Major Dundee
Encyclopedia
Major Dundee is a 1965
Western
film written by Harry Julian Fink
and directed by Sam Peckinpah
. It starred Charlton Heston
and Richard Harris as officers from opposing sides in the American Civil War
who band together to hunt down a band of Apache
s.
, Union cavalry officer Major Amos Dundee (Heston) is relieved of his command for an unspecified tactical error (though it is implied that he showed too much initiative) at the Battle of Gettysburg
and was sent to head a prisoner-of-war camp in the New Mexico Territory
. After a family of ranchers and a relief column of cavalry are massacred by an Apache
war chief named Sierra Charriba (Michael Pate
), Dundee seizes the opportunity for glory, raising his own private army of Union troops (black and white), Confederate prisoners led by his former friend and rival (from their days at West Point), Captain Tyreen (Richard Harris
), several Indian scouts, and a gang of civilian mercenaries to illegally pursue Charriba into Mexico
. Tyreen bears a grudge against Dundee. Before the war, Dundee cast the deciding vote in Tyreen's court-martial
from the U.S. Army for participating in a duel
. However, having given his word of honor, the chivalrous Tyreen binds himself and his men to serve loyally, but only until Charriba has been dispatched.
The film is narrated by young bugler, Tim Ryan (Michael Anderson, Jr.
), whose diary is meant to serve as an ironic counterpoint to the action. In the cut version, this intention by Peckinpah/Fink does not come across very well. When the diverse factions of Dundee's force aren't fighting each other, they engage the Apaches in several bloody battles. The Americans lose most of their supplies in an Apache ambush, forcing them to raid a village garrisoned by French troops loyal to Emperor Maximilian of Mexico. However, there is little to loot, and Dundee ends up sharing some of his dwindling food with the starving Mexicans. Beautiful resident Teresa Santiago (Senta Berger
), the widow of a doctor executed for his support of the rebels under Benito Juárez
, causes further tensions between Tyreen and Dundee.
Dundee makes it easy for his French prisoners to escape. When they return with reinforcements as he had expected, Dundee surprises them in a night attack and makes off with badly needed supplies. Teresa ultimately has a short-lived affair with Dundee. In an unguarded moment with her, he is wounded by the Apaches in the leg, forcing him to seek medical help in French-held Durango
. The doctor successfully removes the arrow, but Dundee has to remain there to recuperate. He is tended by a pretty Mexican, whom he eventually takes to bed. When Teresa comes upon them unexpectedly, her relationship with Dundee comes to an abrupt end. Dundee starts drinking heavily as a result. Tyreen has to sneak into town and shame Dundee into resuming his mission.
Charriba proves impossible to pin down, so Dundee pretends to give up and starts back for the U.S. The Apaches give chase and end up in a trap. Charriba is finally killed. With their bargain concluded, Dundee and Tyreen prepare to resume their own personal battle, but the vengeful French appear, forcing the two men to set aside their differences. The two cavalry forces charge each other at the Rio Grande River. When Tyreen is fatally shot, he rides off to singlehandedly delay a second detachment of French cavalry while the others escape.
, Oscar Saul
, and Peckinpah, was loosely based on historical precedents. However, contrary to claims by the production team at the time, it was not actually based on a true story. The film's novelization was written by Richard Wormser. During the Minnesota Dakota War of 1862
, Union forces in that state were forced to recruit Confederate prisoners from Texas to make up for their meager numbers in fighting the Indians. Unlike the movie, where there is much animosity between the Union and Confederate troops in Dundee's command, the rebels, called "Galvanized Yankees
", fought well and without much complaint. Both Union and Confederate forces also battled Apache, Navajo
, and Comanche
Indians throughout the war along the U.S.-Mexico border, making the scenario of the movie at least somewhat plausible. Before the film's production, Peckinpah had been working on a Custer project, based on the novel by Hoffman Birney The Dice of God, but later abandoned it for this film. (His screenplay was filmed by Arnold Laven
, as The Glory Guys
).
Critics of the film have also pointed out similarities between this and Herman Melville
's classic novel Moby-Dick
. Many of the characters are similar to those from that book, with Dundee as Captain Ahab, Tyreen as Starbuck, Ryan as Ishmael, and other minor characters, with Sierra Charriba and his Apache tribe substituting for the whale, as is the general plot line (an obsessive idealist drives himself to destruction, disregarding the effects on others). These references to Moby-Dick
were likely intentional on the part of the screenwriters. Some have also pointed out similarities of the plot to the Vietnam War
, which are highly unlikely to have been intentional, as the war had not significantly escalated at the time of the film's production.
The opening scene at the Rostes Ranch and the funeral after the first skirmish with the Indians were inspired by scenes from The Searchers
, while the scene where Dundee's troop exits Fort Benlin, each faction of the command singing its own distinct song, is a deliberate parody of an equivalent scene in Fort Apache
. The characterization of Dundee, particularly his personality as a martinet and his relationship with Tyreen, has been related to John Wayne
's character in Howard Hawks
' Red River. The Mexican Civil War setting recalls Robert Aldrich
's Vera Cruz
. The film also includes several references to David Lean
's Lawrence of Arabia
– the execution of Hadley, and Dundee's drunken exile in Durango, closely mirror sequences from this film.
, and was eager to work with the director. Actor R.G. Armstrong, who had a small part as a Reverend who tags along with the expedition, referred to the 156 minutes version of the film as "Moby-Dick on horseback". The production of the movie was very troubled: Peckinpah was often drunk on the set, and was supposedly so abusive towards the cast that Heston had to threaten him with a cavalry saber in order to calm him down. Peckinpah also fired a large number of crew members for very trivial reasons throughout the shoot. Columbia studio executives feared that the project was out of control, and that Peckinpah was too unstable to finish the picture, so they cut the shooting schedule of the film by several weeks. Heston gave up his entire salary for the film in order to keep Peckinpah on the project – a gesture rarely equaled in Hollywood history. However, the studio forced Peckinpah to wrap up shooting very abruptly; Heston alleged that Peckinpah, towards the end of the shoot, simply became drunk and wandered off the set, and that he (Heston) had to finish directing many portions of the movie himself.
The length of Peckinpah's original cut has been disputed. According to some sources, including the 2005 DVD commentary, the original cut was 4 hours, 38 minutes long, which was initially edited down to 156 minutes. Included in the unseen longer cuts were several slow-motion battle scenes which were inspired by Akira Kurosawa
's Seven Samurai. The movie was also fairly gory for the standards of 1965, and more bloody and violent scenes were cut out. A bombastic musical score by Daniele Amfitheatrof
was added to the film despite Peckinpah's protests, as was the title song, the Major Dundee March, sung by Mitch Miller
and his Sing-Along Gang. (The song has gained a negative reputation over the years, it became a major hit at the time – unlike the film, which tanked at the box office.) One of the most bizarre parts of the score was the use of an electronically altered sound (the employment of three anvils of different lengths, played-back at half-speed) every time Charriba or the Apaches would be seen or even mentioned ("Until the Apache is taken or destroyed" was one of the film's catch phrases). At the film's initial release, it was 136 minutes long. After a disastrous premiere – the movie was almost universally panned by critics – an additional thirteen minutes got cut out, despite the protests of Peckinpah and producer Jerry Bresler. Some feel that these cuts ruined the movie's scope and created significant plot holes, though others argue that these plot holes exist even in the extended version.
Major Dundee helped cement Peckinpah's image as a renegade filmmaker, which he would enhance with the conflicts on his later films, such as Straw Dogs, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid
, and Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia
. Others, namely Peckinpah's biographer David Weddle
(author of If They Move, Kill 'Em: The Life and Times of Sam Peckinpah), argue that Peckinpah is just as much to blame for the final product as Columbia and Jerry Bresler. Since its release on DVD, Dundee has begun to get recognition and notice from the public at large, and not just Western fans.
premiered an "expanded" version featuring several restored scenes, along with a new musical score by Christopher Caliendo. This expanded version was actually the 136 minute cut authorized by producer Jerry Bresler
before he left Columbia Studios. It had recently been unearthed in Sony Pictures' archives. It played in selected cities in North America and has been released on a Region 1 DVD. All of the cuts were edited out of the release version at the last minute; it is highly unlikely that Peckinpah's director's cut
will ever be fully restored.
Restored scenes are listed below. These include both brief inserts and additions to existing scenes, as well as four major scenes restored to the film.
Many significant scenes were still missing from the film. For a complete list of these, and a comparison of the original script and the two released versions of the film, see here. For the 2005 version, a new score was commissioned, and composed by Christopher Caliendo. This score was composed and recorded with a small studio orchestra to authentically sound the way director Peckinpah might have approved it had he been alive at the time of the film's restoration, and the way the music might have been done in its original 1965 release as opposed to today's larger orchestra-type scores. The new score is regarded by some critics as being better than the original, which was disliked by film experts, though many concede it is far from perfect; for example, there has been criticism of Caliendo's decision to leave unscored several sequences which did have music in the original version.
1965 in film
The year 1965 in film involved some significant events, with The Sound of Music topping the U.S. box office.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:...
Western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
film written by Harry Julian Fink
Harry Julian Fink
Harry Julian Fink, television and film writer, wrote for Have Gun – Will Travel and was one of the writers who created Dirty Harry.He wrote for various TV shows in the 1950s and 1960s, and also created several, including NBC's T.H.E. Cat, starring Robert Loggia, and Tate starring David McLean.His...
and directed by Sam Peckinpah
Sam Peckinpah
David Samuel "Sam" Peckinpah was an American filmmaker and screenwriter who achieved prominence following the release of the Western epic The Wild Bunch...
. It starred Charlton Heston
Charlton Heston
Charlton Heston was an American actor of film, theatre and television. Heston is known for heroic roles in films such as The Ten Commandments, Ben-Hur for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor, El Cid, and Planet of the Apes...
and Richard Harris as officers from opposing sides in the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
who band together to hunt down a band of Apache
Apache
Apache is the collective term for several culturally related groups of Native Americans in the United States originally from the Southwest United States. These indigenous peoples of North America speak a Southern Athabaskan language, which is related linguistically to the languages of Athabaskan...
s.
Plot
During the American Civil WarAmerican Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, Union cavalry officer Major Amos Dundee (Heston) is relieved of his command for an unspecified tactical error (though it is implied that he showed too much initiative) at the Battle of Gettysburg
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg , was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, it is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac...
and was sent to head a prisoner-of-war camp in the New Mexico Territory
New Mexico Territory
thumb|right|240px|Proposed boundaries for State of New Mexico, 1850The Territory of New Mexico was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 6, 1912, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of...
. After a family of ranchers and a relief column of cavalry are massacred by an Apache
Apache
Apache is the collective term for several culturally related groups of Native Americans in the United States originally from the Southwest United States. These indigenous peoples of North America speak a Southern Athabaskan language, which is related linguistically to the languages of Athabaskan...
war chief named Sierra Charriba (Michael Pate
Michael Pate
Michael Pate was an Australian actor, writer and director.-Early life:He was born Edward John Pate in Drummoyne, Sydney...
), Dundee seizes the opportunity for glory, raising his own private army of Union troops (black and white), Confederate prisoners led by his former friend and rival (from their days at West Point), Captain Tyreen (Richard Harris
Richard Harris
Richard St John Harris was an Irish actor, singer-songwriter, theatrical producer, film director and writer....
), several Indian scouts, and a gang of civilian mercenaries to illegally pursue Charriba into Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. Tyreen bears a grudge against Dundee. Before the war, Dundee cast the deciding vote in Tyreen's court-martial
Court-martial
A court-martial is a military court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the armed forces subject to military law, and, if the defendant is found guilty, to decide upon punishment.Most militaries maintain a court-martial system to try cases in which a breach of...
from the U.S. Army for participating in a duel
Duel
A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two individuals, with matched weapons in accordance with agreed-upon rules.Duels in this form were chiefly practised in Early Modern Europe, with precedents in the medieval code of chivalry, and continued into the modern period especially among...
. However, having given his word of honor, the chivalrous Tyreen binds himself and his men to serve loyally, but only until Charriba has been dispatched.
The film is narrated by young bugler, Tim Ryan (Michael Anderson, Jr.
Michael Anderson, Jr.
Michael Joseph Anderson, Jr. is an English actor.He was born in Hillingdon, Middlesex, into a theatrical family. His grandparents and great-great-aunt were acclaimed actors. His father is the film director Michael Anderson, Sr. He is the stepson of actress Adrienne Ellis, and stepbrother of...
), whose diary is meant to serve as an ironic counterpoint to the action. In the cut version, this intention by Peckinpah/Fink does not come across very well. When the diverse factions of Dundee's force aren't fighting each other, they engage the Apaches in several bloody battles. The Americans lose most of their supplies in an Apache ambush, forcing them to raid a village garrisoned by French troops loyal to Emperor Maximilian of Mexico. However, there is little to loot, and Dundee ends up sharing some of his dwindling food with the starving Mexicans. Beautiful resident Teresa Santiago (Senta Berger
Senta Berger
Senta Berger is an Austrian film, stage and television actress, producer and author.Regarded by critics as one of the greatest actresses of the post-war period, and frequently named as one of the leading German-speaking actresses in polls, Berger has received many award nominations for her acting...
), the widow of a doctor executed for his support of the rebels under Benito Juárez
Benito Juárez
Benito Juárez born Benito Pablo Juárez García, was a Mexican lawyer and politician of Zapotec origin from Oaxaca who served five terms as president of Mexico: 1858–1861 as interim, 1861–1865, 1865–1867, 1867–1871 and 1871–1872...
, causes further tensions between Tyreen and Dundee.
Dundee makes it easy for his French prisoners to escape. When they return with reinforcements as he had expected, Dundee surprises them in a night attack and makes off with badly needed supplies. Teresa ultimately has a short-lived affair with Dundee. In an unguarded moment with her, he is wounded by the Apaches in the leg, forcing him to seek medical help in French-held Durango
Durango, Durango
-Climate:The city of Durango has a semi-arid climate, classified as Bsk in the Koppen system. The climate is temperate in the western portion , with the average annual temperature being 15 °C and consisting of an average annual rainfall of 1,600 millimeters. In the eastern region, the average...
. The doctor successfully removes the arrow, but Dundee has to remain there to recuperate. He is tended by a pretty Mexican, whom he eventually takes to bed. When Teresa comes upon them unexpectedly, her relationship with Dundee comes to an abrupt end. Dundee starts drinking heavily as a result. Tyreen has to sneak into town and shame Dundee into resuming his mission.
Charriba proves impossible to pin down, so Dundee pretends to give up and starts back for the U.S. The Apaches give chase and end up in a trap. Charriba is finally killed. With their bargain concluded, Dundee and Tyreen prepare to resume their own personal battle, but the vengeful French appear, forcing the two men to set aside their differences. The two cavalry forces charge each other at the Rio Grande River. When Tyreen is fatally shot, he rides off to singlehandedly delay a second detachment of French cavalry while the others escape.
Themes
The screenplay, by Harry Julian FinkHarry Julian Fink
Harry Julian Fink, television and film writer, wrote for Have Gun – Will Travel and was one of the writers who created Dirty Harry.He wrote for various TV shows in the 1950s and 1960s, and also created several, including NBC's T.H.E. Cat, starring Robert Loggia, and Tate starring David McLean.His...
, Oscar Saul
Oscar Saul
Oscar Saul was an American writer. Saul wrote or collaborated on the screenplays for numerous movies from the 1940s through to the early 1980s...
, and Peckinpah, was loosely based on historical precedents. However, contrary to claims by the production team at the time, it was not actually based on a true story. The film's novelization was written by Richard Wormser. During the Minnesota Dakota War of 1862
Dakota War of 1862
The Dakota War of 1862, also known as the Sioux Uprising, was an armed conflict between the United States and several bands of the eastern Sioux. It began on August 17, 1862, along the Minnesota River in southwest Minnesota...
, Union forces in that state were forced to recruit Confederate prisoners from Texas to make up for their meager numbers in fighting the Indians. Unlike the movie, where there is much animosity between the Union and Confederate troops in Dundee's command, the rebels, called "Galvanized Yankees
Galvanized Yankees
Galvanized Yankees was a term from the American Civil War used to refer to former Confederate prisoners of war who had sworn allegiance to the Union. Due to doubts about their ultimate loyalty, Galvanized Yankees were generally assigned to garrison forts far from the Civil War battlefields or in...
", fought well and without much complaint. Both Union and Confederate forces also battled Apache, Navajo
Navajo Nation
The Navajo Nation is a semi-autonomous Native American-governed territory covering , occupying all of northeastern Arizona, the southeastern portion of Utah, and northwestern New Mexico...
, and Comanche
Comanche
The Comanche are a Native American ethnic group whose historic range consisted of present-day eastern New Mexico, southern Colorado, northeastern Arizona, southern Kansas, all of Oklahoma, and most of northwest Texas. Historically, the Comanches were hunter-gatherers, with a typical Plains Indian...
Indians throughout the war along the U.S.-Mexico border, making the scenario of the movie at least somewhat plausible. Before the film's production, Peckinpah had been working on a Custer project, based on the novel by Hoffman Birney The Dice of God, but later abandoned it for this film. (His screenplay was filmed by Arnold Laven
Arnold Laven
Arnold Laven was an American film and television director and producer. He was one of the founders and principals of the American film and television production company Levy-Gardner-Laven. Laven was a producer of, among other things, the long-running western television series The Rifleman and...
, as The Glory Guys
The Glory Guys
The Glory Guys is a 1965 motion picture based on the novel The Dice of God by Hoffman Birney. Filmed by Levy-Gardner-Laven and released by United Artists, it stars Tom Tryon, Harve Presnell, Senta Berger, James Caan, and Michael Anderson, Jr. The film's screenplay was written by Sam Peckinpah long...
).
Critics of the film have also pointed out similarities between this and Herman Melville
Herman Melville
Herman Melville was an American novelist, short story writer, essayist, and poet. He is best known for his novel Moby-Dick and the posthumous novella Billy Budd....
's classic novel Moby-Dick
Moby-Dick
Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, was written by American author Herman Melville and first published in 1851. It is considered by some to be a Great American Novel and a treasure of world literature. The story tells the adventures of wandering sailor Ishmael, and his voyage on the whaleship Pequod,...
. Many of the characters are similar to those from that book, with Dundee as Captain Ahab, Tyreen as Starbuck, Ryan as Ishmael, and other minor characters, with Sierra Charriba and his Apache tribe substituting for the whale, as is the general plot line (an obsessive idealist drives himself to destruction, disregarding the effects on others). These references to Moby-Dick
Moby-Dick
Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, was written by American author Herman Melville and first published in 1851. It is considered by some to be a Great American Novel and a treasure of world literature. The story tells the adventures of wandering sailor Ishmael, and his voyage on the whaleship Pequod,...
were likely intentional on the part of the screenwriters. Some have also pointed out similarities of the plot to the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
, which are highly unlikely to have been intentional, as the war had not significantly escalated at the time of the film's production.
The opening scene at the Rostes Ranch and the funeral after the first skirmish with the Indians were inspired by scenes from The Searchers
The Searchers (film)
The Searchers is a 1956 American Western film directed by John Ford, based on the 1954 novel by Alan Le May, and set during the Texas–Indian Wars...
, while the scene where Dundee's troop exits Fort Benlin, each faction of the command singing its own distinct song, is a deliberate parody of an equivalent scene in Fort Apache
Fort Apache
-Places:* Fort Apache, Arizona* Fort Apache Indian Reservation, the White Mountain Apache tribe's reservation and former US Army cavalry post near Whiteriver, Arizona* Fuerte Apache, a housing project outside Buenos Aires, Argentina.-Military:...
. The characterization of Dundee, particularly his personality as a martinet and his relationship with Tyreen, has been related to John Wayne
John Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
's character in Howard Hawks
Howard Hawks
Howard Winchester Hawks was an American film director, producer and screenwriter of the classic Hollywood era...
' Red River. The Mexican Civil War setting recalls Robert Aldrich
Robert Aldrich
Robert Aldrich was an American film director, writer and producer, notable for such films as Kiss Me Deadly , The Big Knife , What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? , Hush… Hush, Sweet Charlotte , The Flight of the Phoenix , The Dirty Dozen , and The Longest Yard .-Biography:Robert...
's Vera Cruz
Vera Cruz (film)
Vera Cruz is a 1954 American Technicolor Western starring Gary Cooper and Burt Lancaster, and featuring Denise Darcel, Sara Montiel, and Cesar Romero. The movie was directed by Robert Aldrich from a story by Borden Chase...
. The film also includes several references to David Lean
David Lean
Sir David Lean CBE was an English film director, producer, screenwriter, and editor best remembered for big-screen epics such as The Bridge on the River Kwai , Lawrence of Arabia ,...
's Lawrence of Arabia
Lawrence of Arabia (film)
Lawrence of Arabia is a 1962 British film based on the life of T. E. Lawrence. It was directed by David Lean and produced by Sam Spiegel through his British company, Horizon Pictures, with the screenplay by Robert Bolt and Michael Wilson. The film stars Peter O'Toole in the title role. It is widely...
– the execution of Hadley, and Dundee's drunken exile in Durango, closely mirror sequences from this film.
Production
Peckinpah found the script in late 1963. The early draft by Fink (as in the novelization) focused on Trooper Ryan and presented the film as a typical adventure story. Peckinpah largely discarded this, and began making the movie into a complex character study about Dundee, making him a glory-hungry officer who would do anything to gain fame and recognition. He had the support of Heston, who had seen and enjoyed Peckinpah's previous film, Ride the High CountryRide the High Country
Ride the High Country is a noted 1962 American Western film. It stars Joel McCrea, Randolph Scott, Ron Starr, Edgar Buchanan and Mariette Hartley. It was written by N.B...
, and was eager to work with the director. Actor R.G. Armstrong, who had a small part as a Reverend who tags along with the expedition, referred to the 156 minutes version of the film as "Moby-Dick on horseback". The production of the movie was very troubled: Peckinpah was often drunk on the set, and was supposedly so abusive towards the cast that Heston had to threaten him with a cavalry saber in order to calm him down. Peckinpah also fired a large number of crew members for very trivial reasons throughout the shoot. Columbia studio executives feared that the project was out of control, and that Peckinpah was too unstable to finish the picture, so they cut the shooting schedule of the film by several weeks. Heston gave up his entire salary for the film in order to keep Peckinpah on the project – a gesture rarely equaled in Hollywood history. However, the studio forced Peckinpah to wrap up shooting very abruptly; Heston alleged that Peckinpah, towards the end of the shoot, simply became drunk and wandered off the set, and that he (Heston) had to finish directing many portions of the movie himself.
The length of Peckinpah's original cut has been disputed. According to some sources, including the 2005 DVD commentary, the original cut was 4 hours, 38 minutes long, which was initially edited down to 156 minutes. Included in the unseen longer cuts were several slow-motion battle scenes which were inspired by Akira Kurosawa
Akira Kurosawa
was a Japanese film director, producer, screenwriter and editor. Regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema, Kurosawa directed 30 filmsIn 1946, Kurosawa co-directed, with Hideo Sekigawa and Kajiro Yamamoto, the feature Those Who Make Tomorrow ;...
's Seven Samurai. The movie was also fairly gory for the standards of 1965, and more bloody and violent scenes were cut out. A bombastic musical score by Daniele Amfitheatrof
Daniele Amfitheatrof
-Early life:Amfitheatrof was born in St. Petersburg, into a family that was distinguished in various areas of the arts and culture. His father, Aleksander Amfiteatrov, was a noted writer. His mother Illaria , an accomplished singer and pianist, had studied privately with Rimsky-Korsakov.The...
was added to the film despite Peckinpah's protests, as was the title song, the Major Dundee March, sung by Mitch Miller
Mitch Miller
Mitchell William "Mitch" Miller was an American musician, singer, conductor, record producer, A&R man and record company executive...
and his Sing-Along Gang. (The song has gained a negative reputation over the years, it became a major hit at the time – unlike the film, which tanked at the box office.) One of the most bizarre parts of the score was the use of an electronically altered sound (the employment of three anvils of different lengths, played-back at half-speed) every time Charriba or the Apaches would be seen or even mentioned ("Until the Apache is taken or destroyed" was one of the film's catch phrases). At the film's initial release, it was 136 minutes long. After a disastrous premiere – the movie was almost universally panned by critics – an additional thirteen minutes got cut out, despite the protests of Peckinpah and producer Jerry Bresler. Some feel that these cuts ruined the movie's scope and created significant plot holes, though others argue that these plot holes exist even in the extended version.
Major Dundee helped cement Peckinpah's image as a renegade filmmaker, which he would enhance with the conflicts on his later films, such as Straw Dogs, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid
Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid
Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid is a 1973 Western film directed by Sam Peckinpah and starring James Coburn and Kris Kristofferson. Co-star Bob Dylan composed multiple songs for the movie's score and the album Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid was released the same year.The film was noted for...
, and Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia
Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia
Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia is a 1974 American action film directed by Sam Peckinpah and featuring Warren Oates....
. Others, namely Peckinpah's biographer David Weddle
David Weddle
David Weddle is an American television producer and writer, best known for episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , The Twilight Zone , Battlestar Galactica , and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation with writing partner Bradley Thompson...
(author of If They Move, Kill 'Em: The Life and Times of Sam Peckinpah), argue that Peckinpah is just as much to blame for the final product as Columbia and Jerry Bresler. Since its release on DVD, Dundee has begun to get recognition and notice from the public at large, and not just Western fans.
Restored version
In April 2005, the New York City based Film ForumFilm Forum
Film Forum is a nonprofit movie theater located at 209 West Houston Street in New York City. It began in 1970 as an alternative screening space for independent films, with 50 folding chairs, one projector and a US$19,000 annual budget. Karen Cooper became director in 1972 and under her leadership,...
premiered an "expanded" version featuring several restored scenes, along with a new musical score by Christopher Caliendo. This expanded version was actually the 136 minute cut authorized by producer Jerry Bresler
Jerry Bresler
Jerry Bresler was a songwriter, with one of his most famous compositions being "Five Guys Named Moe". He won an Oscar and subsequently had two other nominations for his two-reel short films....
before he left Columbia Studios. It had recently been unearthed in Sony Pictures' archives. It played in selected cities in North America and has been released on a Region 1 DVD. All of the cuts were edited out of the release version at the last minute; it is highly unlikely that Peckinpah's director's cut
Director's cut
A director's cut is a specially edited version of a film, and less often TV series, music video, commercials, comic book or video games, that is supposed to represent the director's own approved edit...
will ever be fully restored.
Restored scenes are listed below. These include both brief inserts and additions to existing scenes, as well as four major scenes restored to the film.
- Ryan playing TapsTaps"Taps" is a musical piece sounded by the U.S. military nightly to indicate that it is "lights out". The tune is also sometimes known as "Butterfields Lullaby", or by the lyrics of its second verse, "Day is Done". It is also played during flag ceremonies and funerals, generally on bugle or trumpet...
over a shot of soldiers burying the victims of the massacre. - A brief scene, after Dundee, Sam Potts (Coburn), and the other Union troopers survey the massacre at the Rostes Ranch, where Tyreen and his Confederates attempt to escape through a mountain stream. They were trapped by troops from the fort and Dundee's command, leading into the "assembly" scene where Dundee announces to the fort's prisoners his need for volunteers. It is important as it introduces the character of Tyreen, who is only awkwardly introduced in the original cut, and gives the reason why he and his men are to hang later in the film (they killed a guard during their escape attempt).
- Tyreen's men refusing to wear the Union jackets provided to them by Dundee.
- Children watching Dundee's expedition leaving Fort Benlin.
- The wrestling match between Potts and the scout Riago is much longer, with Dundee chiding Potts because the artillery (Lt. Graham) bet on him.
- Paco, one of Potts' Indian scouts, is killed by Apaches before the river ambush.
- The fiesta scene in the Mexican village is longer, with Potts leering at a pretty girl, who snubs him (which would have led to the knife fight scene detailed below), and Teresa trying to comfort a crying baby.
- Dundee recovering from his leg wound in Durango, while being tended to by Melinche (Aurora Clavell), eventually falling in love with her.
- A scene where Dundee and his officers – Tyreen, Potts, Lt. Graham (Hutton), and Sgt. Gomez (Adorf) find an Apache trail marker, and then debate strategy on how to fight Charriba. At the end of the scene, we learn the fate of Apache scout Riago (José Carlos Ruiz), who had earlier in the film been accused of being an agent of Charriba's by Dundee and others. In this version, he is found crucified in a tree. In the theatrical cut, his character disappeared without a trace.
- Available as extras on the DVD are an unfinished knife fight scene between Potts and Gomez in a Mexican village, a longer version of Teresa and Dundee's interlude at the lake, and several silent outtakes – including a master shot which would have opened the massacre scene at the beginning, of Lt. Brannin and his men riding past a sheep farmer to the Rostes Ranch.
Many significant scenes were still missing from the film. For a complete list of these, and a comparison of the original script and the two released versions of the film, see here. For the 2005 version, a new score was commissioned, and composed by Christopher Caliendo. This score was composed and recorded with a small studio orchestra to authentically sound the way director Peckinpah might have approved it had he been alive at the time of the film's restoration, and the way the music might have been done in its original 1965 release as opposed to today's larger orchestra-type scores. The new score is regarded by some critics as being better than the original, which was disliked by film experts, though many concede it is far from perfect; for example, there has been criticism of Caliendo's decision to leave unscored several sequences which did have music in the original version.
Cast
- Charlton HestonCharlton HestonCharlton Heston was an American actor of film, theatre and television. Heston is known for heroic roles in films such as The Ten Commandments, Ben-Hur for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor, El Cid, and Planet of the Apes...
as Major Amos Dundee. - Richard HarrisRichard HarrisRichard St John Harris was an Irish actor, singer-songwriter, theatrical producer, film director and writer....
as Captain Benjamin Tyreen. - Jim HuttonJim HuttonDana James Hutton , usually credited as Jim Hutton, was an American actor in film and television probably best remembered for his role as Ellery Queen in the 1970s TV series of the same name.-Early life and career:...
as Lieutenant Graham, a bumbling, inexperienced artilleryman - James CoburnJames CoburnJames Harrison Coburn III was an American film and television actor. Coburn appeared in nearly 70 films and made over 100 television appearances during his 45-year career, and played a wide range of roles and won an Academy Award for his supporting role as Glen Whitehouse in Affliction.A capable,...
as Samuel Potts, a wily "mountain man" or half-breed, much like Jerry PottsJerry PottsJerry Potts , , was a Canadian American plainsman, buffalo hunter, horse trader, interpreter, and scout.-Early life:... - Michael Anderson, Jr.Michael Anderson, Jr.Michael Joseph Anderson, Jr. is an English actor.He was born in Hillingdon, Middlesex, into a theatrical family. His grandparents and great-great-aunt were acclaimed actors. His father is the film director Michael Anderson, Sr. He is the stepson of actress Adrienne Ellis, and stepbrother of...
as Trooper Tim Ryan, the bugler - Senta BergerSenta BergerSenta Berger is an Austrian film, stage and television actress, producer and author.Regarded by critics as one of the greatest actresses of the post-war period, and frequently named as one of the leading German-speaking actresses in polls, Berger has received many award nominations for her acting...
as Teresa Santiago, the wife of an Austrian doctor, she serves as the head doctor of a Mexican village - Mario AdorfMario AdorfMario Adorf is a German film and stage actor, best known for his lead role in the 1978 film The Tin Drum.-Biography:...
as Sergeant Gomez, Dundee's solid right-hand man - Brock PetersBrock PetersBrock Peters was an American actor, best known for playing the role of Tom Robinson in the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird...
as Aesop, leader of a small group of black soldiers stationed at Fort Benlin - Warren OatesWarren OatesWarren Mercer Oates was an American actor best known for his performances in several films directed by Sam Peckinpah including The Wild Bunch and Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia...
as O.W. Hadley, an irresponsible Confederate. He deserts, but is caught and executed by Tyreen. - Ben JohnsonBen Johnson (actor)Ben "Son" Johnson, Jr. was an American motion picture actor who was mainly cast in Westerns. He was also a rodeo cowboy, stuntman, and rancher.-Personal life:...
as Sergeant Chillum, Tyreen's right-hand man - R.G. Armstrong as Reverend Dahlstrom, a local minister who joins the expedition to avenge the deaths of some of his congregation
- L.Q. Jones as Arthur Hadley, O.W.'s brother
- Slim PickensSlim PickensLouis Burton Lindley, Jr. , better known by the stage name Slim Pickens, was an American rodeo performer and film and television actor who epitomized the profane, tough, sardonic cowboy, but who is best remembered for his comic roles, notably in Dr...
as Wiley, a drunken mule-packer - Dub TaylorDub TaylorWalter Clarence Taylor, Jr. , better known as Dub Taylor, was an American actor who worked extensively in Westerns, but also in comedy from the 1940s into the 1990s.-Early life:...
as Benjamin Priam, a disheveled horse thief recruited from Fort Benlin's prison - John Davis ChandlerJohn Davis ChandlerJohn Davis Chandler was an American actor. He portrayed the gangster Vincent Coll in the sensationalized and factually inaccurate 1962 movie Mad Dog Coll. Chandler also appeared in several of Sam Peckinpah's Western films...
as Jimmy Lee Benteen, a racist rebel who picks a fight with Aesop - Karl SwensonKarl SwensonKarl Swenson was an American theatre, radio, film, and television actor.-Biography:Born in Brooklyn, New York of Swedish parentage, Swenson made several appearances with Pierre-Luc Michaud on Broadway in the 1930s and 40s, including the title role in Arthur Miller's first production, The Man Who...
as Captain Frank Waller, Dundee's second-in-command at Fort Benlin, he disapproves of Dundee's expedition and thinks him a dangerous loose cannon. He tries to talk Dundee out of his plan and in the original script, attempts to arrest Dundee on the orders of James Henry CarletonJames Henry CarletonJames Henry Carleton was an officer in the Union army during the American Civil War. Carleton is most well known as an Indian fighter in the southwestern United States.-Biography:...
, the commander of the Union troops in New MexicoCalifornia ColumnThe California Column, a force of Union volunteers, marched from April to August 1862 over 900 miles from California, across the southern New Mexico Territory to the Rio Grande and then into western Texas during the American Civil War. At the time, this was the longest trek through desert terrain...
. - Albert Carrier as Captain Jacques Tremaine, commander of the French lancers who pursue and fight Dundee's men
- Michael PateMichael PateMichael Pate was an Australian actor, writer and director.-Early life:He was born Edward John Pate in Drummoyne, Sydney...
as Sierra Charriba, the chief of a tribe of renegade Apaches who terrorize settlements on both sides of the border - José Carlos RuizJose Carlos RuizJosé Carlos Ruiz is a Mexican film actor, born in the City of Jerez Zacatecas, Mexico who stars in Mexican movies and Mexican Telenovelas such as Soñadoras, Mariana de la noche, Sortilegio and Soy Tu Dueña....
as Riago, a "Christian Indian" scout whose loyalty is suspect - Begonia Palacios as Linda, a young Mexican assistant to Teresa who has a short-lived affair with Ryan
- Aurora ClavelAurora ClavelAurora Clavel is a Mexican film and television actress who is noted for her roles in the movies Tarahumara and Once upon a Scroundel , as well as in numerous telenovelas...
as Melinche, an Indian woman in Durango who nurses Dundee back to health, and is seduced by him. In the original script, she is arrested by the French, although this is not included in the final film. - Enrique LuceroEnrique LuceroEnrique Lucero was a Mexican film actor. Notable for such films as Macario and Two Mules for Sister Sara ....
as Doctor Aguilar, who operates on Dundee in Durango - Francisco ReigueraFrancisco ReigueraFrancisco Reiguera was a Spanish actor who is best known for playing the title role in Orson Welles’ unfinished film version of Don Quixote. He also appeared in the films Simon of the Desert , Major Dundee and Guns for San Sebastian .-External links:*...
as Old Apache, sent to lure Dundee into an ambush