Search - Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia on DVD

"Nobody Loses All The Time"

different drummer 63 | Lawrence, KS, USA | 03/31/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The above is a line that Warren Oates as Benny delivers after one of the villains in suits calls him a loser. It's one of many dialogic gems in this volatile film, which vies with Straw Dogs as Sam Peckinpah's greatest movie of the 1970s. The title is so in your face that you expect a non-stop bloodbath but Peckinpah's after something else here, something that few directors or audiences have had the backbone to deal with. He takes a main character who looks, acts, and dresses like a loser in so many ways, and makes him human, vulnerable, tragic, and somehow moral in a world full of ruthless men corrupted by their almost absolute power. You know from the start that the movie won't end prettily, yet with Peckinpah at the helm, Oates in the male lead and the ravishing Isela Vega his doomed companion, a host of great character actors sinking their teeth into the rotting meat of their roles, and a vision of Mexico conveyed in stark but lyrical images, you have to take the ride with Benny all the way to the bitter end. In quantity of killings, this is not very violent as Peckinpah films go, certainly not close to The Wild Bunch, Pat Garrett, or Cross of Iron. But the mood is so somber and bleak that it will test the strongest viewer threshold. There is also the trademark sly Peckinpah humor throughout, whistling through the graveyard with a bottle of tequila in one hand and a gun in the other. Some will call this misogynistic--yes, it depicts hate toward women but it doesn't endorse it. What Peckinpah is after is a wholesale condemnation of the human race, except for those few, like Benny, who recognize the farce for what it is and live and die with their choices, taking as many of the S.O.B.'s with them as they can, on their way down. A masterpiece."

Mercy!

Kimberley Wilson | VA USA | 12/08/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Bring the Head of Alfredo Garcia is a rough film. It wasn't for the faint hearted back in '74 and it stil isn't. So many people got killed that I lost count. It depicts a brutal, filthy world and doesn't have an uplifting golly gee ending. I loved it. Warren Oates gave his finest performance as Benny, an American small timer who has one last chance to make it big. Benny is so cool he never takes off his shades even in bed. He doesn't hesitate to kill the bad yet his personal code won't allow him to harm the innocent. The actress who plays his girlfriend is perfect. She's attractive but in a beat up been-around-the-block-too-many-times way. She spends a lot of time nude or semi nude in this movie but it's not cheap. She's a semi retired prostitute afterall. She ought to be a throw away character but she isn't. She's Benny's heart and although he doesn't know it, she, not dead Alfredo Garcia, is his last chance. Yes, this is an ugly film but it's incredible. Put the kids to bed early, buy the video and sit back to watch a movie that still shocks and dazzles."

A violent love story, in which money is not enough.

Kimberley Wilson | 08/16/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Greasey repulsive loser Warren Oates is in love with a whore. As a matter of fact that is the only thing he has going for him. But he believes he also needs money to make him happy. By chasing after the money, his loved one dies. And as he continues to persue the money he finds that no amount of money will now take her place."

Warren Oates is outstanding!!

harry44callahan | Columbus, OH | 03/12/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Truly a great film by Sam Peckinpah with Warren Oates performing masterfully. It starts out somewhat slow and builds the plot til Oates is out for revenge in Peckinpah fashion! Look for Kris Kristofferson as a bad guy biker who gets his just deserves; also Gig Young and Robert Webber as a couple cold ruthless hitmen out to get the prize for their boss. Note that the Mexican land baron is the same fellow who played the general in Peckinpah's "Wild Bunch". All in all a great film full of action and revenge as only Sam Peckinpah could do it! I saw this as a teenager on "Telecinema" in the 70's (the original pay-per-view!) and it is just as powerful now as ever. They don't make movies like this anymore!"