"Start the ball": Peckinpah month on The Agitation of the Mind

The 28th December marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the legendary director's death and in commemoration I'm devoting the whole of this month to a celebration of Peckinpah's life and work. Tomorrow, I'll be presenting a brief biographical overview, then a consideration of his work for the small screen. It was Peckinpah's association with actor Brian Keith on the groundbreaking TV show 'The Westerner' that led to his big screen debut, 'The Deadly Companions'. The film was compromised by the interference of its producer, something that set the pattern for the rest of Peckinpah's career.

There'll be reviews of each of his fourteen feature films, a whistlestop tour of unrealised Peckinpah projects, a "greatest hits" run-down of his most maverick on-set moments, a veritable lexicon of quintessential quotations (some from the films, some from the man himself), a perusal of available literature on Peckinpah, and an evaluation of his legacy and the controversies that still surround him.

In the meantime, to whet the appetite, a quick keyword search of Peckinpah's name on some of my favourite blogs has turned up a wealth of material already out there. I'll be adding links and resources throughout the month, but the following are a good start:

Tim at Antagony & Ecstacy appraises 'Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid' in his eloquent article 'How Civilized Men Behave'.

There's more on 'Pat and Billy' at Goodfella's Movie Blog in an equally essential article which evokes the haunting qualities of the film beautifully.

Classic Maiden cites 'Ride the High Country' as one of her top ten favourite westerns.

'Revisiting Sam Peckinpah's Convoy' sees Dennis at Sergio Leone & The Infield Fly Rule ponder the appeal of Peckinpah's penultimate project, a C&W scored melange of big rigs, dirty cops and indecipherable CB-speak.

J.D. at Radiator Heaven - a supporter of this project from when I first announced it back in August - muses on the career of frequent Peckinpah collaborator Warren Oates.

There's another handful of Oates (sorry: bad pun) over at The Phantom Country: a review of Susan Compo's biography, and an awesome review of Peckinpah's weirdest movie which boasts probably the best pullquote in the history of blogging: 'Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia: male virility as phantom presence in Peckinpah's wounded, insane sort of masterpiece'.

Sam Wilson reviews Sam Peckinpah over at Mondo 70: his piece on 'Cross of Iron' is objective and well-considered.

The irrepressible Jeremy at Moon in the Gutter writes about "Peckinpah's forgotten masterpiece", the made-for-TV adaptation of Katherine Anne Porter's 'Noon Wine'. He also provides visual appreciations of 'The Ballad of Cable Hogue' and 'Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia'.

And there's my first musings on Peckinpah's work on this blog: 'Ain't Like It Used To Be - The Cinema of Sam Peckinpah', originally written in April 2008 for Film at 11's American cinema blog-a-thon.

Meanwhile, the first direct contribution to the Peckinpah tribute comes courtesy of that magnificently titled blog Things That Don't Suck: an eloquent and passionate appraisal of 'Ride the High Country'.