new dvd version
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bullit2513 — 19 years ago(August 31, 2006 12:12 PM)
I liked the movie before the extra footage, so take my review with a grain of salt if you're not a fan of the movie. If you check the movie page and go to "Alternate Versions", you'll get a good idea of what footage was added.
The best added scene is toward the end of the movie, with Dundee, Tyreen, Potts, Gomez, and Graham discussing strategy about how to handle the circling Apaches. This scene also reveals the fate of Riago, the Apache scout who Dundee thinks is a traitor.
The other adds some much needed explanation to the Dundee in Durango scene. It shows his regression into alcoholism after being wounded. There are some other scenes that are added, but those are the two important ones.
So I'd say buy the dvd. It's relatively cheap, and with the 15 minutes of added footage, you definitely get a better idea of what Sam Peckinpah intended with his cavalry epic.
"Congratulations, Major. It appears that at last you have found yourself a real war." Ben Tyreen -
animated_cadaver — 19 years ago(September 01, 2006 04:42 AM)
I've only seen the extended edition. I've watched the DVD twice, and I didn't find anything "epic," flawed or otherwise, about it. The scale of the film is small, and I'm sure no amount of restored footage would bring it near the "Lawrence of Arabia" scale they claim on the DVD's insert they had intended the film to be.
I bought it as a blind buy because Charlton Heston is in it. Ten years before "Major Dundee" he made a better western with a similar storyline titled "Arrowhead." -
Hancock_the_Superb — 19 years ago(September 04, 2006 05:24 AM)
Yeah, I have to agree with you on that. The studio cuts were just a convenient excuse Peckinpah had for a film that was never properly finished. The idea that the restored footage would make it a masterpiece on a par with "The Wild Bunch" is borderline ludicrous, and while I'd love to see the Apache massacre at the beginning I seriously doubt it would add much to the film. This coming from a guy who is a big fan of "Dundee".
"Please don't underestimate me. Practically or morally, I'm not the man you take me for." -
Readerman — 19 years ago(September 22, 2006 03:38 PM)
This movie is a mess. I saw it years ago and remembered it as exciting. On that basis, I purchased the DVD. All the criticism included in other posts here is valid. It rambles, the action scenes are few and short, and the ending poorly edited. I am not a fan of Charlton Heston and his dull acting here only confirms that opinion. I love westerns and will definitley give this another look, but I fail to understand anyone who thinks the camera work is anything beyond mediocre. My DVD often appears washed-out. Peckinpah's The Wild Bunch is fantastic. This looks like a poor tv show by comparison.
"That'll be the day." -
tay-15 — 19 years ago(November 02, 2006 10:33 AM)
I became an instant Peckinpah fan when I saw The Wild Bunch 20 years ago, but it took me this long to finally see the infamous Major Dundee (the extended version).
I also would take issue with some aspects of the film. For one I thought it was too slow, lacking the crisp pace you find in Wild Bunch, Ride the High Country, or even The Getaway.
I also agree it would have been interesting to see someone else instead of Heston. He does about as well as he can, but he's just not that good an actor. In contrast, William Holden was much more believable and compelling in Wild Bunch.
With all of this being said, there were still enough great scenes that it was worth watching, and I might still call it a good film. I'd also like to watch it again. -
Hancock_the_Superb — 19 years ago(November 05, 2006 05:22 AM)
I disagree with you on Heston. I'm not a big fan of his but the role of Dundee was tailor-made for him. This has to be one of his two or three best performances.
"Truly, for some men,
NOTHING IS WRITTEN
unless they write it!" ~ Omar Sharif -
tay-15 — 19 years ago(November 06, 2006 10:20 AM)
I'm willing to give Heston the benefit of the doubt. Sometimes I get a different impression after multiple viewings.
I watched the beginning of the film again yesterday (it's currently on Encore On Demand), and I liked what I saw. -
doctorltm — 18 years ago(July 11, 2007 09:34 PM)
Charlton Heston makes this movie. How anyone thinks that he can not act, obviously knows very little about acting. They don't get any better than Heston. True, the movie is flawed and lacks any real suspense. But the acting is first rate and the sub plot between Richard Harris and Heston is interesting. Major Dundee is not as good as Arrowhead or the Wild Bunch, but it is definetly has its moments!
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m-j-mooney — 17 years ago(February 22, 2009 09:08 AM)
Never saw this when it came out, but just watched the DVD and really enjoyed it.
But for an even BETTER film on a similar theme, check out VERA CRUZ (Burt Lancaster/Gary Cooper), which is excellent and better paced. -
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dorozco028 — 19 years ago(November 07, 2006 12:11 AM)
I hate the DVD version. I seen this movie as a boy and it was much more exciting because the music score was much better and enhanced the feel. With the DVD version the music score sucks badly and has made the movie duller. Pay the musicians or whoever royalities and get back the original music back. I doubt that will ever happen.
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bullit2513 — 19 years ago(November 09, 2006 04:28 PM)
You do realize you can listen to the original music track on the dvd, right? I do agree though, I'll stick with the original score.
"Congratulations, Major. It appears that at last you have found yourself a real war." Ben Tyreen -
Hancock_the_Superb — 19 years ago(November 11, 2006 06:01 AM)
Listen to the original score (which is on the DVD, in case you didn't know). It's silly and campy and surreal and stupid - but it fits in with the movie's tone perfectly. I like the new score less and less each time I hear it - one time I had to turn the film off, I was so bored by it! It seems like a rather blatant attempt to conflate "Major Dundee" back into the "masterpiece" it allegedly was.
"Truly, for some men,
NOTHING IS WRITTEN
unless they write it!" ~ Omar Sharif -
slokes — 19 years ago(November 14, 2006 08:25 PM)
With all due respect, you people are all off your nuts! Heston ROCKS in this movie. Yes, he's over the top, but that's what the script calls for. You like Tyreen better. Guess what? You're supposed to. Dundee is a decent man, but a glory-seeker all the same, a somewhat more humane version of Custer (whom Peckinpah originally had thought of making a film of before deciding "Dundee" fit his purposes better.) Harris plays a character who has more true individual honor, but he would be too much in a film with a more subdued actor like William Holden in the lead. Harris and James Coburn both had outlandish ways of delivering a performance, and without Charlton holding down the fort they'd be off the reservation too fast for this film to pack the punch it does.
I love Heston's range in this film, his great way with a line, and how well he fits into the Peckinpah cycle of films with a performance that's uniquely his own yet in touch with the shaded moral tones of his director's vision. I'm a bigger fan of William Holden, and love "Ride The High Country" for the sedate, commanding way its lead actors assay their roles, but this is a unique and singular film in large part because of how Heston commands every frame of film he's in. -
skyb87 — 19 years ago(December 11, 2006 11:23 PM)
Heston is perfect casting as Dundee, essaying the drive of the man and his frustration very well. He is supposed to be unlikable. The new DVD is a vast improvement - it fleshes the characters out and the whole thing hangs together better when previously it was totally disjointed. However, the finale remains hurried and the film still feels 'lacking', probably because the potential was so great.
One thing has always bothered me and does not ring true ( and is pointed to on the commentary on the DVD
why would Senta Berger's character fall for the stiff, unlikable Dundee when Tyreen is far more charming and likable?
One final irony: Heston was popular amongst cast and crew, while Harris was much disliked. ( Check out the interviews on the DVD. )
'Leave politics to the politicians' -
Hancock_the_Superb — 19 years ago(December 27, 2006 03:16 PM)
Whatever else may be said of Heston, he's always been a very friendly and down-to-Earth guy, so that's not too surprising. And the fact that he gave up his salary probably helped his standing among the cast and crew - L.Q. Jones and R.G. Armstrong really couldn't say enough good things about him on the DVD documentaries, but understandably I think.
"My dear Norfolk, this isn't Spain - this is
England!
" -
kiddglock — 19 years ago(January 02, 2007 09:15 PM)
Heston's performance is spot-on. He certainly doesn't deserve the dissing he's getting here. He was a very good if not great, actor. This is one of his best performances. The scene where he asks the Confederate POW's to join him is excellent. The torture scene at the beginning of the movie really packs a wallop too. Both where the Apaches are fixin' to torture the cavalryman and where Dundee and company find him. I tend to think that it would have been a much better film had Peckinpah been given more leeway.
There are no more friendly civilians, sir. -
paul-hulatt — 19 years ago(January 25, 2007 07:23 AM)
I saw this movie at 6 years old and it made an indelible impression. Most of the things people dislike made an impression on me then and stay with me now.
The cheesy theme song which suits Hestons Character
Hestons martinet character
Harris's cavalier character
The eerie jangling chains leitmotif I thought worked well and struck me as innovative for the time
The juxtaposition of the Union and Confederate personalities
I think Peckinpah had some wonderful ideas and themes and even political undertones in this movie that were overlooked both then and now. Especially how Dundee gets himself clumsily embroiled in foreign relations and has to be bailed out by the troops!
See it again!