Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid 4K 1973 Ultra HD 2160p

Storyline
In 1881 New Mexico, Pat Garrett, erstwhile traveling companion of the outlaw Billy the Kid, has become a sheriff, tasked by cattle interests with ridding the territory of Billy. After Billy escapes, Pat assembles a posse and chases him through the territory, culminating in a final confrontation at Fort Sumner, but is unaware of the full scope of the cattle interests' plans for the New West.

User Review
I have seen this film twice with a 20 year gap in between. Seeing the movie a second time, you begin to wonder not about the main characters but about the tertiary ones. For instance, where is Mrs Garrett? Pat Garrett tells someone to inform her that he is coming home. Is this one of the characters chopped off by the studios?

The Katy Jurado character of a rifle shooting sheriff's wife seems only half developed, though the actress gets important billing in the credits.

The Harry Dean Stanton role is again a short but interesting one getting out of bed to provide room for Billy's sexual needs.

The Alias character played by Bob Dylan is mysterious. He watches and is smart and reflects the young generation. Why does Billy ask him to read the list on the wall? What was Pekinpah doing with these characters? He was not a fool--he wanted to develop the characters that were probably chopped off.

Would Pekinpah have chosen another actress to play Billy's love interest if Rita Coolidge was not married to Kristofferson at the time the film was made? The kids in the film provide the antidote to the lethal violence--in their angelic responses, visual and aural.

I commend the work of Canadian Roger Spottiswoode (editor turned director) in trying to put the film together the way Pekinpah would have preferred it. The version I saw recently has additional scenes but not the one with the death of the Katy Jurado character, which apparently Spottiswoode restored. Now the film's major achievements are photography, screenplay (the growing moustache of Garrett is an example of detail), and somewhat brilliant direction.

Evidently cinematographer John Coquillon liked to work for Pekinpah (Straw Dogs). Coquillon's work is superb here but strangely his later works do not show the same spirit behind the camera. Could he only deliver with Pekinpah and not with others?

I found this film a fine work, philosophical and aethetically satisfying. From what has been seen, I suspect Pekinpah had a better film in mind that never left the studios. Coburn and Kristofferson did justice to their roles, developing them as an actor could. The film in my view is one of the most interesting westerns I have seen giving importance to the legion of subsidiary characters. I only wish they were fleshed out even more. This film is not mindless--it makes you think. Now that's entertainment.

Info Video

Codec: HEVC / H.265 (96.0 Mb/s)
Resolution: Native 4K (2160p)
HDR: Dolby Vision, HDR10
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1

Info Audio

#English: FLAC 1.0
#English: Dolby Digital 1.0 (Commentary by Paul Seydor and Roger Spottiswoode, and critic Michael Sragow)

Info Subtitles

English SDH.