Cockfighter

I`ll be quick and to the point without going into details about the film itself. I caught this a few years back for the first time on one of the movie channels and became immediately engrossed in it. A terrific character study with a performance by the late-great Warren Oates that consumes the screen.

The kind of film most people don`t have the attention span for anymore....and that`s a shame. If you`re familiar with Hellman`s work, and appreciate it, it`s a must see. 8/10

Warren Oates is great. This isn't his best performance (he's better in BRING ME THE HEAD OF ALFREDO GARCIA and TWO LANE BLACKTOP...maybe even RACE WITH THE DEVIL), but he's still fantastic. I love how he manages to convey so much without speaking (those who haven't seen the film - Oates barely speaks in this film).

Monte Hellman...does a good job, but this is not his best work. I prefer TWO LANE BLACKTOP, THE SHOOTING, and RIDE IN THE WHIRLWIND. There are some amazing moments in this, though, and the cockfighting footage is insane (and I'm sure this film didn't qualify for the "no animals were harmed..." tag, which wasn't in use then anyway, but you get the point).

And I love what Hellman does in the love scene by the lake between Frank and his girl. That was pure genius.

Ed Begley Jr. is also really fantastic, and Harry Dean Stanton is great. This movie actually made me want to go to a cockfight, so, I mean, yeah.

COCKFIGHTER...a must-see for Oates/Hellman fans. And, frankly, the video is impossible to find so unless you're a diehard fan you probably won't see this anyway. I found this in a video store in L.A. (Los Feliz). Video's out of print, but definitely worth seeing if you can find it.

I realize this review is rather poorly thought-out. Please forgive me.

I am one of the few people who managed to see this in the UK, because it was banned, an understandable if incorrect decision, as the film does not glamorise the unpleasant "sport" of cock fighting. Neither is it really the subject of the film, it just happens to be the driver of the obsessions of the central character played by Warren Oates, and what a completely mesmeric compelling portrait he gives! He has always been one of my favourite film actors, and this IMO is his best performance. Anyone interested in the craft of film acting, or the independent Ameriacn movies spawned by "Easy Rider" must see this haunting, unsettling and beautiful movie, which I believe to be unjustly neglected, and severely underrated.

"Cockfighter" is one of a number of collaborations between Monte Hellman and Warren Oates, with a brilliant, austere script written by Charles Willeford (also author of the book) and equally simple yet elegant cinematography by Nestor Alemendros, D.P. of Malick's "Badlands" and "Days of Heaven".

This film really captures an emerging respect and relationship between Hellman and Oates, who barely utters a word through the whole film. Like "The Shooting", "Ride in the Whirlwind" and "Two-lane Blacktop", Hellman turns to Oates for a unique and character-driven performance.

It's qualities envoke a very specific 60s and 70s motif of existentialism, a rambling from place to place and between relationships. Oates' stoicism really carries the feel of the film, with very honest performances from supporting actors Harry Dean Stanton, Richard B. Shull and Laurie Bird.

While not wanting to ruin the plot, it must be stated that the "sport" of cockfighting, while playing a part in the plot and cinematography, is really the backdrop of the story. Oates' Frank Mansfield is the true subject of the film, who, from the beginning, is a broken man on a mission, willing to keep going against the odds for his small piece of redemption. His path is very idiosyncratic, yet empathy for his positions and desires is universal.

From the cover and other reviews, it may seem that "Cockfighter" is an adventure film, rife with shock value and violence. While there are distinctly beautiful and poignant images of cockfighting (animal lovers beware), it's pace and personality are more like that of an "art film". In an effort to market the film by famed "shock" producer Roger Corman, posters and alternate titles ("Born to Kill") depict a film for a mass, Middle-American audience ready to see blood drawn.

As a huge fan of Hellman and Oates, especially Cockfighter, my opinion is that the marketing of the film and it's outer "cover" (literally and figuratively) were designed to get it seen at any cost.

This is Independent Film before it had a name, when it was simply at any cost and by any means. "Cockfighter" is a film full of philosophy, humility and respect, underrated if one ever was.

Monte Hellman and Sam Peckinpah recognized the particular genius of Warren Oates, and it saddens me to think that younger film goers know little about Oates, and even less about Hellman. Makes a good companion piece for "Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia." Although both films have similar plot devices, the performances by Oates are bravely unique, and moving in their fearless creativity.

The DVD includes a documentary about Oates that is a welcome companion to the feature. Esteemed critic David Thomson points out that Oates was not afraid to play dumb (unlike his occasional co-star Jack Nicholson, who always has to show the audience his underlying intelligence as a safeguard). And the commentary track, although low in volume, is worth leaning close and listening to 'back stage' stories about the production. In particular: Roger Corman's angry reaction to the final scene written for the final draft of the script.

This final scene of the movie is poetic and ambiguous, nothing you'd expect from a so-called exploitation picture. Maybe that's why Corman didn't approve. "Cockfighter" is at least half documentary, with real people in supporting roles, and filming real contests in cockpits in Georgia. Because Oates was so authentic, it would be easy to forget that this is a well-crafted performance from one of the most under-rated film actors who ever lived.