the states and then escape to Mexico where no one cared who you were or what you done. The movie could have been one of the greats similar to the Magnificent Seven. However there was infighting and arguing with the studio and of course money issues due to cost over runs. The dust and the drinking done in this movie is true to life as well as one other factor I always look for in a Western i.e. if there is horse dung in the streets. In the high majority of Westerns, there is none which is not true to life but to the movie screen. In this movie, lo and behold, there be horse poop! Well done. Lots of well known faces in this flick that provide a good supporting cast and it is always a pleasure to see James Coburn work. Good movie to eat a beef stew and corn tortillas while watching, perhaps some jerky and tasty drink. BTW...they do plenty drinking in this movie. I also like to mention that I like the Director's work here none other than Sam Peckinpah who unfortunately drank himself into oblivion. Enjoy

Sam Peckinpah had many demons and encountered many battles during his artistic life but his work, survives. What an exceptionally gifted man he was.I watched PAT GARRETT AND BILLY THE KID again tonight. Despite disagreements with young author Rudy Wurlitzer (who turned into one of the best writers around) and the usual, obnoxious movie studio heads, Peckinpah's mastery shines thru.What a beautiful film PAT GARRETT is and James Coburn is smashing as the lawman (and friend) who hunts down Billy the Kid (Kris Kristofferson). The cast is legendary - Jason Robards, Emilio Fernandez, Katy Jurado, Slim Pickens, among numerous other veterans. The soundtrack, by Bob Dylan, is among the finest ever put on film.Peckinpah's eye, choreography, sense of tempo, are both poetic and exhilarating. Is it possible that such a maverick actually worked in Hollywood at one time? Wurlitzer, who had disagreements with Peckinpah over the script, nonetheless wrote a beautiful novel, SLOW FADE, about a legendary director of westerns coming to grips with his sorrows in the twilight of his life. Many believe the novel was inspired by his working relationship with Peckinpah.

From director Sam Peckinpah (The Wild Bunch, Straw Dogs), before seeing this film I saw the famous duo of the title played by Emilio Esteves and Patrick Wayne in The Young Guns, I was looking forward to this 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die book recommended film. Basically it is 1881 in New Mexico, Pat Garrett (James Coburn) has become a town sheriff, he was formerly the travelling companion of outlaw Billy The Kid (BAFTA nominated Kris Kristofferson), and now his duties are stopping the stealing of cattle. Specifically he wants to catch Billy, abandoning whatever personal experiences they went through together and sticking to the law and path of righteousness. Billy manages to escape any attempts at capture, so Pat arranges a posses to chase him through the territory and bring justice to the town, and after some get together moments and the individual character situations the action culminates in a final confrontation at Fort Summer. Also starring singer Bob Dylan as Alias, Jason Robards as Governor Wallace, Richard Jaeckel as Sheriff Kip McKinney, Katy Jurado as Mrs. Baker, Slim Pickens as Sheriff Baker, singer Rita Coolidge as Maria, Harry Dean Stanton as Luke, Charles Martin Smith as Bowdre, Bruce Dern as Deputy and Sam Peckinpah as Will. Coburn is great as the famous former criminal turned law abiding citizen and lawmaker, Kristofferson is also very good as the famous gunman at the frontier of the crimes, the story was a little tricky for me to understand at times, but I will be honest and say that I was mainly watching to see the blood in the various gun fights, and there was terrific music by Bob Dylan, including the song "Knockin' on Heaven's Door", which I recognised for being sampled by singer Gabrielle in her number one song "Rise", anyway, the acting was good, the action was good and the violence was good, it was a terrific western film. It was nominated the BAFTA for the Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music for Bob Dylan. Very good!