Like all things in this world, your perspective is going to define how to come to or respond to something. In cinema, this is especially true as there are often multiple versions of the very film you like. Not just theatrical versus broadcast edition (either edited for time, language, or action) or theatrical versus home release (looking at you, Lilo & Stitch (2002)), but films whose production, for whatever reason, resulted in multiple cuts of the same film. Not extended versions labeled “director’s cuts” when the director didn’t actually have a hand in the production of it, but films like Justice League (2017) and the extended Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021), the choose-your-preference version of Blade Runner (1982), and Sam Peckinpah’s 1973 dramatic western Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid. The production of this film was so tumultuous that even the gathered versions in the newly-released Criterion Collection set are among the contested as Peckinpah’s preferred vision. But this is a joyous thing for cinephiles and Peckinpah fans as the three versions (two in 4K UHD) and the bonus features in this set represent as close to a total vision of the director that home viewers can get, creating an opportunity for longevity within future generations.
Kris Kristofferson as Billy the Kid in PAT GARRETT & BILLY THE KID. Photo courtesy of The Criterion Collection.
Well past the Lincoln County War, American outlaw Billy the Kid, a.k.a William H. Bonney, (Kris Kristofferson) resides with his friends at Fort Sumner in New Mexico. He is, however, still wanted and is sought after by friend and former outlaw Pat Garrett (James Coburn), who’s been offered a position within law enforcement that will help him stop looking for the next adventure or score. Despite the great love for one another, destiny has something else in store as the two jockey for position to ensure that they remain free, unaware that any choice they make still leads to a bitter end.
A scene from PAT GARRETT & BILLY THE KID. Photo courtesy of The Criterion Collection.
In contrast to prior works The Wild Bunch (1969) and Straw Dogs (1971), Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid is a somber affair with plenty of action, but very little of it thrilling or exciting. This isn’t a young man’s western, but a tale of the end of a friendship in a lifestyle that often ends well before old age. Written by Rudy Wurlitzer (Two-Lane Blacktop), the narrative is one of respect, love, and the duality of wanting to survive in a world in which cruelty and betrayal leads to power. Two scenes speak to this quite clearly: the opening with Billy and his men shooting at chickens and the attempted arrest of Black Harris (L.Q. Jones) with Sheriff Colin Baker (Slim Pickens) and his wife (Katy Jurado). In the first, Billy is shooting at live chickens whose heads are sticking up out of the dirt. They laugh as they miss and are startled out of their reverie by the single shot from behind them that demolishes their target — the audience had seen Pat approach, but they did not. Danger lurks when one relaxes here and, while we quickly learn that Pat is a lawman now, his arrival is a warning of his intentions: an attempt to do right by his old friend. Though one does not condone the torture of animals, the opening is intended to showcase good fun and the way in which it turns cold highlights the tone to come. Later, upon trying to arrest some of Billy’s crew, things turn deadly with all of the targets dying and Baker getting gut shot. With Bob Dylan’s “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” playing and cinematographer John Coquillon’s (Straw Dogs) capture of dusk across the frontier sky, one feels the inevitability of gunslinging, as either the law or criminal, that death is constantly coming. Driven by characters rather than by explicitly action, Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid is more exploration of living a life of violence than anything else, which, thanks to performances by Coburn (The Great Escape; The Muppet Movie) and Kristofferson (A Star is Born; Blade), creates an atmosphere one can be interested in.
Fascinating as it is as a rumination on friendship, mortality, and the meaning of life, the theatrical cut of Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid is not a film you should watch without some awareness of the history between these two men, as well as Billy’s exploits. If you’re an ‘80s kid, even a working knowledge of the two Young Guns films is better than nothing (though those films also play with history, making them unhelpful for any upcoming history exams) as Wurlitzer’s script only gives you as much information as makes sense for the characters to have and to discuss at this point in their lives. You’re not going to get an explanation of why Billy’s wanted in Lincoln County, New Mexico, why the name “Chisum” sets off Billy, nor why folks seem to like Billy even after witnessing him kill a lawman. To that end, these two characters really could be anyone in history, real or imagined, but making them Pat and Billy elevates the narrative, infusing it with a lumbering inevitability. This works to the benefit of the film, as does littering it with a number of faces (Dylan as Alias (and composer for the film), Harry Dean Stanton (Repo Man; Paris, Texas) as Luke, Pickens, and others) while also highlighting how flimsy it is on the whole. It’s somehow jam-packed with intention and yet there’s a sense that the film isn’t at all interested in making the characters real so that the audience can better understand them. Now, this may be a by-product of opting to watch the theatrical cut over the 50th anniversary remaster, but the difference of nine minutes doesn’t change the film enough (though the remaster includes at least a scene with Garrett’s beleaguered wife (Aurora Clavel) who tries to confront him on his choices) to create the connection it so desperately attempts to achieve. The film is good, yes, but that’s mostly because of the performances and moments (Baker’s death; the confrontation between Pat and Billy in the climax) rather than as a whole picture.
Slim Pickens as Sheriff Colin Baker in PAT GARRETT & BILLY THE KID. Photo courtesy of The Criterion Collection.
This is where a home release like Criterion has developed matters within the scope of film preservation and film history. Offered either as a Blu-ray set or a 4K UHD Blu-ray combo, Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid includes the theatrical, 50th anniversary, and the version titled as the Final Preview Cut. The first two are restored in 4K with the third in 2K no matter which edition you pick up, but the main difference is that the 4K UHD edition includes individual discs for the theatrical and anniversary editions in their own 4K UHD presentations with Dolby Vision HDR. Essentially, both versions include a 4K presentation, but only the 4K UHD edition will give you the additional video restoration with high-dynamic range, thereby providing the best possible picture for modern home theater systems. The video doesn’t possess the crispness one expects of recent restorations, but that’s likely due to the film’s turbulent history and the various ways in which the film was edited (by six different people), presented in its theatrical run, and stored. There’s only so much one can do in a restoration process when the source has been handled as this has. That said, considering its age and history, it’s not a bad image as the cinematography is still lovely and the grain gives the film a weight that the drama seeks. For those tech-inclined, checking the bitrate on both 4K UHD discs, they run between 77-83 Mbps, demonstrative of a high-quality rate and on the higher end of what home viewing audiences want from their UHD discs. As expected, Criterion is delivering quality where they can. In all cases, the audio is the same monaural soundtrack, so don’t go looking for a deep immersive audio experience.
Bob Dylan as Alias in PAT GARRETT & BILLY THE KID. Photo courtesy of The Criterion Collection.
The 4K UHD theatrical disc includes no bonus materials, while the anniversary release includes a single commentary track recorded in January 2024 with film critic Michael Sragow, editor/author Paul Seydor, and filmmaker/editor Roger Spottiswoode. For the bulk of the bonus features, you’ll need to put in the Blu-ray containing both of the aforementioned films, from which you’ll get a 2023 Criterion Collection-exclusive interview with Bob Dylan biographer Clinton Heylin; a 1988 Z Channel interview with Coburn; a 2024 Criterion Collection-exclusive making-of program with previously unheard material from Peckinpah, Coburn, Kristofferson, crew member Katherine Haber (Noon Wine; Straw Dogs), and producer Daniel Melnick (Blade Runner). Reading the special features list as provided by Criterion (found at the bottom), one doesn’t think there’s much to explore on the release, but it’s one item to extend the depth of history on this film after another. Of course, in terms of included materials not on-disc, there’s an essay by author Steve Erickson, which is already available on the Criterion website and linked for you to read below.
In terms of packaging, the four discs are in a soft-case similar to 2023 releases Tod Browning’s Sideshow Shockers and Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio rather than their recent hardcase The Heroic Trio / Executioners three-disc 4K UHD set. This means that the four discs (two 4K UHD and two Blu-ray) are in a clear stacking setup to reveal Pat and Billy from different moments in the film, the booklet containing the cast/crew listing, restoration and release information, as well as the Erickson essay sitting within it. As shown in the image below, the art of the softcase and that of the cover are taken from various moments in the film, but they are inspired by the montage that makes up the title sequence after the opening mentioned earlier. Tonally, the visual elements align wonderfully; it’s just strange that it wasn’t all placed inside a hardcase that could offer greater protection over time.
PAT GARRETT & BILLY THE KID packshot. Photo courtesy of The Criterion Collection.
With new films releasing all the time, a question often arises about the longevity of a film beyond its opening weekend. What creates staying power or resonance is typically hard to predict these days as there are so many options from which to pick your entertainment at-home or at the theater. Because of this spread of options, those one can stream as part of a monthly subscription in particular, there’s less of an interest in owning films when they are so readily accessible. But what about when you decide to cut that particular app from your monthly bill? Or what if the streamer decides to pull that film from their server? Currently, in the United States, the only way to own a copy of Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon (2023) is to import it, but it doesn’t include English subtitles, making it even less desirable. The point is that films are more ethereal than people realize. The story of Peckinpah’s battle to release his version of Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid is now immortalized within this collection that, once bought, can’t be taken from you. It can’t be updated to remove harmful imagery or potentially inappropriate comments or actions as social norms shift, either. The point is that films are time capsules and owning them preserves them. In this case, it best preserves a story whose renditions have fans all their own who can now explore them whenever, however they want, without worry as to whether they’ll be available tomorrow.
Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid Special Features:
- *New* 4K digital restoration of the 50th Anniversary Release, supervised by editors Paul Seydor and Roger Spottiswoode, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
- *New* 4K digital restoration of the Original Theatrical Release, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
- *New* 2K digital master of director Sam Peckinpah’s Final Preview Cut, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
- Audio commentary for the 50th Anniversary Release featuring Seydor, Spottiswoode, and critic Michael Sragow
- Two 4K UHD discs of the films presented in Dolby Vision HDR and two Blu-rays with the films and special features
- Dylan in Durango, a new interview with author Clinton Heylin about the film’s soundtrack
- Passion & Poetry: Peckinpah’s Last Western, a new documentary by Mike Siegel about the making of the film
- Archival interview with actor James Coburn
- Trailer and TV spots
- English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- PLUS: An essay by author Steve Erickson
Available on 4K UHD Blu-ray Combo and Blu-ray July 2nd, 2024.
For more information, head to the official Criterion Collection Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid webpage.
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Categories: Films To Watch, Home Release, Recommendation
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