If not quite the failed masterpiece critics now say it is, the restored version of Major Dundee is a fascinating mess. Directed by Sam Peckinpah, the film is about Major Dundee (Charlton Heston), a disgraced Union major in the waning days of the Civil War who is placed in charge of a Texan prison. Obsessed with finding some way, any way, back into combat, Dundee gathers together a motley crew of soldiers to chase down a renegade Apache warrior who has been attacking settlers. The unit includes Union troops (including an African American unit that is eager to show what they’re made of), local volunteers, drunks and reprobates pulled out of the cells, and Confederate prisoners led by Richard Harris. Together, they gallop down to Mexico, chasing after the Apaches while avoiding the French army (this was during that brief period in the 1860s when a French Emperor reigned in Mexico City). Clearly the small army does not get along, but it is only made worse by the single-minded and cruel Dundee, who lusts for this mission with the righteous fury of Captain Ahab.
Almost more interesting than the movie itself is the story behind the making of the film. Peckinpah, still relatively young in his feature directing career, started filming without a completed script, and it soon became clear he was in over his head. Tempers flew, scenes were delayed, Charlton Heston threatened to kill Peckinpah with his cavalry saber, the production went way over budget, and the studio decided to shut the film down. Ironically, it was Heston who tried to save the movie by offering his salary back to the studio. Reportedly, the studio took the money, but shut production down anyway. They edited the film with the footage they had, but key scenes had yet to be shot. To make matters worse, the studio then cut down the film EVEN MORE before releasing it in theaters. The result…did not fare too well with audiences.
Cut ahead four decades. Sony Pictures had the guts to put the financial resources into restoring the film to as close to its original version as possible. They even hired a new composer to write a more appropriate score. Critics hailed the film as a missing Peckinpah masterpiece. But even the restoration can’t hide problems inherent from the production fiasco – editing is choppy and scenes begin and end in strange ways – evidence that some shots must have been missing. The film is also weighted down by horrible narration that does its best to explain what’s happening, again probably because key scenes were missing. This narration is one of the most grating I’ve heard, the line readings so ridiculously flat they would have been at home in The Room. The movie bogs down with an out-of-place romance that never goes anywhere or resolves in any sort of satisfactory way. And at the end…well, the movie just ends.
But I still recommend Major Dundee, believe it or not! There are major problems (especially in the second half which was being written almost as quickly as it was being filmed), but what is good is GOLD. There are amazing moments, including an impressive cavalry battle near the end, terrific cinematography, and solid acting all around. It is the acting that amazed me the most. I wasn’t surprised that Richard Harris, as the Irish commander of the Confederates, and James Coburn, as the one armed army scout, are terrific. They are always reliable. But Charlton Heston – damn, with his last years so mixed up in politics and his reputation as an over-actor secure, it is easy to forget that the man could act when he wanted to. And Major Dundee is a career best – I have never seen him this good. His Dundee is a stubborn man - cruel, sometimes brilliant, and always antagonistic to everyone and anyone. He is a hard, hard man and the movie is worth watching for him alone. This film is not a study in heroics. It is a study of an ass, an obsessed fool who gets almost everyone around him killed, and it is fascinating to watch. If only Hollywood had had the guts to cast Heston as a real villain, we could have had one of the best! And for all these reasons, I would recommend the film.
