MAJOR DUNDEE Milestones

Charlton Heston may be fondly remembered for his larger-than-life personifications of conquering heroes,
but in a few striking examples, such as Sam Peckinpah’s MAJOR DUNDEE 11965) and Orson Welles’s
TOUCH OF EVIL (1958)-both of which were severely edited against their directors’ wishes, defended
by Heston and partially restored in recent years-he proved he was perfectly willing to tackle material
that questioned the limits of power. After the wide acclaim of his second feature, RIDE THE HIGH
COUNTRY (1962), Peckinpah envisioned MAJOR DUNDEE as on ambiguous morality ploy with equal
parts John Ford and LAWRENCE OF ARABIA 11962). A Union officer demoted as a prison warden in
New Mexico rallies together Confederate prisoners to pursue a marauding Apache in Mexico . With its
themes of loyalty, risk and obsession, it seems like a practice run for issues that would preoccupy the
director of THE WILD BUNCH (1969) for years to come , and Heston’s iron screen persona deliciously
intensifies the film’s ambiguities. After Peckinpah went over budget and was fired , producers cut 20
minutes from the film, and distributors cut another 14. This partial restoration includes l l minutes unseen
for decades and a new score by Christopher Caliendo that’s closer to the filmmaker’s intentions.