 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|
|
|
|||||
|
 |
 |
Biography of Sam PeckinpahName: Sam PeckinpahBirth Date: February 21, 1925 Death Date: December 28, 1984 Place of Birth: Fresno, California, United States Nationality: American Gender: Male Occupations: director, scriptwriter Sam Peckinpah Known for the graphic violence and beauty of his challenging films, director Sam Peckinpah (1925-1984) was a Hollywood maverick whose movies were highly controversial. He was best known for such bloody, exquisitely crafted westerns as The Wild Bunch. Peckinpah's much-imitated films were among the first to employ highly stylized cinematic techniques to depict the extremes of human brutality.Heavily criticized for allegedly glorifying violence on screen, Peckinpah always maintained that his purpose was to sensitize audiences to unspeakable acts. "I'm a great believer in catharsis," he explained in one interview. "When people complain about the way I handle violence, what they're really saying is, 'Please don't show me; I don't want to know.'"Jeans vs. the SuitsPeckinpah was descended from early settlers in California who became ranchers and mill owners. His father and grandfather were judges, but Peckinpah grew up on a ranch. The independent spirit of his background and upbringing …showed first 150 words…
…showed last 150 words…Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, to Los Angeles, for treatment. He died at the age of 59 in a suburban Los Angeles hospital, with Palacios at his side.Battles over his work continued beyond his death. When a "director's cut" of The Wild Bunch was released in 1994, restoring sections edited out by studio executives in 1969, the Motion Picture Academy of America slapped an NC-17 rating on it, even though the original film had been rated "R." The rating doomed the re-release, because most major theater chains and some video retailers refused to carry NC-17 movies. Long after his death, it seemed, Peckinpah still had the power to incite controversy. Further Reading Thomson, David, A Biographical Dictionary of Film, Knopf, 1994.Atlantic Monthly, June 1994.New York Times, December 29, 1984.Time, January 7, 1985. "Sam Peckinpah," All Movie Guide, www.allmovie.com."The Passion of Sam Peckinpah," The Austin Chronicle, http://www.auschron.com/issues/dispatch/1999-10-22/screens_feature.html. |