Sam Peckinpah - Hollywood's Last Rebel Director

"Sam is the only person I ever physically threatened on a film set."

Charlton Heston on the tumultuous working relationship with director Sam Peckinpah during the filming of Major Dundee. (1965). IMDB.com"Sam always pushed me over the abyss and then jumped in after me. He took me on some great adventures."

James Coburn speaking of Sam Peckinpah at his memorial service. IMDB.com

"The end of a picture is always the end of a life."

Director Sam Peckinpah - IMDB.com

He was a man's man. He lived life to the fullest. He freely admitted bedding many women during his marriages. He didn't take guff from anyone and often alienated people in his life. He abused alcohol most of his adult life crossing it with recreational drugs followed by hard drug abuse in his later years. When he died at the age of 59 he looked 20 years older and doctors claimed his body looked to be about the same age.

Many of his films were ahead of their time and while overlooked at the time of release many have gained cult status. Many directors have claimed he influenced their work such as Martin Scorsese, John Woo, Paul Schrader, Walter Hill, John Milius and Quentin Tarantino

Sam Peckinpah never apologized for the movies he made. His films were filled with flawed characters with themes that often revolved around the conflict between right and wrong. His characters were often losers or loners trying to turn their lives around only to find themselves forced to compromise in harsh situations simply to survive. Peckinpah had a love for guns that obviously played a part in almost all of his movies and a thrill for violence that made him famous.

Sam Peckinpah broke the taboos of film violence during the tumultuous and violent times of the country in the 1960's. He showed it the way it is even in eras of the way it was. He is credited with showing violent spurts of action in slow motion, a trait that was common to his films. He is credited with having less then sympathetic main characters populating his stories. He made films for men who liked their violence raw, their women trampy and their situations dangerous.