Item #: 22270DV Category: PECKINPAH, SAM Format: DVD MPAA Rating: PG

Woolly Rating: 6/10 (73 votes)

MEMBER COMMENTS ON THIS VIDEO

Kevin Rayburn

Jun 23, 2005 @ 18:6:45

Even 'lesser' Peckinpah is interesting
This 1975 Peckinpah action film has slipped through the critical cracks; it was not much thought of on release, but now is worthy of revisitation during the current Peckinpah revival. Most of it is pretty good, but the finale of ninja vs. gunmen is pretty embarrassing; it reminds me of the ludicrous boxer vs. jujitsu fighter scene in the 1943 wartime propaganda film, 'Behind the Rising Sun.' One interesting thing in this complexly plotted Peckinpah film is the length of time devoted to James Caan's recovery from gunshot wounds. Unlike most films, in which bullet wounds seem to heal as fast as a pulled thorn, Peckinpah shows the healing and rehabilitation process as an arduous, drawn-out one. Putting these lengthy recovery scenes into the middle of an action film will probably frustrate many viewers, but I found them refreshing. Peckinpah adds more evidence to the growing opinion that his violence serves an anti-violence sensibility; that he understands the impacts of violence, both immediate and longterm. James Caan and Robert Duvall are pretty hard to beat as action co-stars, serving up the right chemistry in variation on the buddy cop picture, with the buddy cops gone wrong in relation to one another. The 70s visual grit and the anti-heroic mean-spiritedness make this a minor treat for those who--like me--enjoy the nasty integrity of '70s movies. ** The Killer Elite (1975) -2005 Kevin Rayburn

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