Cockfighter (1974) - April 26, 2022

[70’sHicksploitation]

I will say this to everyone complaining. We are lucky to even have been given a Blu-ray release at all especially for a film like this. This is one of my favorite movies and I’ll be honest I thought we’d never even see a Blu-ray release of this in my lifetime given the subject matter and the brittle world we now live in. Is there special features? No. Is the transfer the best quality? No. I am just thankful I’m able to own a Blu-ray copy with a bit better quality release than the DVD especially for such a good classic such as this. This poor movie needed something, anything at this point in time and I’m glad it finally got it.

[McCrutchy]

I guess I will go against the grain and say that when I watched this tonight, I was disappointed. I hate animal cruelty, but I support films stupid enough to stage it being available uncut so I can have proof of how ignorant and / or despicable the filmmakers are. I can also usually stomach cruelty when it isn't dogs...or cats...he said grudgingly (Also the rabbit scene in Roger and Me was scarring and I can still hear the hammer hit the rabbit's head), but in this film, I felt bad for delicious chickens, especially at the end. The movie just seemed pretty pointless to me, but I did enjoy the gratuitous breasts (not of any chickens, but rather Patricia Pearcy) and I saw Steve Railsback put a live chicken's head in his mouth and then try to slip his finger in the same chicken's anus, so that's one way to spend a Saturday night, I guess. I watched Dr. Strange (1978) right beforehand and I think I'll go to the evil fourth dimension with Jessica Walter any day:

[Show spoiler]

before I'll call Cockfighter even a minor masterpiece. I think the film's only real virtue is in its unique theme, as least as far as Western cinema is concerned. Unfortunately, that theme is rather unsavory, which is not good for a film with so many chickens.

[grahams76]

The picture quality is pretty bad on this release but it's better than the Anchor Bay DVD. I watched the blu last night and then put on the DVD this morning - it's the same transfer just with four times the bit rate on the blu. I'm glad to have this but it's so disappointing that a film of this quality will likely never get the release it deserves.

[Zillamon51]

Originally Posted by McCrutchy

[Show spoiler]I guess I will go against the grain and say that when I watched this tonight, I was disappointed. I hate animal cruelty, but I support films stupid enough to stage it being available uncut so I can have proof of how ignorant and / or despicable the filmmakers are. I can also usually stomach cruelty when it isn't dogs...or cats...he said grudgingly (Also the rabbit scene in Roger and Me was scarring and I can still hear the hammer hit the rabbit's head), but in this film, I felt bad for delicious chickens, especially at the end. The movie just seemed pretty pointless to me, but I did enjoy the gratuitous breasts (not of any chickens, but rather Patricia Pearcy) and I saw Steve Railsback put a live chicken's head in his mouth and then try to slip his finger in the same chicken's anus, so that's one way to spend a Saturday night, I guess. I watched Dr. Strange (1978) right beforehand and I think I'll go to the evil fourth dimension with Jessica Walter any day:

[Show spoiler]

before I'll call Cockfighter even a minor masterpiece. I think the film's only real virtue is in its unique theme, as least as far as Western cinema is concerned. Unfortunately, that theme is rather unsavory, which is not good for a film with so many chickens.

Now this ^ is more what I expect from an obscure '70s movie about cockfighting. Not all this talk of it being some kind of minor masterpiece.

[grahams76]

Originally Posted by Zillamon51

Now this ^ is more what I expect from an obscure '70s movie about cockfighting. Not all this talk of it being some kind of minor masterpiece.

A quick look at your collection shows a) you don't own Hellman's Two Lane Blacktop and b) this film almost certainly isn't for you.

[Zillamon51]

Originally Posted by grahams76

A quick look at your collection shows a) you don't own Hellman's Two Lane Blacktop and b) this film almost certainly isn't for you.

Actually, I have the old Anchor Bay DVD tin set. I bought pretty much everything from that line. TLB was a blind buy, and I remember being underwhelmed by it. But I am not intimately familiar with the director's oeuvre, if that's what you're getting at. Which has f**k-all to do with this sleazy-sounding cockfighting movie.

I do own some cannibal movies featuring real animal butchering, if that puts your mind to rest.

[Savage_Blu]

Surprisingly I found Cockfighter to be a gritty 70's slice of rural American cockfight-sleaze. If one is a fan of films from this era & ilk, definitely entertaining and worth a purchase....
Rated it an 8 on bluray.com.

[Toddarino]

I’ve attempted to watch this numerous times over the years on streaming, but the animal abuse always forced me to bail. This blu release finally brought down the dvd prices, so I was able to pick that up. As a fan of Oates, Stanton and Hellman, I wanted it in my collection and I wanted that documentary.
So now I’ll force myself to sit through the feature and enjoy the bonus.

[Mose Harper]

Originally Posted by FlyBry

Just watched my copy, and boy does it look rough. Constant flickering, a maddening grain field, horizontal lines, print damage, etc. Just ugly. Also, watched with subtitles and noticed quite a few errors with spelling and wrong words being used. This was a blind buy for me, and I'm glad I got to see it after hearing about it for years, but the price is far too high for a transfer of this quality.

Does the print on the Bd look worse than the clips in the trailer that Kishiro posted right after the above post?

[FlyBry]

Originally Posted by Mose Harper

Does the print on the Bd look worse than the clips in the trailer that Kishiro posted right after the above post?

Way worse. I wish Shout's BD looked half as good as that Japanese trailer.

[Rayjg]

Originally Posted by Hoke Moseley

So the verdict is that this isn't really worth buying (especially for $27)?

I streamed the film a few years ago (on Amazon Prime, I think) and the quality was so terrible I could hardly appreciate it. Which is a shame since I'm a huge Warren Oates fan and the novel that its based on is maybe my favorite from Charles Willeford. Hard to bring myself to buy the blu if the quality isn't much better.

Hard to imagine anything better coming since Shout owns this one outright

[billy pilgrim]

Originally Posted by Hoke Moseley

So the verdict is that this isn't really worth buying (especially for $27)?

I streamed the film a few years ago (on Amazon Prime, I think) and the quality was so terrible I could hardly appreciate it. Which is a shame since I'm a huge Warren Oates fan and the novel that its based on is maybe my favorite from Charles Willeford. Hard to bring myself to buy the blu if the quality isn't much better.

It's probably my favorite of Willeford's novels also. The story is lean and brutal and as cold as a straight razor. A hell of a read.

It's disappointing to hear that the release looks so poor. I've never seen the film version and was really looking forward to it.

[Katatonia]

Originally Posted by Rayjg

Hard to imagine anything better coming since Shout owns this one outright

Exactly. I highly doubt we're going to see any other releases of this one for years.

Better film elements are probably just long gone, or currently lost/misplaced. It happens.

[70’sHicksploitation]

This Blu-ray quality actually isn’t bad at all. It’s pretty decent and quite a bit better than DVD releases. I’m not sure what all the fuss is about..

[jmilo61]

Originally Posted by 70’sHicksploitation

This Blu-ray quality actually isn’t bad at all. It’s pretty decent and quite a bit better than DVD releases. I’m not sure what all the fuss is about..

While it may not be explicitly stated by everyone, I think the issue almost always boils down to the price of the release. People expect if you're going to charge upwards of $30 for a single movie, some effort should be put into it to justify the cost.

If they're going to dump an old master on a completely bare bones release, they've clearly put minimal effort into the release and it's frustrating for some that the premium price is being charged regardless.

Then they make it strictly limited, so there's probably no hope of ever getting it at a sale price even.

I try to be more forgiving of this than others. I don't know the behind the scenes details, so maybe something about the acquisition was expensive, and then maybe it just wasn't possible to do a new remaster for some reason. I'll never know and I'm a big pushover. I'll give the benefit of the doubt most of the time.

But I do understand why others get annoyed by such a release. If Shout was selling it non-limted for $15-$20, there would surely still be some complaints and disappointment about the old master, but not nearly to the same degree.

[Rayjg]

60% sold out. Not bad.

[serya]

Originally Posted by Rayjg

...Hellman says in the DVD commentary that Corman walked in the room and threw the script at him after reading it. He still let him make it though.

Classic story. And good for Roger.

Thanks to all the comments re the Shout release. I collect Hellman including poor public domain stuff and have the Anchor Bay DVD of Cockfighter and I am still trying to learn to not buy BD just because it is new and "better" - not always. Thanks to all.

[gabe.logan]

Originally Posted by 70’sHicksploitation

This Blu-ray quality actually isn’t bad at all. It’s pretty decent and quite a bit better than DVD releases. I’m not sure what all the fuss is about..

Thanks for the info, I missed the AB release and will buy this. Sad that there are no extras from AB but grateful this gets a BD release.

[FlyBry]

Originally Posted by Vegasnights39

Wait mine has like swarming flickering noise that's almost in like every scene.. is this the way it is or is my disc defective? I'm super confused.. 😫

Nope. That's the way it is. Not good.

[beamish13]

Originally Posted by serya

Classic story. And good for Roger.

Thanks to all the comments re the Shout release. I collect Hellman including poor public domain stuff and have the Anchor Bay DVD of Cockfighter and I am still trying to learn to not buy BD just because it is new and "better" - not always. Thanks to all.

China 9 has never been in the public domain, despite those shit DVD’s. WB was supposedly working on a restoration a decade ago (per Monte Hellman, when he presented a faded 35mm print at the American Cinematheque). It just screened on Turner Classic Movies