Sam Peckinpah is a director known for his Western films, particularly Wild Bunch. He has the reputation in changing the way violence was depicted on the screen. he was brought up on a ranch in California learning about the dying traditions of the West. He served in China during World War 2. His experinces thers started him on the road to alcohol abuse. His entry into films was when he met Don Siegel for whom he worked as a dailogue coach. He then started writing for Western television series and had his first introduction to directing. The Westerner was the fist series that he had control over. The first film he directed was The Deadly Companions. Ride The High Country was set in the period as the West is changing, becoming modern with cars entering the environment.
His next film was Major Dundee that had big studio backing and Charlton Heston in what is a Western version of Moby Dick. It was a difficult production as he was often drunk and kept firing people. In the end the released version was studio edited version and not his version. The fall out from that film got him fired from directing the Cincinnati Kid. He returned to directing with The Wild Bunch, which changed the was violence was shown. The wounds were more graphic and realistic than had been shown before. The film was acommercial success and he follwed it with The Ballad Of Cable Hogue. This was a very differnt type of western, being gentler but still slightly nostalgic for the old west. It again had a troubled production and was not popular at the box office.
He then moved away from Westerns to the controversial Straw Dogs. This is a tense violent film set and filmed in England, with part of the controversy over the rape scene. Junior Bonner was a return to the Western genre although this time in a contemporary setting with Steve McQueen as a rodeo rider. It did not do well at th box office, but his next film, The Getaway, again with Steve McQueen was a commercial success. Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid was a return to the old west genre of films.
He used music in this film to good effect including Bob Dylan's Knock Knock Knocking On Heaven's Door. Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia is a strange film of bounty hunters after the head of gigolo. Sam Pechinpah said it was his best film, but the public and critics thought otherwise. The Killer Elite was a more mainstream thriller, though again with a troubled production. The Cross Of Iron was his anti-war film and shows some of the futility of war.
He ran out of money making the film and so the ending was improvised and could not be re-shot. By the time he made Convy his drinking was making him seriously ill and despite being quite a different style of film was his most commercially successful film. His final film was The Osterman Weekend.
