*** Welcome to piglix ***

Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid

Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid
Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid film poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Sam Peckinpah
Produced by Gordon Carroll
Written by Rudy Wurlitzer
Starring
Music by Bob Dylan
Cinematography John Coquillon
Edited by Roger Spottiswoode
Robert L. Wolfe
Distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date
  • May 23, 1973 (1973-05-23) (USA)
Running time
106 minutes
(Theatrical version)
122 minutes
(Preview version)
115 minutes
(Special edition)
Country United States
Language English
Budget $4,638,783
Box office $11,000,000

Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid is a 1973 American western drama film directed by Sam Peckinpah, written by Rudy Wurlitzer, and stars James Coburn, Kris Kristofferson and Bob Dylan. The film is about an aging Pat Garrett, hired as a lawman by a group of wealthy New Mexico cattle barons to bring down his old friend Billy the Kid.

Dylan composed several songs for the film's score and soundtrack album Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid, which was released the same year. It was filmed on location in Durango, Mexico, and was nominated for two BAFTA Awards for Film Music (Dylan) and Most Promising Newcomer (Kristofferson). It was also nominated for a Grammy Award for Album of Best Original Score (Dylan).

The film was noted for behind-the-scenes battles between Peckinpah and the production company Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Soon after completion, the film was taken away from the director and substantially re-edited, resulting in a truncated version released to theaters and largely disowned by cast and crew members. Peckinpah's preview version was released on video in 1988, leading to a re-evaluation, with many critics hailing it as a mistreated classic and one of the era's best films. It is ranked 126th on Empire magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time.

In 1881 in Old Fort Sumner, New Mexico, William H. Bonney, known as Billy the Kid (Kris Kristofferson), is passing the time with friends shooting chickens for fun. An old friend of Billy's, Pat Garrett (James Coburn), rides into town with Deputy Sheriff J. W. Bell (Matt Clark) and joins the diversion. Later, over drinks, Garrett informs Billy that the electorate want him out of the country, and that in five days, when he becomes Sheriff of Lincoln County, he will make Billy leave.


...
Wikipedia

...