Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia 4K 1974 Ultra HD 2160p

Story Movie

American Benny, thrown by God and fate into a rundown Mexican town, works as a tapper. All his problems can be solved by money, which he doesn't have. But one day he is offered a decent sum - 10 thousand dollars. For this he must only deliver to a large Mexican landowner the head of a certain Alfredo Garcia - a man from whom his daughter is pregnant.

Review 4K Movie

The director's most personal film, each of whose films, both before and after, was an example of auteur cinema, directly linked to his personal vision. As it happens, it was “Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia” (1974) that was released, and it exists in a single version, namely the one that Sam Pekinpa had intended it to be, which by this time had finally become a pariah of American cinema after the financial failure in the U.S. of one of his best films, “Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid” (1973), as well as regular scandals with studios.

Therefore, funding for the story of the pianist Benny and the severed head, among the major studios could not be found. In addition, few believed in the success of the production of an incredibly pessimistic, depressing and harsh script, which Pekinpa conceived while shooting “The Wild Bunch” (1969) - his other movie, famous for its incredible cruelty and naturalism. However, with the help of his friends, especially Helmut Dantin, who not only became a producer but also played one of the roles, the director had a very small budget in his hands, which he could completely dispose of by shooting the film in Mexico.

After the release, most critics trashed the movie, reproaching the director for excessive cruelty, hopelessness and misanthropy. Some publications even recommended that Pekinpa be examined by psychoanalysts. “The New York Times called the movie a slow “portrait of pessimism.” Viewers also found the movie too oppressive, frank, hard to perceive. At the box office, this work was not a success - the budget barely paid off.

Only thirty years later, this work by Sam Pekinpa recognized as a masterpiece, and one of the most successful, from an artistic point of view, the director's work. Many note the boldness of the director, his desire to finally get away from “cinematography”, showing what is happening hyper-realistically, but at the same time, partly surrealistic, with a lot of black humor. It is said that with this movie, the director opened a new genre - “black western”. This may be true, but many people seem to forget that the western is first of all a shell, but not a genre. And of course, one must remember that Pekinpah's work is above any genre, and is rather closer to the definition of “Pekinpah cinema”. All the clichés inherent in genres are either destroyed or cruelly ridiculed in his films.

Pekinpah's editing skills, as before, are admirable, and the camerawork of Aleh Phillips Jr. once again emphasizes the bleakness, gloom and hopelessness, helped by brilliantly chosen angles and expressive details. The filming was entirely on location. Pekinpa deliberately chose locations that were not familiar to the viewer, discarding the large Mexican cities that have been seen on movie screens more than once. That's why the story of the pianist Benny - a small man who followed the path of deception, looks so dirty, believable and unsightly to the viewer spoiled by Hollywood scenery.

Pekinpah's disillusionment with everything around him is most clearly seen here. His pessimism is directed even in the direction of his favorite American film “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre” (1948), which is ridiculed here, and in general may seem like an adventure comedy against the background of Benny's moral and physical metamorphosis. The complex exploration of man, as well as many of the director's favorite themes, including religion and the clash with nature, coupled with the brilliant writing of all the characters, including even the minor ones, is top-notch. Again, as always there are no good ones, but still all the villains here have a human, living face. There are no right ones either. Just like in the director's other masterpiece, “Straw Dogs” (1971).

In general, “Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia” - a controversial tape that overtook its time, and one of those movies that should be watched “in the mood”. It can give the impression of evil, gloomy and slow digging in a greedy world, but it can “hit you on the head”, forever inscribed in your heart with its philosophy, poetics and sadness. Is this not a sign of a masterpiece?