One of the key films in the career of director Sam Peckinpah, Major Dundee was for many years a source of frustration in attempts to create what would hopefully be a Director’s Cut, or at least a longer version closer to what was originally intended. The clashes with the producer over production delays, script changes, the deletion of key scenes and imposition of an unapproved score, and the ultimate banishment of the director from the project, have become legendary. This longer version of the film, which features twelve minutes of recovered footage and a new score, clarifies key plot points and adds a more tragic dimension and depth to the character of Dundee, in an effort to bring the film closer to the director’s original vision. (…) There are three completely new scenes in the Extended Version, including the missing introduction of Tyreen and the emphatic setting of the fort that Dundee is in charge of as truly a jail. The so-called “lost weekend” sequence in which the wounded Dundee is recovering in Durango is now restored, deepening the understanding of his character and the relationship with Teresa, played by Senta Berger. And there are bits and pieces of typical Peckinpah touches running throughout the film, such as isolated shots of children observing the adult characters, reminiscent of The Wild Bunch.

Grover Crisp