Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia

A Mexican landowner puts a million dollars on the head of the man who got his daughter pregnant. Bennie, an American playing piano in a bar, takes the job. The problem is that Alfredo Garcia is already dead; all Bennie has to do is open a grave. Sam Peckinpah directed and co-wrote. The idea came from the screenwriter Frank Kowalski: a story built on bringing back someone's head. It was shot in Mexico on a 1.5 million dollar budget. Warren Oates plays Bennie. Its place in Peckinpah's career is particular. He called it the only one of his films released exactly as he conceived it, the only time he really held final cut. It was beaten up on release. The New York Times reviewer wrote that it disintegrates rapidly; Variety called it turgid melodrama. US and Canadian rentals stopped at 700,000 dollars. Roger Ebert stood apart, giving it four stars and calling it some kind of bizarre masterpiece, praising Peckinpah's insistence on showing a character with genuine compassion despite the violence around him. The view changed over the years. Rotten Tomatoes now sits at 78 percent and it is among the most defended things Peckinpah made. Who it is for: viewers who like dark seventies American cinema and stories of disintegration. Who it is not for: anyone wanting distance. The film moves deliberately close to Bennie's madness and leaves you alone in the car with the severed head.