Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia

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Filmgal G The casualties are tremendous, the disintegration of sanity significant, and the satisfaction bizarrely high. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 07/22/25 Full Review Olivia J I once read somewhere that this film was, as far as Peckinpah himself was concerned, his most uncompromising and personal piece of work. Over the years he churned out violent classics like ‘The Wild Bunch’ and ‘Straw Dogs’. But something about ‘Bring Me The Head Of Alfredo Garcia’ stands out as unique among the raw, bloody filmography of the hard living director. It may well be a visceral and committed central performance by character actor Warren Oates, who’s emotionality and energy enrapture the viewer and place the audience firmly on the character’s side. There is brutality, violence, passion, and love in this film. Seemingly all characteristics of the director himself. The piece features one of my favourite gunfights in cinema history, and a fantastic scene of Oates having a depraved conversation with a rapidly decaying head in a burlap sack. Though lesser known than ‘The Wild Bunch’ or ‘Straw Dogs’, I count this as my favourite Peckinpah film, and as far as I’m concerned it’s the last word in American hardboiled 70s action. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 05/31/25 Full Review Tasos L A movie i'm always enjoying watching. A manhood flick, unfortunately they don't make it like this anymore. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 09/22/24 Full Review Dave S Set in modern-day Mexico, Bennie (Warren Oates), a piano player in a dive bar, and his girlfriend Elita (Isela Vega) embark on a cross-country road trip to recover the body and collect the bounty on a man who impregnated the daughter of a ruthless mob boss. Immediately identifiable as a Sam Peckinpah movie, Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia is filled with plenty of gratuitous violence and nudity, essentially distracting the viewer from the fact that it’s not a very good movie, paling in comparison to his early works like The Wild Bunch and Straw Dogs. While Oates does his best in the lead role, the movie is filled with bad acting, horrible dialogue, lots of repetitive slow-motion deaths, and inconsistent editing. The story itself is interesting, but not interesting enough to recommend watching the movie. Rated 2.5/5 Stars •  Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 04/18/24 Full Review Wayne K Sam Peckinpah was a controversial figure to say the least, and his films haven endured a similar reputation. I watched Straw Dogs recently, a great film about the darkness that lurks in even the most timid of souls, and yesterday I watched Bring Me The Head Of Alfredo Garcia, a film that was largely savaged by critics when it was released and made a paltry amount at the box office, but now is looked back on far more fondly, such is the fate of many reviled movies. It's a slow and pensive take on revenge and the lengths a person will go to to achieve the life they want. Warren Oates, who wears sunglasses in about 90% of his scenes, is fantastic in the lead role because he really looks like he's considering what he's saying, like it's coming out of his mouth for the first time, and he isn't sure exactly how its going to sound. He travels with his girlfriend Elita to Mexico to remove the eponymous head, and along the way he's made to question what he's doing and why he's doing it. The production was chaotic and stressful, which might explain the numerous jump cuts throughout, and maybe even the random snippets of slow motion. Peckinpah was drugged up much of the time, which likely contributed to the films often downbeat and contemplative tone. Just like Straw Dogs, it ends on a sudden, shocking note, leaving you to work out the meaning and significance of what you've just seen. If you do watch it, don't expect a fast pace or a simple resolution. It's a film that makes you think, makes you concentrate on the events and try and make sense of them. If you're willing to work for it, the rewards are definitely there. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 06/19/23 Full Review ALS Survivor Ken K A raw/gritty masterpiece way ahead of its time...clearly an influence on Tarantino. Awesomely Nihilistic in true 1970's fashion from pioneer of cinematic carnage, Sam Peckinpah! Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/02/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia

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