The following commentary should only be read by those who have seen the film. It is, in a sense, a spoiler for something that doesn't exist in the film's current release.
I first saw Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia here in Manhattan on the day it opened so many years ago. After the reviews came out, the studio immediately pulled the prints from the theaters and cut the most CRUCIAL scene in the film.
The original release contained a scene wherein upon discovering his lover dead, the Warren Oates character makes love to her corpse. He does so tenderly, and with deep regret. Then he buries her along with Garcia's remains in the grave he's just desecrated.
It is in this moment that he slips into madness. If you watch the film again, note the transition from the "pre-grave" character and the "post-grave" one. (Also note the somewhat disjointed transition from his holding his dead lover in his arms, to his leaving the graveyard.) I'm sure you could view his character change as simply being a reaction to her death. But if you imagine the missing footage, his impending lunacy has greater depth, and makes more sense. It also gives the film a different resonance than his other films that employ a machismo/revenge motif.
It's always driven me crazy (so to speak <G>) that this most important scene was taken out of the film, denying the audience a true understanding of the Oates character in the last third of the film.
I eagerly await a DVD release that restores this footage. I hope it hasn't been lost forever.
I first saw Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia here in Manhattan on the day it opened so many years ago. After the reviews came out, the studio immediately pulled the prints from the theaters and cut the most CRUCIAL scene in the film.
The original release contained a scene wherein upon discovering his lover dead, the Warren Oates character makes love to her corpse. He does so tenderly, and with deep regret. Then he buries her along with Garcia's remains in the grave he's just desecrated.
It is in this moment that he slips into madness. If you watch the film again, note the transition from the "pre-grave" character and the "post-grave" one. (Also note the somewhat disjointed transition from his holding his dead lover in his arms, to his leaving the graveyard.) I'm sure you could view his character change as simply being a reaction to her death. But if you imagine the missing footage, his impending lunacy has greater depth, and makes more sense. It also gives the film a different resonance than his other films that employ a machismo/revenge motif.
It's always driven me crazy (so to speak <G>) that this most important scene was taken out of the film, denying the audience a true understanding of the Oates character in the last third of the film.
I eagerly await a DVD release that restores this footage. I hope it hasn't been lost forever.