Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (1973)

Director:

Sam Peckinpah

Writer:

Rudy Wurlitzer (written by)

Release Date:

31 August 1973 (Hong Kong)

Genre:

History | Western

Tagline:

Best of enemies. Deadliest of friends.

Plot:

An aging Pat Garrett is hired as a lawman on behalf of a group of wealthy New Mexico cattle barons--his sole purpose being to bring down his old friend Billy the Kid.

Plot Keywords:

Mexico | Billy The Kid | New Mexico | Pat Garrett | Friend

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. Another 2 nominations

Cast

James Coburn	...	Pat Garrett
Kris Kristofferson	...	Billy The Kid
Richard Jaeckel	...	Sheriff Kip McKinney
Katy Jurado	...	Mrs. Baker
Chill Wills	...	Lemuel
Barry Sullivan	...	Chisum
Jason Robards	...	Governor Wallace
Bob Dylan	...	Alias
R.G. Armstrong	...	Ollinger
Luke Askew	...	Eno
John Beck	...	Poe
Richard Bright	...	Holly
Matt Clark	...	J.W. Bell
Rita Coolidge	...	Maria
Jack Dodson	...	Howland
Jack Elam	...	Alamosa Bill
Emilio Fernández	...	Paco (as Emilio Fernandez)
Paul Fix	...	Maxwell
L.Q. Jones	...	Black Harris
Slim Pickens	...	Sheriff Baker
Jorge Russek	...	Silva
Charles Martin Smith	...	Bowdre (as Charlie Martin Smith)
Harry Dean Stanton	...	Luke
Claudia Bryar	...	Mrs. Horrell
John Davis Chandler	...	Norris (as John Chandler)
Michael T. Mikler	...	Denver (as Mike Mikler)
Aurora Clavel	...	Ida Garrett (as Aurora Clavell)
Rutanya Alda	...	Ruthie Lee
Walter Kelley	...	Rupert
Rudy Wurlitzer	...	O'Folliard
Elisha Cook Jr.	...	Cody
Gene Evans	...	Mr. Horrell
Donnie Fritts	...	Beaver
Dub Taylor	...	Josh
Don Levy	...	Sackett
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Sam Peckinpah	...	Will (uncredited)

Directed by
Sam Peckinpah

Writing credits
Rudy Wurlitzer		(written by)

Produced by
Gordon Carroll	....	producer

Original Music by
Bob Dylan

Cinematography by
John Coquillon		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
David Berlatsky
Garth Craven
Tony de Zarraga		(as Tony De Zarraga)
Richard Halsey
Roger Spottiswoode
Robert L. Wolfe

Casting by
Patricia Mock

Art Direction by
Ted Haworth

Set Decoration by
Ray Moyer

Makeup Department
Jack Wilson	....	makeup artist (as Jack P. Wilson)
Herbert Smith	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
Jim Henderling	....	unit production manager
Alfonso Sánchez Tello	....	production manager: Mexico (as Alfonso Sanchez Tello)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Newt Arnold	....	assistant director (as Newton Arnold)
Gordon T. Dawson	....	second unit director (as Gordon Dawson)
Jesus Marin Bello	....	assistant director: Mexico
Lawrence J. Powell	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Robert J. Visciglia Sr.	....	property master (as Robert John Visciglia)

Sound Department
Harry W. Tetrick	....	sound
Charles M. Wilborn	....	sound
Bill Wistrom	....	supervising sound editor (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Augie Lohman	....	special visual effects (as A.J. Lohman)

Stunts
William H. Burton	....	stunts (uncredited)
Gary Combs	....	stunts (uncredited)
Jerry Gatlin	....	stunts (uncredited)
Bill Hart	....	stunts (uncredited)
Whitey Hughes	....	stunts (uncredited)
Harrold Laswell	....	stunts (uncredited)
Walter Scott	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Herbert Smith	....	camera operator
Gabriel Torres	....	director of photography: second unit (as Gabriel Torres G.)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Michael Butler	....	wardrobe

Music Department
Dan Carlin Sr.	....	music editor (as Dan Carlin)
Dan Wallin	....	scoring mixer (uncredited)

Other crew
Katherine Haber	....	production staff (uncredited)
'Chema' Hernandez	....	head wrangler (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (presents) (as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1973) (USA) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1973) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1975) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1989) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (Germany) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (Finland) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD) (special edition)
• MGM-EMI (1973) (UK) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1973) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Neue Visionen Filmverleih (????) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Encore Avenue (2009) (Canada) (TV)
• Esselte Video (1988) (Finland) (video)
• EuroVideo (19??) (West Germany) (VHS)
• Mainostelevisio (MTV3) (1987) (1997) (2004) (Finland) (TV)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (1992) (2008) (Finland) (TV)

Other Companies

• International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE)  this picture made under the jurisdiction of (as I.A.T.S.E.)
• Turner Entertainment  package design

Also Known As:

Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (USA) (poster title)

MPAA:

Rated R for western violence and sexuality/nudity. (edited for re-rating; originally R)

Runtime:

122 min (1988 restored version) | 115 min (2005 DVD Special Edition) | 106 min (Cut theatrical version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Singapore:M18 | Iceland:16 | Finland:K-16 (cut) (1987) (video release) | Finland:K-18 (uncut) | UK:X (original rating) | Netherlands:18 (original rating) | West Germany:16 | Australia:MA (DVD rating) | Canada:14A (TV rating) | Australia:PG | Norway:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Durango, Mexico

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Sam Peckinpah had Roger Miller (singer of "King of the Road") in mind for the soundtrack, but Kris Kristofferson suggested Bob Dylan.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Though the film takes place in 1881, many of the characters use Winchester Model 1892 rifles which were not available until 1892.

Quotes:

Billy: Whatya takin' me in for?
Garrett: [to Deputy Sheriff J.W. Bell] Which one was that?
Deputy Sheriff J.W. Bell: Buckshot Roberts.
Garrett: For the killing of Buckshot Roberts!
Billy: [to his confederates] Hell, that was a year ago. I shot him straight up.
Billy: [to Pat Garrett] Come on in Pat, I'll warm ya breakfast!
Billy: [Billy's braggadocio is answered by a hail of gunfire] I guess he already had breakfast.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession (2004) (TV)

A rich, haunting, yet demanding work...

Peckinpah's "Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid" is a rich, haunting, yet demanding work that, above everything else, sees Billy as a creature of his day and age…

He is by no means made a wholly sympathetic character, but who was sympathetic in the New Mexico of 1881? Peckinpah has most of his characters dyed with violence and sniffing the prevailing air of corruption—the chief protagonists, their filthy henchmen, even the onlookers…

Where and what is the law? No one seems to know or care… Garrett and Billy have seen both sides, like almost everyone else…

And among the confusion and violence that is the legacy of range war there is no gleam of purifying light in the efforts we see being made to clean up the territory… The powers that be want Billy out of New Mexico, not for ethical reasons, but rather so that things can be neatly protected for the approaching business exploitation…

Garrett is the man made sheriff to hunt him down and thereby the man who compromises . . . 'This country's getting older and I aim to grow old with it ... there's an age in a man's life when he has to consider what's going to happen next.'

But Billy can't compromise… It's not his way… "Billy, they don't like you to be so free!" proclaims the Bob Dylan theme song, summing up why the power men find Billy so irritating… Perhaps that's why Garrett who has sold out to power is in some ways a reluctant hunter… He salutes Billy's spirit—his very own personal declaration of independence—but he knows it's not the spirit of the new times…

It says much for Peckinpah's way with actors that he gets such admirable performances out of the comparatively inexperienced Kris Kristofferson, as Billy, and Bob Dylan, as Billy's mate… It says just as much for his Westerns perceptiveness that he relies even more heavily on experience… The well-tried James Coburn is both solid and hard to define as Garrett… And then there are the others who know their way around Westerns so well—Katy Jurado, Slim Pickens, R. G. Armstrong, Jason Robards, Jack Elam, Chill Wills… There's not a single performance here that isn't a rounded-off portrait in its own right…

It all adds up to a richness in characterization that is matched by the richness of marvelously composed scenes in which interiors and exteriors alike have been put together with loving care and attention to detail, whether it's a big set-piece 'shoot-up' or a close-up of a can of preserves—how such a can looked in 1881…

Garrett's hunt for Billy is told mainly in set-pieces and it has to be said that Peckinpah makes little narrative concession to an audience in the way they are strung together… But for the out and out Western fan this is a most memorable movie…