Major Dundee was a 1965 Western film written by Harry Julian Fink and directed by Sam Peckinpah. It has become notorious for the feud between Peckinpah and the producing studio, Columbia Pictures, during its production and editing. Image File history File links 314934. ... David Samuel Sam Peckinpah (February 21, 1925 – December 28, 1984) was an American film director who achieved iconic status following the release of his 1969 Western epic The Wild Bunch. ... Although Jerry Breslers Oscar and subsequent two other nominations were for his two-reel short films, he was primarily a songwriter, one of his most famous compositions being Five Guys Named Moe. He was educated at the Chicago Musical College, DePaul University and New York University (NYU). ... Harry Julian Fink, television and film writer, wrote for Have Gun — Will Travel and was one of the writers who created Dirty Harry. ... Harry Julian Fink, television and film writer, wrote for Have Gun — Will Travel and was one of the writers who created Dirty Harry. ... David Samuel Sam Peckinpah (February 21, 1925 – December 28, 1984) was an American film director who achieved iconic status following the release of his 1969 Western epic The Wild Bunch. ... This article contains a trivia section. ... Richard Harris as Marcus Aurelius in Gladiator. ... Dana James Hutton (May 31, 1934 – June 2, 1979) was an American actor. ... James Coburn in Sam Peckinpahs Cross of Iron (1977). ... Michael Anderson, Jr (born Hillingdon, Middlesex 6 August 1943) is an English actor. ... Daniele Amfitheatrof (October 29, 1901 – June 4, 1983) was a Russian composer and conductor. ... The Columbia Pictures logo, since 1996. ... is the 74th day of the year (75th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... // Events Top grossing films North America Mary Poppins The Sound of Music, starring Julie Andrews Goldfinger My Fair Lady Whats New Pussycat? Shenandoah The Sandpiper Father Goose Academy Awards Best Picture: The Sound of Music - Argyle, Twentieth Century-Fox Best Actor: Lee Marvin - Cat Ballou Best Actress: Julie Christie... A directors cut is a specially edited version of a film, and less often TV series, music video, commercials or video games, that is supposed to represent the directors own approved edit. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Year 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the 1965 Gregorian calendar. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Harry Julian Fink, television and film writer, wrote for Have Gun — Will Travel and was one of the writers who created Dirty Harry. ... David Samuel Sam Peckinpah (February 21, 1925 – December 28, 1984) was an American film director who achieved iconic status following the release of his 1969 Western epic The Wild Bunch. ... The Columbia Pictures logo from 1993 to the present Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. ...

Plot summary/historical basis

The plot of the movie involves the title character, played by Heston, a Union cavalry officer during the American Civil War, who was relieved of his combat command for misconduct and sent to command a prisoner-of-war camp in New Mexico Territory. After a family of ranchers and a relief column of cavalry is massacred by an Apache warlord named Sierra Charriba (Michael Pate), Dundee seizes the opportunity for glory, raising his own private army of Union troops (black and white), Confederate POWs led by his old friend and rival, Captain Tyreen (Richard Harris), several Indian scouts, and a gang of civilian mercenaries to pursue Charriba into Mexico. Dundee's force pursues Charriba, engaging him in several bloody battles, as well as coming into conflict with French troops who are occupying Mexico under Emperor Maximilian of Mexico. Also, an Austrian doctor (Senta Berger) who is sympathetic to the Rebels under Benito Juárez joins up with the army, causing further tensions between Tyreen and Dundee. The film is narrated by Tim Ryan, a young bugler played by Michael Anderson, Jr., whose diary is meant to serve as an ironic counterpoint to the action, though in the cut version this intention by Peckinpah/Fink does not come across very well. Combatants United States of America (Union) Confederate States of America (Confederacy) Commanders Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee Strength 2,200,000 1,064,000 Casualties 110,000 killed in action, 360,000 total dead, 275,200 wounded 93,000 killed in action, 258,000 total... The New Mexico Territory became an organized territory of the United States on September 9, 1850, and it existed until New Mexico became the 47th state on January 6, 1912. ... For other uses, see Apache (disambiguation). ... Michael Pate (born February 26, 1920) is an Australian actor. ... Richard St. ... Maximilian I, Emperor of Mexico, (July 6, 1832 - June 19, 1867) was a member of Austrias Imperial Habsburg family. ... Senta Berger in When Women Had Tails / 1970. ... For other uses, see Benito Juárez (disambiguation). ... Michael Anderson, Jr (born Hillingdon, Middlesex 6 August 1943) is an English actor. ...

The screenplay, written by Harry Julian Fink (the film's novelization was written by Richard Wormser), Oscar Saul, and Peckinpah, was loosely based on historical precedents; however, contrary to claims by the production team at the time, it was not actually based on a true story. During the Minnesota Dakota War of 1862, Union forces in that state were forced to recruit Confederate prisoners from Texas to make up for their meager numbers in fighting the Indians. Unlike in the movie, where there is much animosity between the Union and Confederate troops in Dundee's command, the Rebels, called "Galvanized yankees", fought well and without much complaint. Both Union and Confederate forces also battled Apache, Navajo, and Comanche Indians throughout the war along the U.S.-Mexico border, making the scenario of the movie at least somewhat plausible. Harry Julian Fink, television and film writer, wrote for Have Gun — Will Travel and was one of the writers who created Dirty Harry. ... Chief Taoyateduta, known as Chief Little Crow Settlers escaping the violence. ... Galvanized Yankees was a term from the American Civil War used to refer to former Confederate prisoners of war who had sworn allegiance to the Union. ... Map of the Navajo Nation The Navajo Nation (Dineé in Navajo language) is a Native American sovereignty. ... For other uses, see Comanche (disambiguation). ... The international border between Mexico and the United States runs a total of 3,141 km (1,951 miles) from San Diego, California, and Tijuana, Baja California, in the west to Matamoros, Tamaulipas, and Brownsville, Texas, in the east. ...

Charlton Heston as Dundee

Some critics of the film have also pointed out similarities between this and Herman Melville's classic novel Moby-Dick. Many of the characters are similar to those from that book, with Dundee as Captain Ahab, Tyreen as Starbuck, Ryan as Ishmael, and other minor characters, with Sierra Charriba and his Apache tribe substituting for the whale, as is the general plot line (an obsessive idealist drives himself to destruction, disregarding the effects on others). These references to Moby-Dick were likely intentional on the part of the screenwriters. Some have also pointed out similarities of the plot to the Vietnam War, which are highly unlikely to have been intentional, as the war had not significantly escalated by the film's original production. (It should also be pointed out that the characterization of Dundee was closely based off the infamous Colonel George Custer and Civil War hero and U.S. Army Indian fighter Ranald S. Mackenzie.) Image File history File links Dundee_16342q. ... Image File history File links Dundee_16342q. ... This article contains a trivia section. ... Herman Melville (August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American novelist, short story writer, essayist, and poet. ... Moby-Dick book cover Moby-Dick - the official title of the first edition - is a novel by Herman Melville. ... In philosophy, idealism is any theory positing the primacy of spirit, mind, or language over matter. ... Moby-Dick book cover Moby-Dick - the official title of the first edition - is a novel by Herman Melville. ... Combatants Republic of Vietnam United States Republic of Korea Thailand Australia New Zealand The Philippines National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam Democratic Republic of Vietnam People’s Republic of China Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea Strength US 1,000,000 South Korea 300,000 Australia 48,000... George Armstrong Custer George Armstrong Custer (December 5, 1839 - June 25, 1876) was an American cavalry commander in the Civil War and the Indian Wars who is best remembered for his defeat and death at the Battle of the Little Bighorn against a coalition of Native American tribes, led by... Ranald Slidell Mackenzie (July 27, 1840 – January 19, 1889) was called the most promising young officer in the entire Union army. ...

Cast

• Charlton Heston as Major Amos Dundee. Commander of the expedition, he is an arrogant, exceedingly ambitious officer who was transferred West to Fort Benlin after making an unspecified tactical error at the Battle of Gettysburg. He is also from the South, leading to tensions with his old friend Tyreen, and had gone to West Point was Tyreen, later voting cashier him out of the Army after Tyreen killed a fellow officer in a duel. Dundee is a martinet, with minimal skills as a leader or soldier, being concerned only with personal advancement, and is willing to throw aside "the book" to pursue his own ends, as the expedition itself proves.
• Richard Harris as Captain Benjamin Tyreen. An Irish immigrant, Tyreen went to West Point with Dundee and served with him in the Army, until he killed a fellow officer in a duel - with Dundee casting the deciding vote in his court-martial. Tyreen is still bitter against the Major, holding a personal grudge rather than a "professional" grudge. He along with the Hadleys, Sergeant Chillum, and Jimmy Lee are sentenced to hang for murdering a guard during their failed prison break, and they join Dundee for the promise of amnesty. Dundee chides him as a "would-be cavalier", as he poses as being a Southern aristocrat, at one point shooting a bird to procure a feather for his hat. And yet, he is exceedingly loyal with a strong sense of honor, refusing to break his oath with Dundee, and proves to be a far superior leader of men than his Union counterpart. Mortally wounded by Captain Tremaine in the final battle while returning the American flag to Dundee, he charges a French relief column single-handed, giving Dundee time to escape.
• Jim Hutton as Lieutenant Graham. A bumbling novice, he is an artilleryman who got transferred to the cavalry for unkown reasons. He has little military skill or personal experience, and is Dundee's least-favorite officer at the fort. Despite his inexperience, Graham grows as an officer of the course of the story, and by the end of the film he has become a seasoned officer.
• James Coburn as Samuel Potts. Potts is a one-armed scout, portrayed as being a "mountain man" or half-breed. He carries a sawed-off shotgun as his weapon and dresses in Indian attire. He knows Apaches well, and his reasons for joining Dundee are purely mercenary: "That's what you pay us for, Amos." He acts as the group's conscience, commenting at times on Dundee's actions and the fissures amongst the group.
• Michael Anderson, Jr. as Trooper Tim Ryan. A young, inexperienced bugler who keeps a diary which serves as the film's narration. A member of B Troop, he had been with Lieutenant Brannin at the massacre and had been the sole survivor. He returned with Dundee and C Troop and sickened by the sight of his colleagues (and Beth Rostes, whom he had been courting) he was the first man to volunteer for Dundee's expedition. He is a teenager, who has never shaved, and comes of age over the course of the story, having a short-lived affair with a Mexican girl, Linda.
• Senta Berger as Teresa Santiago. The wife of an Austrian doctor, she serves as the head doctor of the Mexican village which Dundee invades to pilfer supplies. Her husband had been sympathetic to the Juaristas and hanged. Teresa is charmed by Tyreen, and has a short-lived affair with Dundee, ultimately abandoning him in Durango after finding him with Melinche.
• Mario Adorf as Sergeant Gomez. Dundee's solid right-hand man, he is completely, almost unscrupulously loyal to his commanding officer. He was kidnapped by Apaches and rode with them as a child. He is very hot-tempered and often quick to pick a fight, as evidenced in the campfire scene and the (deleted) knife fight with Potts.
• Brock Peters as Aesop. Leader of a small group of black soldiers stationed at Fort Benlin, he is tired of standing guard and cleaning stables, and he volunteers his services without Dundee's actions. Despite tenssions with the more racist members of the Confederate contingent, Aesop and his men prove to be capable soldiers. Aesop is killed by Captain Tremaine in the final battle while holding the colors.
• Warren Oates as O.W. Hadley. Brother of Arthur and one of the men who tried to escape with Tyreen. At one point he deserts, claiming that he returned to the Mexican village to meet with a local girl. Shot by Sergeant Gomez in the leg, he returns, and Dundee's ordering his expedition causes the camp to divide into camps, threatening to dissolve on the spot. He is executed by Tyreen, who refuses to let Dundee have the satisfaction of killing Hadley himself.
• Ben Johnson as Sergeant Chillum. Tyreen's right-hand man, a veteran trooper.
• R.G. Armstrong as Reverend Dahlstrom. A typical Armstrong character, he is a local priest who married the Rostes Family and joins the expedition to avenge their deaths. Although ostensibly a civilian, he is clearly sympathetic to the Federals. He is killed on the river bank in the final battle with the French.
• L.Q. Jones as Arthur Hadley. O.W.'s brother, he is killed in the final battle.
• Slim Pickens as Wiley. A drunken mule-packer who volunteers his services to Dundee on the promise of all the whiskey he can drink. He is killed in the final battle.
• Dub Taylor as Benjamin Priam. A disheveled horse thief serving in the Fort Benlin prison, he is recruited by Dundee to steal horses for the expedition. He also serves as the expedition's cook. He is apparently killed in the final battle, although his ultimate fate is unclear.
• John Davis Chandler as Jimmy Lee Benteen. One of the more bigoted members of the command, Benteen picks a fight with Aesop, telling him to remove his boots: "You've forgotten your manners, nigger." This quickly polarizes the camp, and Benteen is roughed up by Reverend Dahlstrom.
• Karl Swenson as Captain Frank Waller. Dundee's second-in-command at Fort Benlin, he disapproves of Dundee's expedition and thinks him a dangerous loose cannon. He tries to talk Dundee out of his plan and in the original script directly attempts to stop the expedition by arresting Dundee.
• Albert Carrier as Captain Jacques Tremaine. Commander of the French lancers encountered by Dundee. In the final battle he kills Aesop and captures the American colors, is wounded by Tyreen before returning the favor, and is finally killed by Sergeant Chillum.
• Michael Pate as Sierra Charriba. The chief of a tribe of renegade Apaches who terrorize settlements on both sides of the border. His war cry is "Who you send against me now?" He is killed by Ryan during the ambush of the Apache.
• Jose Carlos Ruiz as Riago. Riago is a "Christian Indian", a scout who had been with Lieutenant Brannin at the massacre and escaped. Dundee and others suspect him of treachery, although Potts tries to defend him. Riago's loyalty is ultimately proven when he is found by the command, crucified to a Joshua tree.
• Begonia Palacios as Linda. A young Mexican girl, an assistant to Teresa, who has a short-lived affair with Ryan.
• Aurora Clavel as Melinche. An Indian woman in Durango who nurses Dundee back to health, and allows herself to be seduced by him. In the original script she is arrested by the French, although this is unclear in the film.
• Enrique Lucero as Doctor Aguilar. Operates on Dundee in Durango.
• Francisco Reiguera as Old Apache. On Christmas Eve, he arrives at Dundee's encampment claiming to be a deserter from Charriba's tribe. He returns the kidnapped Rostes Boys and tells Dundee that Charriba's camp is across the river. This is a trap, and the Old Apache disappears just before the ambush is sprung.
• Jody McCrea (uncredited) as Lieutenant Brannin. Brannin was the commander of B Troop which was ambushed at the Rostes Ranch. Described in the script as an "Eastern book soldier", he is only seen in the final cut being roasted over a fire by Charriba's Apaches.
• Whitey Hughes (uncredited) as Confederate trooper. Hughes was one of the film's stuntmen.
• Rockne Tarkington (uncredited) as Jefferson. One of Aesop's black troopers and a member of Lt. Graham's gun crew.

This article contains a trivia section. ... Combatants United States of America (Union) Confederate States of America Commanders George G. Meade Robert E. Lee Strength 93,921[1] 71,699[2] Casualties 23,055 (3,155 killed, 14,531 wounded, 5,369 captured/missing)[1] 23,231 (4,708 killed, 12,693 wounded, 5,830 captured/missing... Alternate meanings: West Point (disambiguation). ... Richard St. ... Dana James Hutton (May 31, 1934 – June 2, 1979) was an American actor. ... James Coburn in Sam Peckinpahs Cross of Iron (1977). ... Michael Anderson, Jr (born Hillingdon, Middlesex 6 August 1943) is an English actor. ... Senta Berger in When Women Had Tails / 1970. ... Mario Adorf (born September 8, 1930) is a Swiss film actor, best known for his role in the 1978 film, The Tin Drum. ... Brock Peters (July 2, 1927 – August 23, 2005), born George Fisher in New York City, was an African American actor probably best known for the role in the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird of Tom Robinson, the black man unjustly convicted of raping a white girl. ... Warren Oates (July 5, 1928 – April 3, 1982) was an American character actor best known for his performances in several films directed by Sam Peckinpah including The Wild Bunch (1969) and Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974). ... There have been several people called Ben Johnson or Jonson: Ben Jonson (1572-1637; Elizabethan dramatist, poet & actor) Ben Johnson (c. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... L.Q. Jones (born August 19, 1927 in Beaumont, Texas) is an American character actor and film director, best-known for his work in the films of Sam Peckinpah. ... Slim Pickens riding the bomb in the movie Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb Louis Bert Lindley, Jr. ... Dub Taylor (February 26, 1907 - October 3, 1994) was a prolific American character actor who worked extensively in Westerns. ... An editor has expressed a concern that the subject of the article does not satisfy the notability guideline or one of the following guidelines for inclusion on Wikipedia: Biographies, Books, Companies, Fiction, Music, Neologisms, Numbers, Web content, or several proposals for new guidelines. ... Karl Swenson (July 23, 1908) – (October 8, 1978) was an American film, television and radio actor of swedish descent. ... Michael Pate (born February 26, 1920) is an Australian actor. ... Jody McCrea (born September 6, 1934 in Los Angeles, California) born Joel Dee McCrea, is the son of Frances Dee and Joel McCrea, both famous actors. ...

Production

Peckinpah found the script in late 1963, and began making the movie into a complex character study about Dundee, making him a glory-hungry officer who would do anything to gain fame and recognition. He had the full-throated support of Heston, who had seen and enjoyed Peckinpah's previous film, Ride the High Country, and was eager to work with the director. Actor R.G. Armstrong, who had a small part as a Reverend who tags along with the expedition, referred to the 156 minutes version of the film as "Moby-Dick on horseback". However, the production of the movie was very troubled: Peckinpah was often drunk on the set, and was supposedly so abusive towards the cast that Heston had to threaten him with a cavalry saber in order to calm him down. Peckinpah also fired a large number of crew members for very trivial reasons throughout the shoot. Columbia studio executives feared that the project was out of control, and that Peckinpah was too unstable to finish the picture, so they cut the shooting schedule of the film by several weeks. Heston, however, gave up his entire salary for the film in order to keep Peckinpah on the project - a gesture rarely equalled in Hollywood history. However, the studio forced Peckinpah to wrap up shooting very abruptly; Heston alleged that Peckinpah, towards the end of the shoot, simply became drunk and wandered off the set, and that he (Heston) had to finish directing many portions of the movie himself. Ride the High Country is a noted 1962 western film. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...

Peckinpah's qualms with the movie continued into the post-production. The length of Peckinpah's original cut has been disputed. According to some sources, including the 2005 DVD commentary, the original cut was 4 hours, 38 minutes long, which was initially edited down to 156 minutes. Included in the unseen longer cuts were several slow-motion battle scenes which were inspired by Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai. The movie was also fairly gory for the standards of 1965, and a lot of the more bloody and violent scenes were cut out. A bombastic musical score by Daniele Amfitheatrof was added to the film despite Peckinpah's protests, as was the title song, the Major Dundee March, sung by Mitch Miller and his Sing-Along Gang. (Ironically, though the song has gained a negative reputation over the years, it became a major hit at the time - unlike the film, which tanked at the box office.) One of the most bizarre parts of the score was the use of an electronically altered sound (the employment of three anvils of different lengths, played-back at half-speed) [1] every time Charriba or the Apaches would be seen or even mentioned ("Until the Apache is taken or destroyed" was one of the film's catch phrases). At the film's initial release, it was 136 minutes long; after a disastrous premiere - the movie was almost universally panned by critics - an additional thirteen minutes cut out, despite the protests of Peckinpah and producer Jerry Bresler. Many viewers of the original movie feel that these cuts ruined the movie's scope and created significant plot holes, though others argue that these plotholes exist even in the extended version. Akira Kurosawa , 23 March 1910—6 September 1998) was a prominent Japanese film director, film producer, and screenwriter. ... For other uses, see Seven Samurai (disambiguation). ... Daniele Amfitheatrof (October 29, 1901 – June 4, 1983) was a Russian composer and conductor. ... Mitch Miller (born Mitchell William Miller on July 4, 1911 to a Jewish family in Rochester, New York), is remembered as one of the best-selling recording artists of the 1950s and early 60s. ...

Restored version (April 2005)

In April of 2005, the New York City based Film Forum premiered an "expanded" version featuring several restored scenes, along with a new musical score by Christopher Caliendo. This expanded version was actually the 136 minute cut authorized by producer Jerry Bresler before he left Columbia Studios. It had recently been unearthed in Sony Pictures' archives. It played in selected cities in North America and has been released on a Region 1 DVD. The New York City cinema Film Forum began in 1970 as an alternative screening space for independent films, with 50 folding chairs, one projector and a US$19,000 annual budget. ... Although Jerry Breslers Oscar and subsequent two other nominations were for his two-reel short films, he was primarily a songwriter, one of his most famous compositions being Five Guys Named Moe. He was educated at the Chicago Musical College, DePaul University and New York University (NYU). ...

All of the cuts were edited out of the release version at the last minute; it is highly unlikely that Peckinpah's director's cut - which presumably would have included the night-time Apache massacre which originally opened the film and has gained a measure of notoriety through screenwriting and film classes - will ever be fully restored. A directors cut is a specially edited version of a film, and less often TV series, music video, commercials or video games, that is supposed to represent the directors own approved edit. ...

A list of restored scenes are listed below. These include both brief inserts and additions to existing scenes, as well as four major scenes restored to the film.

• Ryan playing Taps over a shot of soldiers burying the victims of the massacre.
• A brief scene, after Dundee, Sam Potts (Coburn), and the other Union troopers survey the massacre at the Rostes Ranch, where Tyreen and his Confederates attempt to escape through a mountain stream. They were trapped by troops from the fort and Dundee's command, leading into the "assembly" scene where Dundee announces to the fort's prisoners his need for volunteers. It is important as it introduces the character of Tyreen, who is only awkwardly introduced in the original cut, and gives the reason why he and his men are to hang later in the film (they killed a guard during their escape attempt).
• Tyreen's men refusing to wear the Union jackets provided to them by Dundee.
• Children watching Dundee's expedition leaving Fort Benlin.
• The wrestling match between Potts and the scout Riago is much longer, with Dundee chiding Potts because the artillery (Lt. Graham) bet on him.
• Paco, one of Potts' Indian scouts, is killed by Apaches before the river ambush.
• The fiesta scene in the Mexican village is longer, with Potts leering at a pretty girl, who snubs him (which would have led to the knife fight scene detailed below), and Teresa trying to comfort a crying baby.
• Dundee recovering from his leg wound in Durango, while being tended to by Melinche (Aurora Clavell), eventually falling in love with her.
• A scene where Dundee and his officers - Tyreen, Potts, Lt. Graham (Hutton), and Sgt. Gomez (Adorf) find an Apache trail marker, and then debate strategy on how to fight Charriba. At the end of the scene, we learn the fate of Apache scout Riago (Jose Carlos Ruiz), who had earlier in the film been accused of being an agent of Charriba's by Dundee and others. In this version, he is found crucified in a tree. In the theatrical cut, his character disappeared without a trace.
• Available as extras on the DVD are an unfinished knife fight scene between Potts and Gomez in a Mexican village, a longer version of Teresa and Dundee's interlude at the lake, and several silent outtakes - including a master shot which would have opened the massacre scene at the beginning, of Lt. Brannin and his men riding past a sheep farmer to the Rostes Ranch.

However, many significant scenes, some filmed, some not, were still missing from the film. For a complete list of these, and a comparison of the original script and the two released versions of the film, see here. Taps (Butterfields Lullaby), sometimes known by the lyrics of its second verse, Day is Done, is a famous musical piece, played in the U.S. military during flag ceremonies and funerals, generally on bugle or trumpet. ...

New Caliendo score

For the 2005 version, a new score was commissioned, and composed by Christopher Caliendo. This score was composed and recorded with a small studio orchestra to authentically sound the way director Peckinpah might have approved it had he been alive at the time of the film's restoration, and the way the music might have been done in its original 1965 release as opposed to today's larger orchestra-type scores.

The new score is regarded by some critics as being better than the original, which was disliked by film experts, though many concede it is far from perfect. Due to an inadequate amount of sound dubbing and recording, the new version of the film suffers from awkward silences during many sequences where new music was not put in.

Major Dundee has long been considered a lost masterpiece due to studio tampering. It also helped cement Peckinpah's image as a renegade film maker, which he would enhance with the conflicts on his later films, such as Straw Dogs, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, and Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia. Others, namely Peckinpah's biographer David Weddle (author of If They Move, Kill 'Em: The Life and Times of Sam Peckinpah), argue that Peckinpah is just as much to blame for the final product as Columbia and Jerry Bresler. Since its release on DVD, Dundee has begun to get recognition and notice from the public at large, and not just Western fans. Straw Dogs is a 1971 film directed by Sam Peckinpah. ... Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid is a 1973 film directed by Sam Peckinpah and starring James Coburn and Kris Kristofferson. ... Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (Tráiganme la cabeza de Alfredo García) is a 1974 film directed by Sam Peckinpah. ... David Weddle is an American writer, best known for writing episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Battlestar Galactica with Bradley Thompson. ...

See also

• List of films recut by studio

According to the Auteur Theory, the prevalent framework of modern film criticism, a film director is most responsible for the creative aspects of a film. ...

External links/references

• The High Hat - Review
• DVD Savant Review of the Extended Version