Sam Peckinpah: Maverick Film Director.
by alexanderdavies-99382 | created - 20 May 2019 | updated - 25 Nov 2020 | PublicFrom the beginning of his career, Sam Peckinpah was deemed something of a maverick director by Hollywood. He was destined to make movies his way, not the studio way. Peckinpah was frequently at odds with producers and studio moguls as they tried to undermine his authority on a film set. In spite of all this, he remains one of the most creative artists of his time and his movies are still being enjoyed by contemporary audiences.
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1. The Wild Bunch (1969)
R | 135 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
An aging group of outlaws look for one last big score as the "traditional" American West is disappearing around them.
Director: Sam Peckinpah | Stars: William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Robert Ryan, Edmond O'Brien
Votes: 90,386 | Gross: $12.06M
The greatest American Western of the 1960s.
2. Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974)
R | 112 min | Action, Crime, Drama
An American barroom pianist and his prostitute girlfriend go on a trip through the Mexican underworld to collect the bounty on the head of a dead gigolo.
Director: Sam Peckinpah | Stars: Warren Oates, Isela Vega, Robert Webber, Gig Young
Votes: 21,532 | Gross: $0.58M
The only film where Peckinpah had complete control.
3. The Getaway (1972)
PG | 123 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
A recently-released ex-con and his loyal wife go on the run after a heist goes awry.
Director: Sam Peckinpah | Stars: Steve McQueen, Ali MacGraw, Ben Johnson, Sally Struthers
Votes: 35,699 | Gross: $36.73M
4. Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (1973)
R | 122 min | Biography, Drama, Western
Pat Garrett is hired as a lawman on behalf of a group of wealthy New Mexico cattle barons to bring down his old friend Billy the Kid.
Director: Sam Peckinpah | Stars: James Coburn, Kris Kristofferson, Richard Jaeckel, Katy Jurado
Votes: 21,093 | Gross: $0.95M
Patchy and with virtually no plot but there are many highlights.
5. Junior Bonner (1972)
PG | 100 min | Drama, Western
Ace Bonner returns to Arizona several years after he abandoned his family, Junior Bonner is a wild young man. Against the typical rodeo championship, family drama erupts.
Director: Sam Peckinpah | Stars: Steve McQueen, Robert Preston, Ida Lupino, Ben Johnson
Votes: 6,835 | Gross: $0.15M
6. Straw Dogs (1971)
R | 113 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A young American and his English wife come to rural England and face increasingly vicious local harassment.
Director: Sam Peckinpah | Stars: Dustin Hoffman, Susan George, Peter Vaughan, T.P. McKenna
Votes: 64,513
Rather overrated.
7. The Killer Elite (1975)
PG | 122 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
Mike Locken, who works for a private security firm affiliated with the C.I.A., is betrayed by his partner and left apparently crippled for life.
Director: Sam Peckinpah | Stars: James Caan, Robert Duvall, Arthur Hill, Bo Hopkins
Votes: 7,226
8. Ride the High Country (1962)
Approved | 94 min | Drama, Western
An ex-union soldier is hired to transport gold from a mining community through dangerous territory. But what he doesn't realize is that his partner and old friend is plotting to double-cross him.
Director: Sam Peckinpah | Stars: Joel McCrea, Randolph Scott, Mariette Hartley, Ron Starr
Votes: 14,840
9. The Ballad of Cable Hogue (1970)
R | 121 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A hobo accidentally stumbles onto a water spring, and creates a profitable way station in the middle of the desert.
Director: Sam Peckinpah | Stars: Jason Robards, Stella Stevens, David Warner, Strother Martin
Votes: 10,534 | Gross: $3.50M
10. Major Dundee (1965)
PG-13 | 123 min | Adventure, Drama, War
In 1864, due to frequent Apache raids from Mexico into the U.S., a Union officer decides to illegally cross the border and destroy the Apache, using a mixed army of Union troops, Confederate POWs, civilian mercenaries, and scouts.
Director: Sam Peckinpah | Stars: Charlton Heston, Richard Harris, Jim Hutton, James Coburn
Votes: 8,827 | Gross: $0.01M
A troubled production and still incomplete after all these years.
11. Cross of Iron (1977)
R | 119 min | Drama, War
German commander Hauptmann Stransky places a squad in extreme danger after Sergeant Rolf Steiner refuses to lie for him.
Director: Sam Peckinpah | Stars: James Coburn, Maximilian Schell, James Mason, David Warner
Votes: 29,178
A highly entertaining, gritty War film.
12. Convoy (1978)
PG | 110 min | Action, Drama
Truckers form a mile-long "convoy" in support of a trucker's vendetta with an abusive sheriff - Based on the country song of the same title by C.W. McCall.
Director: Sam Peckinpah | Stars: Kris Kristofferson, Ali MacGraw, Ernest Borgnine, Burt Young
Votes: 18,613 | Gross: $45.00M
A huge decline in overall quality.
13. The Osterman Weekend (1983)
R | 103 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
During the Cold War, a controversial television journalist is asked by the C.I.A. to persuade certain acquaintances, who are Soviet Agents of the Omega network, to defect.
Director: Sam Peckinpah | Stars: Rutger Hauer, John Hurt, Craig T. Nelson, Dennis Hopper
Votes: 9,420 | Gross: $6.49M
14. The Deadly Companions (1961)
Approved | 93 min | Adventure, Western
An ex-army officer accidentally kills a woman's son and tries to make up for it by escorting the funeral procession through dangerous Indian territory.
Director: Sam Peckinpah | Stars: Maureen O'Hara, Brian Keith, Steve Cochran, Chill Wills
Votes: 2,802
15. Sam Peckinpah's West: Legacy of a Hollywood Renegade (2004 TV Movie)
TV-14 | 89 min | Documentary, Biography
Spattered with blood and controversy, Sam Peckinpah's Westerns revolutionized their genre. SAM PECKINPAH'S WEST: LEGACY OF A HOLLYWOOD RENEGADE goes in search of the man behind these ... See full summary »
Director: Tom Thurman | Stars: Sam Peckinpah, Kris Kristofferson, Fern Lea Peter, Harry Dean Stanton
Votes: 296
16. Sam Peckinpah: Man of Iron (1993 TV Movie)
95 min | Documentary, Biography
This straight-talking program seeks to understand the enigmatic and controversial Sam Peckinpah, whose violent films such as The Wild Bunch and Straw Dogs had a telling effect on the cinema... See full summary »
Director: Paul Joyce | Stars: Sam Peckinpah, Alan Sharp, Katherine Haber, Kris Kristofferson
Votes: 202
17. Sam Peckinpah: Portrait (2006)
Not Rated | 80 min | Biography
Male friendship and loyalty till death. Drawing from the philosophy of Peckinpah's cinema, the film presents backstage images, movie trailers, TV commercials, sequences from his films, and comments by relatives, actors, and scholars.
Directors: Umberto Berlenghini, Michelangelo Dalto | Stars: R.G. Armstrong, Senta Berger, James Coburn, Katherine Haber
Votes: 15
18. Passion & Poetry: The Ballad of Sam Peckinpah (2005)
115 min | Documentary
The life and times of maverick filmmaker Sam Peckinpah (1925 - 1984)
Director: Mike Siegel | Stars: Mario Adorf, R.G. Armstrong, Senta Berger, Ernest Borgnine
Votes: 125
19. ABC Stage 67 (1966–1967)
51 min | Comedy, Drama, Musical
A weekly anthology of one-hour plays, both original and adapted from literary sources.
Stars: Lee Grant, Arthur Kennedy, The Doodletown Pipers, Diahann Carroll
Votes: 110
20. Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre (1963–1967)
60 min | Adventure, Comedy, Crime
Legendary entertainer Bob Hope hosted, and occasionally starred in, one of the last major anthology series on network television, featuring many of Hollywood's top names, including quite a few who didn't do much television otherwise
Stars: Bob Hope, Jack Weston, Jack Kelly, John Francis
Votes: 239
21. Route 66 (1960–1964)
TV-Y7 | 60 min | Adventure, Crime, Drama
The adventures of two young drifters across America.
Stars: Martin Milner, George Maharis, Glenn Corbett, James Brown
Votes: 1,950
22. The Westerner (1960– )
30 min | Western
Laconic cowboy Dave Blasingame wanders the Wild West with his faithful dog Brown and the occasional companionship of pal Burgundy Smith.
Stars: Brian Keith, Hank Gobble, Jimmy Lee Cook, Michael T. Mikler
Votes: 282
23. Zane Grey Theatre (1956–1961)
TV-PG | 25 min | Western
An anthology based (earlier more so than later) on the novels and stories of Zane Grey. Dick Powell was often the star, as well as the host.
Stars: Dick Powell, Walter Sande, Denver Pyle, Bill Erwin
Votes: 582
24. The Rifleman (1958–1963)
TV-PG | 30 min | Family, Western
The adventures of a Wild West rancher, wielding a customized rapid-fire Winchester rifle, and his son.
Stars: Chuck Connors, Johnny Crawford, Paul Fix, Joe Benson
Votes: 5,016
25. Broken Arrow (1956–1958)
30 min | Western
Indian Agent Tom Jeffords makes friends with Chief Cochise, becoming a blood brother of the Apache. Together they fight white schemers and renegade Indians.
Stars: John Lupton, Michael Ansara, Steven Ritch, Steve Conte
Votes: 271
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