Sam Peckinpah

From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia David Samuel Sam Peckinpah February 21 1925 December 28 1984 was an American filmmaker and screenwriter who achieved prominence following the release of the Western epic The Wild Bunch 1969 He was known for the innovative and explicit depiction of action and violence as well as his revisionist approach to the Western genre Peckinpahs films generally deal with the conflict between values and ideals and the corruption of violence in human society He was given the nickname Bloody Sam owing to the violence in his films His characters are often loners or losers who desire to be honorable but are forced to compromise in order to survive in a world of nihilism and brutality Peckinpahs combative personality marked by years of alcohol and drug abuse has often overshadowed his professional legacy Many of his films were noted for behindthescenes battles with producers and crew members damaging his reputation and career during his lifetime Many of his films such as Straw Dogs 1971 Pat Garrett amp Billy the Kid 1973 and Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia 1974 remain controversial Description above from the Wikipedia article Sam Peckinpah licensed under CCBYSA full list of contributors on Wikipedia