Sam Peckinpah's The Legendary Westerns Collection

Maverick filmmaker Sam Peckinpah is well represented in this boxed set, which collects four of his best-known Westerns, two of them (The Wild Bunch and Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid) presented in restored versions. Ride the High Country (1962), an elegiac account of the conflict between two aging ex-lawmen, features Hollywood legends Joel McCrea and Randolph Scott, who are both splendid in their last significant screen outing. Some thematic similarity runs throughout The Wild Bunch (1969), which follows an early 20th-century band of outlaws—keenly aware that their way of life has become a thing of the past but determined to go out with a bang—and stars William Holden, Robert Ryan, Ernest Borgnine, and Edmond O'Brien. The Ballad of Cable Hogue (1970) is considerably more light-hearted, a broad comedy peopled by eccentric characters, with Jason Robards as a desert rat who teams up with good-natured harlot Stella Stevens after being left for dead by bumbling villains Strother Martin and L.Q. Jones. Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973), a bizarre, idiosyncratic horse opera that was wrested from Peckinpah's control in post-production and marked the beginning of his decline in Hollywood, retells the legend of one of the West's most famous outlaws. James Coburn plays the less-than-heroic lawman Garrett with mock solemnity, Kris Kristofferson makes Billy a lot more charming that he was reputed to be, and Bob Dylan not only co-stars but composed the musical score as well. The fully restored version offers a more cohesive story than the one moviegoers saw, underscoring the fact that an unrestrained Peckinpah was still on top of his game. Boasting fine to excellent transfers, DVD extras spread across the films include commentary tracks from Peckinpah biographers and film historians, additional scenes, documentaries, and featurettes. Highly recommended. (E. Hulse)