The film of the week this time is PAT GARRETT AND BILLY THE KID.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070518/

This is a film that had a lot of potential to be a masterpiece. It has a great director, Sam Peckinpah, and two fairly good actors. Unfortunately, it also has some flaws that hold it back from greatness. Despite that though it is quite a fascinating film. The film is about aging Pat Garrett getting assigned to hunt down his old friend Billy the kid. Garrett is played very well by the usually reliable James Coburn. He is one of those actors who has a great expressive face for acting, but he did tons of really bland and campy films that typecast him as the charming leading man. I'm not saying he isn't charming, but it worked against him when those films became less popular. He is able to show a lot more depth and emotional range when he got older. This, and Cross of Iron show him at his best. Kris Kristofferson is good too, despite being way too old to play Billy the kid.

The one weak link in the cast is Bob Dylan. He is a really wooden actor. He really should have been recast because all his scenes are really dull. Speaking of Dylan, his soundtrack to the film is one you will either love or hate. There are two versions of it from what I know. One with lyrics, and one without. I personally prefer the instrumental version because the one with lyrics is way too heavy handed to me. It spoon feeds you the emotional content and feels way too obvious. The film has some great moments, but it is also very unfocused. I don't mind character based films which don't need a lot of plot, but this one just feels aimless for a while. Wow, I'm really doing a terrible job at selling this film aren't I? Despite my criticisms, this is actually a pretty good film. I recommend it to western fans.