Reviews

Dark, violent masterpiece with hints of macabre and black humor. This is how I can best describe "Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia". Gangster El Jefe puts a price on the head of the man, Alfredo, that has impregnated his daughter. While searching in Mexico for him, a down on his luck loser name Bennie is hired by El Jefe's bounty hunters to find Alfredo Garcia. Bennie brings his fiancée along for the ride in search of Alfredo. It all turns into a hellish nightmare for the both of them when they run into two motorcyclists and the events following that. After getting the head, Bennie turns into a different man, and goes on a violent rampage across the Mexican landscape.

Warren Oates, in one of his very few leading roles, plays Bennie. This is Oates' best performance I have ever seen. You can see him change from a down on his luck loser into a desperate, almost psychotic state of mind that is very hard to portray. Isela Vega plays his better half, Elita. She gives a fine performance. Robert Webber, Gig Young, Kris Kristofferson (in one of the best movie scenes ever filmed), Helmut Dantine, Emilio Fernandez, Don Levy, and Donnie Fritts give fine supporting roles, despite lack of screen time.

Sam Peckinpah put in an excellent job as director and screenwriter (with Gordon T. Dawson) with this film. Jerry Fielding composed a very effective underscore. Even the songs you here sung on here, especially when Bennie is in the car with Alfredo's head, give the scenes a haunting effect. Alex Phillips Jr. did a fine job at cinematography. As always, Sam used great editing for this film, thanks to Dennis Dolan, Sergio Ortega, and Robbe Roberts.

Why this film was ill received back in the 1970's is a total mystery to me. With the world being more appreciative of Peckinpah's work, you can see how much he has influenced many directors with his work, especially Tarrantino and Scorsese. This film is worth watching, especially for die-hard Peckinpah fans.

This is one of the best westerns of the 1960's with rip snorting action. Richard Brooks did an excellent job at directing and adapting the screenplay. Strong acting through out is provided by the great Burt Lancaster, tough guy Lee Marvin, the under rated Robert Ryan, and the Woody Strode as the professionals hired for the job. Ralph Bellamy is affective in his two brief appearances at the beginning and the end of the film as the man hiring them, Claudia Cardinale is also good in the role of his wife, and Jack Palance is great as the Mexican revolutionary that "kidnaps" her. This movie has many exciting shoot outs, especially in the canyon with Lancaster, Palance, and his men. When they converse while shooting, it reminded me of "Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid" when James Coburn and L.Q. Jones go against one another. These scenes are the same because it involves men that once rode with each other that now had to kill one another. This brings me to my final point that this is a Peckinpah western that he easily could have done had he gotten the offer. You get the Peckinpah feel in this film with its violence, the setting in the 1910's, and how it involves the dying of the West. Lee Marvin and Burt Lancaster play there parts of aging men of the Old West the way William Holden, James Coburn, and Joel McCrea did for Peckinpah films, which was showing how they try to adapt to the times. But this is Brook's film, and he did an excellent job at it.

This is my favorite Tom Hanks performance. He carried the movie through out. It is also one of the most tragic movies. After crashing on his way to work for Fed Ex and leaving his lover (Helen Hunt), Chuck Noland (Hanks) must live on an island for about five years. He makes friends with a volleyball name Wilson. I am still trying to figure out whether or not his relationship with Wilson helped him keep his sanity or not. When Noland returns home for the climax, he must learn about how time ran his life and how when he lost it, it erased everything he ever had. "Cast Away" is a powerful movie that keeps you on your seat through out.

This movie totally blew my mind when I first watched it. It is totally unlike most sci-fi movies. It shows a future world that is dirty, ugly, and not as great as most movies show it. Ridley Scott's direction and keen eye for detail helped this movie. Harrison For d is excellent, but it's Rutger Hauer that steals the show as the maniacal leader of the escaped replicants. He portrays Roy Batty with such creepiness, it's a total mystery to me why he was not nominated for the role. Sean Young, Daryl Hannah, Edward James Olmos, M. Emmet Walsh, William Sanderson, Brion James, and Joe Turkel also shine in their roles. Great cinematography and a haunting score help make this movie be great. The best line comes from Hauer's character in his last appearance after fighting Harrison Ford, when he says, "I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. Time to die"

This is one of the best Coen Brothers movies, and my favorite from them. What is so great about this is how the Dude (Jeff Bridges) gets involved in a series of events that he never really asked to be a part of. Bridges is excellent as the Dude. This is one of his best performances I have ever seen. The supporting cast is great with John Goodman (no Oscar nod?), Steve Buscemi, John Turturro (always great), Sam Elliot, Pete Stromare, Julianne Moore, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and David Huddleston. The movie features the usual Coen Brothers soundtrack (great!), hilarious dialog, and great camera shots (especially the open sequences up through the opening credits). The funniest part for me was the funeral at the end (not to spoil anything). This movie is highly recommended for Coen Brothers fans and fans of great comedy.