Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974) - Imprint

[Dailyan]

Sam Peckinpah’s cult classic Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia comes to high-definition Blu-ray for the first time in Australia. Starring Warren Oates (The Wild Bunch, Stripes) and Isela Vega, this gritty, violent neo-western has become a cult classic.

It was awarded four stars from Roger Ebert on release (his highest rating), and writing about it again in 2001, he described the film as “extraordinary, a true and heartfelt work by a great director who endured despite, or perhaps because of, the demons that haunted him”.

A piano player and his lover stumble across one last, precious chance at happiness: in order to claim more money that they’ve ever dreamed of, all they have to do is retrieve the head of a wanted man. But the path to their ultimate escape is littered with dangers – some, of course, of the fatal variety.

“No other filmmaker on earth could have conjured up this strange, obsessive… uniquely fascinating picture.” – The Washington Post

Limited Edition 2-Disc Hardbox. 1500 copies only.

Special Features & Technical Specs:

Disc One: Bring Me The Head of Alfredo Garcia

1080P High-definition presentation on Blu-ray from a 4K restoration
NEW Audio Commentary by filmmaker / Peckinpah scholar Mike Siegel
Audio Commentary by co-writer/co-producer Gordon Dawson, moderated by Nick Redman
Audio Commentary by Peckinpah scholars Paul Seydor, Garner Simmons, and David Weddle, moderated by Nick Redman
Audio Commentary by Peckinpah expert Paul Seydor and assistant to the director Katy Haber, moderated by Twilight Time producer Nick Redman
Passion & Poetry: Sam’s Favorite Film – a film by Mike Siegel on the making of Bring Me The Head of Alfredo Garcia featuring interviews with key cast & crew
NEW Promoting Alfredo Garcia – animated gallery featurette
NEW Filming Alfredo Garcia – animated gallery featurette
NEW Portrait of the Artist as a Dead Man: Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia and Sam Peckinpah’s Last Chance – Video essay by film writer/critic Travis Woods
A Writer’s Journey with Sam Peckinpah In Mexico – an interview documentary with author Garner Simmons
Peckinpah in Locarno – an interview with Katy Haber about Alfredo Garcia at the 2015 Peckinpah retrospective at the Locarno Film Festival
US TV Spots
Theatrical Trailer
Aspect Ratio 1.85:1
Audio English LPCM 2.0 Mono
Isolated Score Track
Optional English HOH Subtitles

Disc Two: Passion & Poetry – The Ballad of Sam Peckinpah

The acclaimed feature documentary film by Mike Siegel about the life & times of Sam Peckinpah featuring many cast & crew interviews

NEW 1080P High-definition presentation upscale presented on Blu-ray for the first time
Audio Commentary by director Mike Siegel
Stories on a Storyteller – a three part feature documentary with additional interviews
NEW Mike’s Home Movies: Behind the scenes, Retrospectives & Festivals
NEW The Passion & The Poetry Project – a documentary about Mike Siegel and his works on Sam Peckinpah
NEW Passion & Poetry in Portugal – a short documentary by Mike Siegel about the 2022 Sam Peckinpah retrospective
Aspect Ratio 1.78:1
Audio English LPCM 2.0

Any pre-order titles will be dispatched in the week leading up to its aforementioned release date. Special features and artwork are subject to change.

https://viavision.com.au/shop/bring-...ollection-251/

[SpaceBlackKnight]

Imprint generally receive whatever they get from the studios, no matter what the transfer claims. Are we sure this will have the proper 4k transfer created by Arrow, and not what MGM originally gave Kino for their remastered BD?

[Dragun]

Is there anything in Passion and Poetry that's not in the documentary on the Arrow Blu?

[RFK]

Yes there is. Passion and Poetry is a different documentary. The one on Arrow's release is Sam Peckinpah: Man of Iron.

[Toddarino]

Passion and Poetry is pretty good. I have it on dvd.

[RFK]

I agree. I have a press screener copy which included a red bandana like Peckinpah used to wear.

[mike siegel]

Originally Posted by RFK

I agree. I have a press screener copy which included a red bandana like Peckinpah used to wear.

That is yet another film (Legacy of a Hollywood Renegade).

My 2-hour film PASSION & POETRY - THE BALLAD OF SAM PECKINPAH (until now with IMPRINT) was only released in Germany, Spain & Japan.
Not to be confused with the many PASSION & POETRY ... documentaries
I produced on single Peckinpah titles...

Passion & Poetry - The Ballad Of Sam Peckinpah - Trailer (2005) Documentary by Mike Siegel - YouTube

[pro-bassoonist]

NOTE

If you plan to acquire Imprint's new two-disc set of Bring me the Head of Alfredo Garcia, you should pause. There appears to be a mix-up. Instead of the recent 4K restoration, the release introduces the old master. I will send a note to the Imprint team to let them know.

This is a redux. Not too long ago, Kino Lorber had the same issue with their release, so obviously there is a party at MGM that keeps dispatching the old master to boutique labels.

[nuahs]

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist

NOTE

I will send a note to the Imprint team to let them know.

This is a redux. Not too long ago, Kino Lorber had the same issue with their release, so obviously there is a party at MGM that keeps dispatching the old master to boutique labels.

Too late for me, but hopefully they come good on a replacement disc. Have they had any bad discs previously and done replacements?

[DawnShadow]

I don't see why they'd fix it. How is it any different to the numerous other discs that they have claimed to be from 4K restorations? It doesn't specifically say it was meant to be the Arrow transfer so this is it.

[SpaceBlackKnight]

Not surprising.

[Vizsla]

I pre-ordered this directly from Imprint / Via Vision as an import to the U.S. They were quick to ship, so I had it in hand before this problem became known. I reached out to them directly about four days ago, referencing my own order number, and haven't heard a peep from them. I'll be disappointed if they don't make this right. And they'll be hurting their pre-order sales as well, if people hold back waiting for reviews to be posted. Other than the mix-up with the old master, it was a very nice release.

[nuahs]

I watched this yesterday and yes, the video is disappointing, but it was still very watchable. I hope we get a replacement, but I'm not going to lose my mind over it if we don't as the film is functionally all there and isn't glaringly full of issues.

[dyrmaker83]

Did anyone ever get a response from Imprint on a replacement disc or updated version?

[hypnotoad8128]

Originally Posted by dyrmaker83

Did anyone ever get a response from Imprint on a replacement disc or updated version?

Don't hold your breath. Imprint frequently tout new 4k restorations on their press releases, then when the title comes out, it still uses a shitty old master. They have form on this and then trot out the old line "this is the transfer we received from the studio"

I was happy to support a local distributor here in Australia, and consistently brought every Imprint title from No.1 to No. 213 because of their eclectic film selection but in the end I gave up due to their misleading press releases and continual release of titles with old transfers and then newer ones would come out from another distributor sometimes mere months after an Imprint release.

Considering the time it takes to create a new restoration, Via Vision would know from their studio sources that a new master is coming, but they always opt for the cheaper older master and rush out a release before the superior release comes from another distributor.

[dyrmaker83]

Originally Posted by hypnotoad8128

Don't hold your breath. Imprint frequently tout new 4k restorations on their press releases, then when the title comes out, it still uses a shitty old master. They have form on this and then trot out the old line "this is the transfer we received from the studio"

I was happy to support a local distributor here in Australia, and consistently brought every Imprint title from No.1 to No. 213 because of their eclectic film selection but in the end I gave up due to their misleading press releases and continual release of titles with old transfers and then newer ones would come out from another distributor sometimes mere months after an Imprint release.

Considering the time it takes to create a new restoration, Via Vision would know from their studio sources that a new master is coming, but they always opt for the cheaper older master and rush out a release before the superior release comes from another distributor.

Well I reached out after my post and to their credit got a response pretty quickly:

"Our release uses the highest quality master provided to us by the studio. There has been no replacement programme for this title."

I can read between the lines...

[LMFAObros]

Just get the arrow instead

[hypnotoad8128]

Originally Posted by dyrmaker83

Well I reached out after my post and to their credit got a response pretty quickly:

"Our release uses the highest quality master provided to us by the studio. There has been no replacement programme for this title."

I can read between the lines...

Yep, I'm not surprised by this at all. As much as I wanted to support a local distributor, Via Vision with their Imprint line have dropped the ball so heavily and treats it's consumers with contempt that people need to start making their displeasure known with their wallets.

If enough people do that, Imprint might actually not be so misleading in their press releases and actually start to release higher quality transfers that are obviously available for many titles instead of opting for the cheaper transfer. In the past some of their releases have had horrendous transfers that other labels have released with superior transfers, but they use the old excuse it's the best master we have been provided or because it's a "worldwide first on bluray" they think a shitty transfer is acceptable because no one else has released it. Poor form.

[Chumpster99]

Originally Posted by hypnotoad8128

Yep, I'm not surprised by this at all. As much as I wanted to support a local distributor, Via Vision with their Imprint line have dropped the ball so heavily and treats it's consumers with contempt that people need to start making their displeasure known with their wallets.

If enough people do that, Imprint might actually not be so misleading in their press releases and actually start to release higher quality transfers that are obviously available for many titles instead of opting for the cheaper transfer. In the past some of their releases have had horrendous transfers that other labels have released with superior transfers, but they use the old excuse it's the best master we have been provided or because it's a "worldwide first on bluray" they think a shitty transfer is acceptable because no one else has released it. Poor form.

I personally stopped buying Imprint after I realized they seemingly had a sockpuppet account here that showed up to defend their releases lol. Worst part to me is the insane markup they do where they seem to think '3-disc edition of a movie? That's the same as including 3 movies so let's charge like 150'

[areyouian]

Did imprint ever fix the transfer issue?