Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.

Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974)

“You two guys are definitely on my s--t list.” Bennie (Warren Oates)

A TV director turned Hollywood filmmaker, Sam Peckinpah turned out three bona fide masterpieces from his scanty oeuvre: Ride the High Country, The Wild Bunch, and The Cross of Iron. This despite the insistence of the studios in cleaning up his work, cutting and excising parts until the film no longer represented Peckinpah’s vision. It’s no wonder he had little use for studio heads or executives in general.

Sam Peckinpah had trouble with authority and it’s a theme he returns to again and again. Other themes Peckinpah obsessed over were honor, loyalty, courage, changing times, and the eternal dichotomy of womankind - Madonna vs. whore? Luckily for film viewers, all of his films have been returned to their original director’s cuts, but theater goers never saw them, alas.

While all of Peckinpah’s films were more or less autobiographical Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia was his most personal film. It’s the only one he had full creative control over and approval of the final cut.

The film has a quite an original story, penned by Peckinpah. It concerns the hunt for a man who impregnated a rich man’s daughter, somewhere in Latin America. Like Don Corleone in the Godfather, the man only has to say “bring me the head of Alfredo Garcia,” and it sets off a chain of events that end only when every principal character has been killed.

Bennie, the protagonist, is an American expatriate living in Mexico - Peckinpah’s final frontier. To support himself he plays piano in a tourist bar and cadges drinks from the onlookers. That’s where the modern day bounty hunters (Gig Young and Robert Webber) find him, circulating a picture of the miscreant and seeking information as to his whereabouts. The Mexicans are not stupid and deny that they know the fellow. Bennie (Warren Oates) however does claim to know him and they offer him $10,000 to bring him back, or rather his head, as proof. When Bennie checks around he finds that Alfredo had last been seen in the company of Bennie’s girlfriend, who had claimed she was sick during the time in question. She admits to as much, but reveals that Alfredo was killed just after in a car accident. Bennie gets the bright idea of digging up the body, taking the head, and earning a quick ten thousand bucks… The remainder of the film concerns showing just how Bennie’s quest plays out…

Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia is a film about redemption, but like most of Peckinpah’s stories, the redemption comes too late. Bennie is likened to Fred C. Dobbs, a character made famous by Humphrey Bogart, but really he is a stand in for Peckinpah. A guy who never made anything of himself and makes an effort, too late in the game to matter. Certainly the alcoholism, self loathing, and mistrust of women is pure Peckinpah. Bennie is driven to carry out his plan, despite the fact he knows he’s going to lose.

Warren Oates (The Wild Bunch, Dillinger, Badlands) gives a compelling performance as Bennie, who, like Fred C. Dobbs, unravels before your eyes during his quest to bring back the severed head. Bennie drinks his liquor straight from the bottle and his dialog progresses from a stream of consciousness soliloquy to a one sided conversation, and, oddly, friendship with the head. Cars are a big part of the production and you’ve probably never seen such ancient, dilapidated relics as Peckinpah shows here, going over the dirt roads of rural Mexico.

The supporting cast consists of many alumni from The Wild Bunch like Emilio Fernandez and Chano Ureta as well as Kris Kristofferson, Gig Young, and Robert Webber. Starring as Bennie’s girlfriend is the good-looking Isela Vega - did I mention the boobs? Yep, there are a lot of them exposed in the movie and Vega’s are often in evidence. That, and the violence - another Peckinpah trademark that earned him the moniker “Bloody Sam” - there are about twenty killings so this is not a movie you want to enjoy with the kiddies or polite company.

The MGM DVD is presented in color, in 1.85:1 theatrical aspect, and runs an hour and 52 minutes. There is a commentary track by a trio of “Peckinpah scholars” that I found helpful, subtitles, and a couple of language choices, as well as the theatrical trailer.

Bring Me The Head of Alfredo Garcia is an off beat film and minor masterpiece from the work of director Sam Peckinpah. It’s not for everybody, but someone who wants an uncompromising look into the nihilistic abyss of Peckinpah’s soul might want to take a look.

Thanks for reading!

Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age