mike3386 I wanted to say something meaningful, and although usually not want for abundant verbiage, I cannot add much to the four very accurate, candid and totally perceptive reviews already written here. Kudos to the writers.The review comments about Michael Madsen's appearance in the Peckinpaugh documentary amused me. I thought I might be the only person who felt this way, and wrote it off to Madsen's appearance in so many totally violent films himself, albeit only one (irrelevant) movie (the remake of "The Getaway") that even remotely involved Peckinpah.The Peckinpah documentary periodically runs on the Western Channel; set your DVR. . . . . it's, indeed, worth it just to hear Kris Kristofferson's morning after drinking voice.

moonspinner55 The westerns of filmmaker Sam Peckinpah (1925-1984) are discussed by movie critics, relatives, friends, former employees and actors. As directed by Tom Thurman for the Encore channel, and narrated by "Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid" co-star Kris Kristofferson (in his grizzled, early morning whiskey voice), this special never quite gets at what was eating at Peckinpah for the twenty years he spent behind the camera. He had his biggest commercial success with his most brutal film, 1969's "The Wild Bunch", though he preferred to quickly put that picture behind him and focus on more elegiac stories (such as "The Ballad of Cable Hogue" from 1970). Footage from a rare "Cable Hogue" documentary is used to give us a glimpse of Peckinpah in action, but this rather backfires (mostly it's footage of star Stella Stevens in various seductive poses). Peckinpah was dismayed that when he removed himself from violent on-screen action (such as with "Junior Bonner"), viewers abandoned him. He couldn't find success telling straight stories, and so eventually went back to supplying the bloodshed audiences seemed to want but critics crucified him for. Yet Peckinpah understood this helpless dichotomy better than anyone...whether or not he was able to work out his demons on film is a matter only the artist could ever answer.

Woodyanders Tom Thurman's thorough and informative, yet honest and objective documentary paints a fascinatingly vivid portrait of the tortured soul, brilliant mind, and romantic, but fatalistic and self-destructive spirit of legendary renegade iconoclastic director Sam Peckinpah, who revolutionized the Western genre with the landmark masterpieces "Ride the High Country," "The Wild Bunch," and "Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid." Sam's son Mathew, daughter Lupika, and sister Fern Lee Peter are very candid in their comments about Sam. Biographer David Weddle likewise has a lot of meaningful stuff to bring to the table. Critics Roger Ebert, Elvis Mitchell and David Thomson offer their astute opinions and observations. Stella Stevens, L.Q. Jones, R.G. Armstrong and Harry Dean Stanton share their experiences acting in pictures for Sam. Billy Bob Thornton, Benicio Del Toro, Paul Schrader and Michael Madison toss in their two cents worth as well. Kris Kristofferson's warm, husky, folksy narration does the trick beautifully well. Peckinpah's best films were transitional works about troubled individuals struggling to maintain their place in a rapidly changing world. One of his principal themes was failure, which was as much a huge part of his life as it was a key aspect of his work. This documentary sharply nails the ragged glory and desperate fury of Peckinpah's life and work. It neither glorifies nor vilifies Sam. Instead this documentary shows you Peckinpah as he was: gifted and intelligent, sometimes kind and funny, occasionally cruel and mean, the type of fellow who was one hell of a guy to know. Essential viewing for Sam Peckinpah fans.

Christopher T. Chase An original documentary produced by Encore's Western Channel, this is probably the most evenly-balanced and moving examination of the life of one of Hollywood's most notorious "outlaws". A womanizer, cokehead, drunkard, casual sadist and probably manic depressive to boot, Sam Peckinpah danced on the fine line between divinity and depravity, simultaneously embracing and rejecting both. And in the process, he made a handful of films, most of them beautiful disasters, but the few great ones delivering a startling, shocking and often sobering kind of vision offered by no other director who ever sat behind a camera. Though it hardly takes the nose dive into tabloid sensationalism that one might expect, (and in Peckinpah's case, it would've been all too easy), the doc recounts the life of the Western genre's most profane and poetic artist through a remarkable series of interviews with those who knew and loved him best, all of whom have fond remembrances of the director and the man, but who definitely don't shy away from the "warts and all" approach of their individual strolls down Memory Lane. Included are clips from great actors who have passed on, like legends Ben Johnson and James Coburn, to those who are still with us, like L.Q. Jones, still compellingly charismatic even at his advanced age, and of course Kris Kristofferson, who also provides the narration. On the artistic side of the examination, some surprising insights are also offered by film critics David Thomson, Elvis Mitchell and Roger Ebert, who happily prove that their particular crowd are good for a lot more than just panning films you love and extolling those you're most likely to despise.Worth viewing alone for rare behind-the-scenes footage and scenes from rarely shown gems like RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY, MAJOR DUNDEE, THE BALLAD OF CABLE HOGUE and THE DEADLY COMPANIONS, SAM PECKINPAH'S WEST is must-see viewing for his fans, Western lovers and movie aficionados in general. A great tribute and a cautionary tale about tortured genius, and the way in which Hollywood has always regarded (or disregarded) its greatest artists.