Passion & Poetry - The Ballad of Sam Peckinpah (2 DVD Special Edition)

Content: Guaranteed the cinematic landscape would look different if it weren't for Sam Peckinpah. Even today, the work of the American director (1925 - 1984) is appreciated by other filmmakers in their works. Whether Martin Scorsese or Quentin Tarantino, without Peckinpah's films the work of many directors today would certainly look very different artistically. Whether "The Wild Bunch", "Pat Garrett & Billy The Kid", "Straw Dogs" or "Steiner - The Iron Cross", the films of Sam Peckinpah are quoted and copied again and again until today.

But Peckinpah was not only a brilliant artist, but also an extremely difficult person, who has not infrequently messed with the studios and under whose tantrums employees, but also friends had to suffer. Peckinpah was always in his own way with his sometimes self-destructive behavior and therefore ended his career less glorious with the rather weak by his standards "Ostermann-Weekend" and the shooting of music videos. One thing can definitely be said about the life and work of Sam Peckinpah, however: the whole thing offers enough material for a damn exciting documentary, as Mike Siegel's "Passion & Poetry - The Ballad of Sam Peckinpah" impressively proves.

Mike Siegel has spent years putting together a magnificent documentary on the life and work of Sam Peckinpah. Featuring numerous photographs, rare footage of filming and many interviews in which family members, friends and colleagues have their say, but in which Sam Peckinpah himself can also be heard and seen in the form of previously unpublished images and sound recordings. Siegel met stars such as Ernest Borgnine, Kris Kristofferson, Mari Adorf, Ali MacGraw, David Warner and Senta Berger, and elicited quite a few interesting and occasionally surprising stories from them, which is a refreshing departure from the usual pats on the back and praise of typical commercial documentaries.

because the independently produced documentary doesn't just want to pay homage to Peckinpah's work, which the films (at least most of them) absolutely deserve. It also wants to paint as honest a picture as possible of the man and the director. In the process, it becomes clear why, on the one hand, it wasn't always easy to work with "Bloody Sam", but also why colleagues and friends admired and loved him despite his sometimes rather tyrannical behavior.

"Passion & Poetry - The Ballad of Sam Peckinpah" is a true work of passion, and that is evident in every moment of the documentary, the making of which is almost as exciting as the actual content (so be sure to listen to the German audio commentary and read through the booklet). Siegel has created a film that is not only an absolute must-see for all film buffs. The documentary is also, regardless of its film-historical aspect, an exciting story about a complex personality. A great contemporary testimony that belongs in every good DVD collection. Absolutely recommendable!

Picture + Sound: Depending on whether it is current interviews or archive material, the picture quality varies between very good and decent. In the currently filmed footage and interviews, the picture presents itself clean and sharp and also the sound moves on a very good level for documentaries.

Extras: Whole two and a half hours of bonus material has to offer the double DVD. In addition to two informative audio commentaries by Mike Siegel on the main film, one in German and one in English, the three-part documentary "Stories on a Storyteller" is the centerpiece of the extras. Here, in a total of 103 minutes, there are many more interviews with those involved in the main film that go into much more depth on some specific topics only touched upon in the documentary. Ernest Borgine, who is now over 90 years old, is allowed 15 more minutes of detailed information about his experiences shooting "The Wild Bunch". And in a very interesting featurette, director Mike Siegel visits the location of this classic film and introduces the man who helped him find the remote spot in Mexico. Finally, the DVD offers just under 15 minutes of private home video footage that Siegel shot during the long making of the documentary. Interesting, entertaining, and charming - extras on a DVD really don't get any better than this.

Conclusion: "Passion & Poetry - The Ballad of Sam Peckinpah" is a great documentary and an excellent DVD that is especially compelling because of the extensive bonus material. Anyone even remotely interested in film history and/or gripping biographies can't pass up this double DVD. Absolutely recommendable

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp