Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid

This article is about the film. For the soundtrack, see Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (album).

Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid
Theatrical release poster
Directed bySam Peckinpah
Written byRudy Wurlitzer
Produced byGordon Carroll
Starring
CinematographyJohn Coquillon
Edited by
Music byBob Dylan
Production
company
Distributed byMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date
  • May 23, 1973 (1973-05-23)
Running time
115 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$4.64 million[1]
Box office$11 million[1]

Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid is a 1973 American revisionist Western film directed by Sam Peckinpah, written by Rudy Wurlitzer, and starring James Coburn, Kris Kristofferson, Richard Jaeckel, Katy Jurado, Chill Wills, Barry Sullivan, Jason Robards, Slim Pickens and Bob Dylan. The film is about an aging Pat Garrett (Coburn), hired as a lawman by a group of wealthy New Mexico cattle barons to bring down his old friend Billy the Kid (Kristofferson).[2]

Dylan composed the score and songs for the film, most prominently "Knockin' on Heaven's Door", which were released on its soundtrack album the same year and nominated for a Grammy Award for Album of Best Original Score (Dylan).[3] The movie was filmed on location in Durango, Mexico,[4] and was nominated for two BAFTA Awards for Film Music (Dylan) and Most Promising Newcomer (Kristofferson).

The film was noted for behind-the-scenes battles between Peckinpah and the studio, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Soon after completion, the film was taken away from the director and substantially re-edited, resulting in a truncated version released to theaters and largely disowned by cast and crew members. Peckinpah's preview version[a] was released on video in 1988, leading to a re-evaluation, with many critics hailing it as a mistreated classic and one of the era's best films. It is ranked 126th on Empire magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time.[5]

  1. ^ a b "Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, Box Office Information". The Numbers. Retrieved May 7, 2013.
  2. ^ "Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid". IMDb. Retrieved April 9, 2012.
  3. ^ "Awards for Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid". IMDb. Retrieved April 9, 2012.
  4. ^ "Locations for Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid". IMDb. Retrieved April 9, 2012.
  5. ^ "Empire's 500 Greatest Movies of All Time". Empire. Retrieved January 24, 2013.


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