Major Dundee | Rotten Tomatoes

Sam Peckinpah's story set in the Civil War tells the story of Major Amos Charles Dundee who exceeded his orders while serving in the Battle of Gettysburg and, as punishment, has been taken out of combat and put in charge of a Union prison in New Mexico. Simultaneously, groups of Apaches have been raiding U.S. bases in Texas. Dundee, therefore, proceeds to lead a divisive troop of Army regulars, Confederate prisoners, and scouts on an expedition to destroy the band of Apaches, facing internal and external turmoil in the process. Since <i>Ride the High Country</i> (1962), Sam Peckinpah's scope has grown to be more confident, interestingly more graphically violent, confirming the Western genre to be his area of both expertise and development. The cinematography shows itself as more confident as his directorial capabilities keep evolving, most noticeably in the Director's Cut of the film, which surely shows the motivations of the characters as clear and complimentary to the plot's advancement. Nevertheless, the maximization of the scope came up with a price: Peckinpah's intentions are unclear. Is it a historical account? Most probably not. Accuracy is not a concern here. Social criticism? A commentary on racism? A collective character study on race prejudices? All or some of the above? Or just an action film set in the 19th Century with Mexico's folklore as a stylish excuse? It is true that the film could have been better and is a waste of valuable potential, but given Peckinpah's status in 1965, he couldn't have been better. It was the necessary step upwards to be taken before perfecting his style, his vision, his passion for Mexican shooting locations, the proper character balance and the proper micro and macro conflicts in his Western masterpiece <i>The Wild Bunch</i> (1969). Nevertheless, the film is well accomplished from a technical point of view, with a badass leading performance by Charlton Heston and a decent effort from the ensemble cast. These are the positive aspects if one can look beyond the romantic clichés and the predominantly stereotypical representations of the rural Mexico, which the film presents as generalizations, instead of peculiarities. 75/100