Editing Sam Peckinpah (section)

==International fame==
===''The Wild Bunch''===
{{main|The Wild Bunch}}
The surprising success of ''Noon Wine'' laid the groundwork for one of the most explosive comebacks in film history. In 1967, [[Warner Bros.-Seven Arts]] producers Kenneth Hyman and Phil Feldman were interested in having Peckinpah rewrite and direct an adventure film, ''The Diamond Story''. An alternative screenplay written by [[Roy N. Sickner]] and [[Walon Green]] was the Western ''The Wild Bunch''. At the time, [[William Goldman]]'s screenplay ''[[Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid]]'' had recently been purchased by [[20th Century Studios]].

It was quickly decided that ''The Wild Bunch'', which had several similarities to Goldman's work, would be produced in order to beat ''Butch Cassidy'' to the theaters.{{sfn|Weddle|pp=307–309}} By the fall of 1967, Peckinpah was rewriting the screenplay into what became ''The Wild Bunch''. Filmed on location in Mexico, Peckinpah's epic work was inspired by a number of forces—his hunger to return to films, the violence seen in [[Arthur Penn]]'s ''[[Bonnie and Clyde (film)|Bonnie and Clyde]]'', America's growing frustration with the [[Vietnam War]], and what he perceived to be the utter lack of reality seen in Westerns up to that time. He set out to make a film which portrayed not only the vicious violence of the period, but the crude men attempting to survive the era. During this period, Peckinpah said that his life was changed by seeing [[Carlos Saura]]'s ''[[La Caza]]'' (1966), which profoundly influenced his subsequent oeuvre.<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.timeout.com/london/film/the-bfis-spain-un-censored-season-1 |title=The BFI's Spain (Un)censored Season |access-date=August 7, 2018 |journal=[[Time Out London]] |archive-date=August 7, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180807220537/https://www.timeout.com/london/film/the-bfis-spain-un-censored-season-1 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |chapter-url=http://www.marshakinder.com/pdf/e13.pdf |format=PDF |title=Violence and American Cinema |editor-last=Slocum |editor-first=John David |pages=64–100 |last=Kinder |first=Marsha |access-date=August 7, 2018 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Oq_-6PFYQN0C |chapter=the Cultural Reinscription of The Wild Bunch |year=2001 |publisher=[[Psychology Press]] |isbn=9780415928106 |issn=2577-7610}}</ref>

The film detailed a gang of veteran outlaws on the Texas/Mexico border in 1913 trying to survive within a rapidly approaching modern world. ''The Wild Bunch'' is framed by two ferocious and infamous gunfights, beginning with a failed robbery of the railway company office and concluding with the outlaws battling the Mexican army in suicidal vengeance prompted by the brutal torture and murder of one of their members.{{sfn|Weddle|pp=310–31}}

Irreverent and unprecedented in its explicit detail, the 1969 film was an instant success. Multiple scenes attempted in ''Major Dundee'', including [[slow motion]] action sequences, characters leaving a village as if in a funeral procession and the use of inexperienced locals as extras, were perfected in ''The Wild Bunch''. Many critics denounced its violence as sadistic and exploitative. Other critics and filmmakers hailed the originality of its unique rapid [[film editing|editing]] style, created for the first time in this film and ultimately becoming a Peckinpah trademark, and praised the reworking of traditional Western themes. It was the beginning of Peckinpah's international fame, and he and his work remained controversial for the rest of his life.{{sfn|Weddle|pp=376–377}} The film was ranked [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies|No. 80]] on the [[American Film Institute]]'s top 100 list of the greatest American films ever made and [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills|No. 69]] as the most thrilling, but the controversy has not diminished.{{sfn|AFI|100}}

''The Wild Bunch'' was re-released for its 25th anniversary, and received an [[MPAA film rating system|NC-17]] rating from the [[MPAA]].{{sfn|Wild Bunch Trivia|IMDB}} Peckinpah received his only [[Academy Award]] nomination (for [[Best Original Screenplay]]) for this film.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1970 |title=The 42nd Academy Awards |date=April 7, 1970 |access-date=August 7, 2018 |work=[[Academy Awards]] |publisher=[[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]]}}</ref>

===''The Ballad of Cable Hogue''===
{{main|The Ballad of Cable Hogue}}
Defying audience expectations, as he often did, Peckinpah immediately followed ''The Wild Bunch'' with the elegiac, funny and mostly non-violent 1970 Western ''[[The Ballad of Cable Hogue]]''. Using many of the same cast (L. Q. Jones, [[Strother Martin]]) and crew members of ''The Wild Bunch'', the film covered three years in the life of small-time entrepreneur Cable Hogue ([[Jason Robards]]) who decides to make his living by remaining in the desert after having miraculously discovered water when he had been abandoned there to die. He opens his business along a [[stagecoach]] line, only to see his dreams end with the appearance of the first [[automobile]] on the horizon.

Shot on location in the [[Valley of Fire State Park|Valley of Fire]] in [[Nevada]], the film was plagued by poor weather, Peckinpah's renewed drinking and his brusque firing of 36 crew members. The chaotic filming wrapped 19 days over schedule and $3 million over budget, effectively terminating his tenure with [[Warner Bros.-Seven Arts]]. In retrospect, it was a damaging career move as ''[[Deliverance]]'' and ''[[Jeremiah Johnson (film)|Jeremiah Johnson]]'', critical and enduring box office hits, were in development at the time and Peckinpah was considered the first choice to direct both films.{{sfn|Weddle|pp=391–92}}

Largely ignored upon its initial release, ''The Ballad of Cable Hogue'' has been rediscovered in recent years and is often held up by critics as exemplary of the breadth of Peckinpah's talents. They claim that the film proves Peckinpah's ability to make unconventional and original work without resorting to explicit violence. Over the years, Peckinpah cited the film as one of his favorites.{{sfn|Weddle|pp=383–89}}{{sfn|Simmons|pp=108–20}}{{sfn|Cable Hogue Trivia|IMDB}}

===''Straw Dogs''===
{{main|Straw Dogs (1971 film)}}
His alienation from Warner Brothers once again left him with a limited number of directing jobs. Peckinpah traveled to England to direct ''[[Straw Dogs (1971 film)|Straw Dogs]]'' (1971), one of his darkest and most psychologically disturbing films. Produced by Daniel Melnick, who had previously worked with Peckinpah on ''Noon Wine'', the film's screenplay was based on the novel ''[[The Siege of Trencher's Farm]]'' by [[Gordon Williams (writer)|Gordon Williams]].

It starred [[Dustin Hoffman]] as David Sumner, a timid American mathematician who leaves the chaos of college [[opposition to the Vietnam War|anti-war protests]] to live with his young wife Amy ([[Susan George (actress)|Susan George]]) in her native village in [[Cornwall]], England. Resentment of David's presence by the locals slowly builds to a shocking climax when the mild-mannered academic is forced to violently defend his home. Peckinpah rewrote the existing screenplay, inspired by the books ''African Genesis'' and ''The Territorial Imperative'' by [[Robert Ardrey]], which argued that man was essentially a [[carnivore]] who instinctively battled over control of territory.{{sfn|Weddle|p=396}}

The character of David Sumner, taunted and humiliated by the violent town locals, is eventually cornered within his home where he loses control and kills several of the men during the violent conclusion. ''Straw Dogs'' deeply divided critics, some of whom praised its artistry and its confrontation of human savagery, while others attacked it as a [[misogynistic]] and [[fascistic]] celebration of violence.{{sfn|Weddle|p=427}}

Much of the criticism centered on Amy's complicated and lengthy rape scene, which Peckinpah reportedly attempted to base on his own personal fears rooted in past failed marriages. To this day, the scene is attacked by some critics as an ugly [[chauvinism|male-chauvinist]] fantasy.{{sfn|Weddle|pp=399–400}} The film was for many years banned on video in the UK.{{sfn|Weddle|pp=393–403}}{{sfn|Simmons|pp=121–38}}{{sfn|Straw Dogs Trivia|IMDB}}

===''Junior Bonner''===
{{main|Junior Bonner}}
Despite his growing alcoholism and controversial reputation, Peckinpah was prolific during this period of his life. In May 1971, weeks after completing ''Straw Dogs'', he returned to the United States to begin work on ''[[Junior Bonner]]''. The lyrical screenplay by Jeb Rosenbrook, depicting the changing times of society and binding family ties, appealed to Peckinpah's tastes. He accepted the project, at the time concerned with being typed as a director of violent action. The film was his final attempt to make a low-key, dramatic work in the vein of ''Noon Wine'' and ''The Ballad of Cable Hogue''.

Filmed on location in [[Prescott, Arizona]], the story covered a week in the life of aging [[rodeo]] rider Junior "JR" Bonner ([[Steve McQueen (actor)|Steve McQueen]]) who returns to his hometown to compete in an annual rodeo competition. Promoted as a Steve McQueen action vehicle, the film's reviews were mixed and the film performed poorly at the box office. Peckinpah remarked, "I made a film where nobody got shot and nobody went to see it." The film's reputation has grown over the years as many critics consider ''Junior Bonner'' to be one of Peckinpah's most sympathetic works, while also noting McQueen's earnest performance.{{sfn|Weddle|pp=428–34}}{{sfn|Simmons|pp=139–53}}

===''The Getaway''===
{{main|The Getaway (1972 film)}}
Eager to work with Peckinpah again, Steve McQueen presented him [[Walter Hill (director)|Walter Hill]]'s screenplay to ''[[The Getaway (1972 film)|The Getaway]]''. Based on the [[Jim Thompson (writer)|Jim Thompson]] novel, the gritty crime thriller detailed lovers on the run following a dangerous robbery. Both Peckinpah and McQueen needed a hit, and they immediately began working on the film in February 1972.{{sfn|Weddle|p=434}} Peckinpah had no pretensions about making ''The Getaway'', as his only goal was to create a highly polished thriller to boost his market value.{{sfn|Weddle|p=436}} McQueen played Doc McCoy, a convicted robber who colludes with corrupt businessman Jack Beynon ([[Ben Johnson (actor)|Ben Johnson]]) to be released from prison and later masterminds a bank heist organized by Beynon.

A series of double-crosses ensues and Doc and his wife Carol (MacGraw) attempt to flee from their pursuers to Mexico. Replete with explosions, car chases and intense shootouts, the film became Peckinpah's biggest financial success to date earning more than $25 million at the box office.{{sfn|Getaway Box Office|IMDB}} Though strictly a commercial product, Peckinpah's creative touches abound throughout, most notably during the intricately edited opening sequence when McQueen's character is suffering from the pressures of prison life.{{sfn|Weddle|p=439}} The film remains popular and was [[The Getaway (1994 film)|remade in 1994]],{{sfn|Getaway|IMDB}}{{sfn|Simmons|pp=154–68}}{{sfn|Weddle|p=442}} starring [[Alec Baldwin]] and [[Kim Basinger]].