Major Dundee (1965)

Director:

Sam Peckinpah

Writers:

Harry Julian Fink (story)
Harry Julian Fink (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

15 March 1965 (Denmark)

Genre:

Adventure | War | Western

Tagline:

THE EPIC STORY OF THE GREAT SOUTH-WEST !

Plot:

During the last winter of the Civil War, cavalry officer Amos Dundee leads a contentious troop of Army regulars...

Plot Keywords:

Apache | Confederate | Mexico | Prisoner | Prisoner Of War

Cast

Charlton Heston	...	Major Amos Charles Dundee
Richard Harris	...	Captain Benjamin Tyreen
Jim Hutton	...	Lieutenant Graham
James Coburn	...	Samuel Potts
Michael Anderson Jr.	...	Trooper Tim Ryan
Senta Berger	...	Teresa Santiago
Mario Adorf	...	Sergeant Gomez
Brock Peters	...	Aesop
Warren Oates	...	O.W. Hadley
Ben Johnson	...	Sergeant Chillum
R.G. Armstrong	...	Reverend Dahlstrom
L.Q. Jones	...	Arthur Hadley
Slim Pickens	...	Wiley
Karl Swenson	...	Captain Waller
Michael Pate	...	Sierra Charriba

Also Known As:

Mayor Dundee (Spain) (Venezuela) [es]
I taxiarhia ton ekdikiton (Greece) [el]
Juramento de Vingança (Brazil) [pt]
Juramento de venganza (Mexico) [es]
Kahraman binbasi (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Major Dundee (Denmark) [da]
Major Dundee (Finland: Swedish title) [sv]
Major Dundee (France) [fr]
Majuri Dundee (Finland) [fi]
Sierra Charriba (West Germany) [de]
Sierra Charriba (Italy) [it]

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for violence and some sensuality. (2005 re-issue)

Runtime:

123 min | 136 min (2005 restored version) | Spain:117 min | USA:152 min (unreleased director's cut)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French | Spanish

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M | Singapore:PG | Iceland:16 | West Germany:12 | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:PG-13 (re-release) (2005) | USA:Approved (Certificate #23829)

Filming Locations:

Chilpancingo, Guerrero, Mexico

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

L.Q. Jones narrates the trailer for the re-release of the extended version.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the final battle, Captain Tremaine is struck by Tyreen and falls from his horse into the river, but in the very next shot he is back in the saddle.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Narrator: In the territory of New Mexico towards the end of the Civil War, an Indian, Sierra Charriba, and his Apache warriors raided, sacked and looted an area almost three times the size of Texas.

Movie Connections:

References Red River (1948)

Soundtrack:

Major Dundee March

A missing Gem from Pechenpah's crown

Why isn't there a "director's cut" of this movie in DVD format? It's editing caused Sam to disown the finished cut. During production Charleton Heston charged Sam on horseback with saber drawn, quick boomwork averted disaster. He also offered to forgo his salary to get it released. What an inigma. My appreciation is for the accurate depiction of historical details. Horse Cavalry at it's best even to bugle calls. Pre-revisionist accurate depiction of Apache depredations. Maximillian's French vs. Jauristas is also depicted without apology. The whole pathos of Confederate P.O.W.s who galvanized Yankee to serve on the frontier. Good drama with lots of action to keep the story rolling. "Bring it on..." history "in your face". Please, please, please give us a Directors cut DVD. Hollywood are you listening to middle America? JAmes Coburn's cameo as one armed scout is worth the watch alone.