Major Dundee 1965 123movies

Watch: Major Dundee 1965 123movies, Full Movie Online – During the last winter of the Civil War, cavalry officer Amos Dundee leads a contentious troop of Army regulars, Confederate prisoners and scouts on an expedition into Mexico to destroy a band of Apaches who have been raiding U.S. bases in Texas..
Plot: During the last winter of the Civil War, cavalry officer Amos Dundee leads a contentious troop of Army regulars, Confederate prisoners and scouts on an expedition into Mexico to destroy a band of Apaches who have been raiding U.S. bases in Texas.
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Ratings:

	6.7/10 Votes: 8,203
	97% | RottenTomatoes
	62/100 | MetaCritic
	N/A Votes: 125 Popularity: 8.745 | TMDB

Reviews:

What could have been gives way to an enjoyable curio piece.

Originally intended as a searing epic by director Sam Peckinpah, Major Dundee was taken away from his guiding hands post production and edited into an almost incoherent mess. Here in the new millennium we are able to see a restoration of the film with added scenes that gives the film are more cohesive structure, and yes it improves the film ten fold because the characters have flesh on their bones. Yet still we are only really glimpsing three parts of Peckinpah’s vision since there is another 30 minutes of film seemingly lost forever, and that is a crying shame because this film could have been a Western masterpiece had it been allowed to flourish.

There is still a lot to enjoy here though, Major Dundee leads a rag tag army of Union soldiers, Confederate rebels, convicts, loonies, and a one armed James Coburn into Mexico to hunt down an Apache army who are responsible for deadly attacks on U.S. bases in Texas. It’s not so much “The Dirty Dozen”, but more like the dirty army! And in the main here it’s the fractious nature of this assembled army that gives the film its vigour and selling point. Almost certainly the film is one of the forerunners of Vietnam allegories, and like it or not it’s the thematic undercurrent of soldiers under prepared that keeps the pic above average.

The cast are fine, it’s like a roll call for the macho assembly, Charlton Heston is Dundee, a big square jawed brash man who tries to keep this army in line whilst dealing with his own nagging ego. Richard Harris owns the film as Tyreen, his on going personal war with Dundee gives the film added impetus. James Coburn plays a very interesting character, but it’s a character that demands more time on screen than we actually get (perhaps the victim of the cretinous cuts?), and it leaves a hankering feeling that never quite leaves you.

It’s a fine journey, it’s a fine character piece, and everyone also note that the wide screen shoot is gorgeous, but at the end of the day Major Dundee is only hinting at the genius that would deliver The Wild Bunch four years down the line and Straw Dogs two years later, but it could have been so very different…

Forgive them for they know not what they do. 7/10

***Harsh, dense Peckinpah Western with Charlton Heston, Richard Harris and James Coburn***

A disgraced Major (Charlton Heston) guilty of making a tactical error at Gettysburg is assigned to command a dull P.O.W. camp in the New Mexican Territory. After some ranchers and a cavalry unit are massacred, the glory-seeking Dundee (Heston) seizes the opportunity by illegally crossing into Mexico to wipe out the Native raiders with a dubious team consisting of Union troops, Confederate prisoners, civilian mercenaries and a couple scouts. Richard Harris makes his debut as the dashing leader of the Confederates while James Coburn plays the lead scout. Brock Peters appears as the black sergeant whereas Ben Johnson and Warren Oates play Rebel soldiers.

This was director Sam Peckinpah’s third Western after “The Deadly Companions” (1961) and “Ride the High Country” (1962); and would be followed up by the heralded “The Wild Bunch” (1969). It’s not as good as “Ride,” but it’s superior to “Companions” and “Bunch” IMHO. The main reason I don’t favor “Bunch” is because it’s about a bunch of dirtbag thugs for whom I could care less. “Dundee,” by contrast, has several interesting, more worthy, protagonists.

The script was loosely based on historical examples (e.g. the Dakota War of 1862) mixed with the plot of Moby-Dick, as well as elements of Lawrence of Arabia and classic John Wayne/Ford Westerns. The questionable group assembled to invade Mexico is a microcosm of the USA with the conflict between Northern and Southern soldiers, the rising complication of freed blacks, civilians & their guns and an AmerIndian scout.

There’s a depth to the proceedings that makes the first half almost impenetrable. But, if you concentrate, there are a lot of riches to glean and you can’t beat the superlative cast with Heston and Harris shining in their conflicting roles. Meanwhile Senta Berger and Begoña Palacios are noteworthy on the female front.

The movie reflects the harsh realities of horse militarists on a mission in the Southwestern wilderness in the late 1800s. But it was reportedly a troubled production (of course, which large-scale production isn’t?). At one point Peckinpah got too dictatorial during the filming of a particular scene and disrespected Heston from afar with rude verbiage. Charlton, on horseback, bolted toward the director with saber drawn to which the much smaller director took off out of Heston’s reach.

The theatrical release ran 2 hours, 3 minutes while the restored 2005 version added 13 minutes and featured an (optional) new score, which is the version I viewed. The movie was shot entirely in Mexico.

GRADE: B/B-

Sprawling, Much Maligned Epic Western!
The story of the making and post production of “Major Dundee” would make a movie in itself. It was the first big budget western directed by the legendary Sam Peckinpah following the success of his earlier “Ride the High Country” (1962). Peckinpah allegedly shot over 4 hours of film. According to IMDb his directors cut was 151 minutes. However the studio (Columbia) took the picture away from the director and cut it down to 122M for its theatrical release. I think the initial road show cut ran 134M.

For its 2005 restoration, an additional 14M was found and restored making this cut 136M which is supposed to be as close to the director’s cut as is possible. Anew musical score has also been added. This version extends several sequences notably the village fiesta sequence and adds a scene at the beginning showing the rebels attempt to escape.

The film in its widescreen format is a beautifully photographed landscape. Peckinpah uses the whole frame to show panoramic scenes of the marching soldiers and the various battle scenes.

The story opens at the end of a massacre of a military encampment by renegade Apache Sierra Chariba (Michael Pate) where all have been slaughtered except for the bugler Trooper Tim Ryan (Michael Anderson Jr.). It is his narration which tells the rest of the story which by the way, takes place during the Civil War.

Major Amos Dundee (Charlton Heston) arrives a Union prison to form a group of volunteers to go after the Apaches and exact revenge for the massacre. He assembles a group of volunteer misfits including regulars Lt. Graham (Jim Hutton), Trooper Ryan, Sgt. Gomez (Mario Adorf), a grizzled one-armed scout (James Coburn) as well as a vengeful Reverand (R.G. Armstrong), a horse thief (Dub Taylor) and the disheveling Wiley (Slim Pickens).

Not having enough men, Dundee brings Aesop (Brock Peters) and his freed slaves on board and is then forced to ask for volunteers from the Southern prisoners led by Captain Tyreen (Richard Harris) to round out his force. Eventually agrees and brings with him the likes of O.W. Hadley (Warren Oates), his brother Arthur (L.Q. Jones), Sgt. Chillum (Ben Johnson) and Benteen (John Davis Chandler).

The first part of the story is the conflicting relationship between Dundee and Tyreen. Tyreen agrees to follow orders until the Apaches are brought to justice. Then there is a lengthy village sequence where Dundee meets his (totally unnecessary) love interest, the supposedly starving Teresa Santiago (Senta Berger) and a brief affair ensues. When Dundee is wounded following a skinny dip with Teresa, he is taken to a town to recover but begins to wallow in self pity until Tyreen rescues him and re-instills his sense of duty.

Along the way the troop attacks a French garrison and steals their horses. Now the boys are forced to fight not only the Apaches but the French Army as well. Eventually Dundee engages the Apaches and the French and…………..

The acting is particularly good. Heston as the self destructing Dundee is excellent as is Harris as his adversary. James Coburn just emerging as a major star gives a memorable performance as the one-armed scout. The picture is also blessed with a large cast of recognizable character actors (see above), many of which would appear in other Peckinpah films. Begofia (Begonia) Palacios who plays Trooper Ryan’s love interest would go on to marry Peckinpah….three times.

Not Peckinpah’s best but many of the elements (and players) would be used in his next western, the masterpiece “The Wid Bunch” (1969).

Other Information:

Original Language en
Runtime 2 hr 3 min (123 min), 1 hr 57 min (117 min) (Spain), 2 hr 16 min (136 min) (2005 restored), 2 hr 32 min (152 min) (unreleased director’s cut) (USA)
Budget 3800000
Revenue 14873
Status Released
Rated Approved
Genre Adventure, War, Western
Director Sam Peckinpah
Writer Harry Julian Fink, Oscar Saul, Sam Peckinpah
Actors Charlton Heston, Richard Harris, Jim Hutton
Country United States
Awards N/A
Production Company N/A
Website N/A

Technical Information:

Sound Mix Mono
Aspect Ratio 2.35 : 1
Camera Panavision Lenses
Laboratory Cineric Inc., USA (2005 restoration), Pathé Laboratories, USA (color)
Film Length 3,414 m (16 reels)
Negative Format 35 mm
Cinematographic Process Panavision (anamorphic)
Printed Film Format 35 mm