[10] In his defense, Peckinpah claimed that he was misquoted. Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia is a gritty classic that vibrates with explosive action and nail-biting tension. In Mexico City, a pair of business suit-clad, dispassionate hit men, Sappensly (Robert Webber) and Quill (Gig Young), enter a saloon and encounter Bennie (Warren Oates), a retired U.S. Army officer who makes a meager living as a piano player and bar manager. The demo of "Jerry Garcia" is available through guitarist George Tabb's website.[29]. Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia featured posts Sam Peckinpah. He also blames Elita's death on the bounty and intends to kill everyone involved. Was this review helpful to you? A young American and his English wife come to rural England and face increasingly vicious local harassment. Starring Warren Oates, Isela Vega, Robert Webber, Gig Young. Bennie confesses to Elita his plan to decapitate Garcia's corpse and sell the head for money. The image looks better than ever, with an improved sharpness that flatters the cinematography by Álex Phllips, Jr. (The Wrath of God, Sunburn).On one of the commentaries it is amusing to hear commentator Nick Redman … 18 of 21 people found this review helpful. They bonded over a dislike for wide-angle lenses, an admiration for zooms and multiple camera setups. In 1864, due to frequent Apache raids from Mexico into the U.S., a Union officer decides to illegally cross the border and destroy the Apache, using a mixed army of Union troops, Confederate POWs, civilian mercenaries, and scouts. Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia, for all its darkness, is the final reminder that Sam Peckinpah didn’t lose all the time. This FAQ is empty. The head of Alfredo Garcia is carried around in a bloodied bag for an extended amount of time. But what he doesn't realize is that his partner and old friend is plotting to double-cross him. And so, despite the slapdash execution of Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia, and the unremitting savagery of the production’s script, which had been in development since 1972, when “Bloody” Sam was still a hot commodity, Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia was the film – or one of the films – that Peckinpah truly wanted to make, and despite the almost universally hostile reception it received, he … She tersely urges Bennie to kill her father. Murphy, Arthur D. (August 7, 1974). Travis Woods. Bring Me The Head Of Alfredo Garcia Offers and Deals 2021 - 20% Off Sale & Coupons - by Envirogadget Team Bring Me The Head Of Alfredo Garcia Offers and Deals 2021 - 20% Off Sale & Coupons. It's got guts!. Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia Blu-ray | Arrow Films ... Arrow Films BRING ME THE HEAD OF ALFREDO GARCIA, released in 1974, is widely considered one of Packinpah’s lesser films, having been made during the period when his personal demons were starting to get the better of him. A woman is led away at gunpoint by a man who intends to rape her. 9 stars out of 10.In case you're interested in more underrated masterpieces, here's some of my favorites: imdb.com/list/ls070242495/. As Sappensly sorrowfully looks at Quill's corpse, Bennie asks: "Do I get paid?" One of the finest examples of this is his subversive 1974 classic Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia, which also contains a streak of modernity that most directors wouldn’t touch. Quill produces a sub-machine gun and murders most of the family, but is fatally shot by one of them. Bennie begins addressing the head as if Garcia were still alive, first blaming Alfredo for Elita's death and then conceding that both of them probably loved her equally. In the film Demolition Man (1993), the police officer played by Benjamin Bratt is called Alfredo Garcia in reference to the film. He spent a lot of time searching for the right bar that would be Bennie's workplace. En route, Bennie proposes, promising that their future will soon change, and she can retire from her cleaning job. Add the first question. "Violence intrudes". Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (Spanish: Tráiganme la cabeza de Alfredo García) is a 1974 Mexican-American neo-Western[4] film directed by Sam Peckinpah, co-written by Peckinpah and Gordon Dawson from a story by Peckinpah and Frank Kowalski, and starring Warren Oates and Isela Vega, with Robert Webber, Gig Young, Helmut Dantine, Emilio Fernández and Kris Kristofferson in supporting roles. Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. "[22] Michael Sragow of New York magazine called it "a catastrophe so huge that those who once ranked Peckinpah with Hemingway may now invoke Mickey Spillane". Critics exorciated it, audiences were indifferent and it was even given a place of honor in the popular seventies tome THE FIFTY WORST MOVIES OF ALL TIME (alongside LAST YEAR AT … Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? In the TV series House (Season four, episode eight), House issues the contest objective: to "bring me the thong of Lisa Cuddy". They find Garcia's grave, but when he opens the coffin, Bennie is struck from behind with his shovel by an unseen assailant. "[18] Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune gave the film three stars out of four and wrote that although Peckinpah's films were noted for their violence, "What Peckinpah does much better, and what distinguishes his film 'The Ballad of Cable Hogue' as his best work, is to portray a lyrical mood between society's outcasts. "Film Reviews: Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia". An ex-union soldier is hired to transport gold from a mining community through dangerous territory. Contributing Editor. Principal photography ended three days before Christmas, and the director took a week off before supervising the editing of the film. And I'll take care of the father". Sayre, Nora (August 15, 1974). Bennie learns from villagers that his assailants are driving a station wagon. The song was also intended for inclusion on their second album, produced by Jim Steinman. [24], Despite the film's harsh reception at the time of release, it has since found a contemporary audience, maintaining a 79% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 29 reviews, with a weighted average of 7.3/10. He hired director of photography Alex Phillips, Jr., one of Mexico's premiere cameramen. Bennie knocks the second biker (Donnie Fritts) unconscious, takes his gun and finds Elita about to have sex with the first biker. Elita admits to having cheated on Bennie with Garcia, who had professed his love for her, something Bennie refuses to do. Peckinpah approached him with 25 pages of the film's script. Share. Bennie convinces Elita to go on a road trip with him to visit Garcia's grave, claiming that he only wants proof that Garcia is in fact dead and no longer a threat to their relationship. He wakes up to find himself half-buried in the grave with Elita, who is dead. Peckinpah told him, "I make very few takes, but I shoot a lot of film because I like to change angles. View production, box office, & company info. [7] While scouting locations, he relied extensively on his gut instinct and desire to portray a gritty, realistic vision he had of Mexico. [15], Nora Sayre of The New York Times wrote that the film started off well but "disentegrates rapidly," explaining: "Without Garcia as a victim, the plot has almost nowhere to go. The corpse of Garcia has been decapitated. They approach the entrance gate and Bennie says goodbye to Teresa, departing the scene with the words: "You take care of the boy. Infuriated that the object responsible for Elita's death is viewed as nothing more than garbage, Bennie guns down all of El Jefe's bodyguards. "[21] Tom Milne of The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote, "The hints of Gothic horror and romantic tenderness fitfully apparent in Peckinpah's earlier work here bloom in superb union. He knows that a prostitute named Elita (Isela Vega) was once … Infuriated, El Jefe offers a $1 million bounty to whoever will "bring me the head of Alfredo Garcia". [7] With the exception of a few key people, the crew was entirely Mexicans. But even this gratuitous garbage can't prevent the movie from dragging. Under torture, she identifies the father as Alfredo Garcia, whom El Jefe had been grooming to be his successor. A pair of bounty hunters meet a local piano man in their search. Travis Woods is a Contributing Editor at Bright Wall/Dark Room. [13], On its release in 1974, Bring Me the Head of Alfredo García was savaged by many critics[14] and bombed at the box office. "[25], In the comedy film Fletch (1985), Chevy Chase (after fainting in an operating room) asks a nurse, "do you have the Beatles' White Album? 16 Classic Movies You Can’t Stream Anywhere, From Hitchcock’s ‘Rebecca’ to ‘Wild at Heart’ (Photos), Longtime Sam Peckinpah Associate Chalo Gonzalez-Rubio Dies at 95. Bring Me The Head Of Alfredo Garcia does have some sloppy photography, a few unintentionally humorous scenes, and an excess of Peckinpah's signature slow-motion violence, but it stands as one of Peckinpah's more daring films.