Essential Cinema

Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia
Directed by Sam Peckinpah

Sunday, July 21, 3 pm | BUY TICKETS

$12 | $8 Speed members

“Extraordinary, a true and heartfelt work by a great director who endured despite, or perhaps because of, the demons that haunted him.”—Roger Ebert, RogerEbert.com

When a Mexican land baron puts a million dollars on the head of the man who seduced his daughter, two money-hungry men (Gig Young and Robert Webber) recruit a small-town bartender, Bennie (Kentucky-born Warren Oates), to help them do their dirty work. He sets off with his girlfriend, Elita, on a tequila-fueled trek across the desolate frontier in Sam Peckinpah’s grit- and grime-filled late-career sojourn through the lawless Mexican underworld.

Oates, a frequent star in the director’s filmography, shines in a role that is equal parts charming, loathsome, and pathetic. Considered the last “true” Peckinpah film, Alfredo Garcia was an utter flop upon initial release that now rests atop the cult film pedestal as an unromantic, illimitable reflection of the “Me” decade. 1974, U.S./Mexico, DCP, 113 minutes.