Long before Sam Peckinpah finished shooting his 1973 Western, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, there was open warfare between him and the studio. In this scrupulously researched new book Paul Seydor reconstructs the riveting history of a brilliant director fighting to preserve an artistic vision while wrestling with his own self‑destructive demons. Meticulously comparing the film five extant versions, Seydor documents why none is definitive, including the 2005 Special Edition, for which he served as consultant. Viewing Peckinpah’s last Western from a variety of fresh perspectives, Seydor establishes a nearly direct line from the book Garrett wrote after he killed Billy the Kid to Peckinpah’s film ninety-one years later and shows how, even with directors as singular as this one, filmmaking is a collaborative medium. Art, business, history, genius, and ego all collide in this story of a great director navigating the treacherous waters of collaboration, compromise, and commerce to create a flawed but enduringly powerful masterpiece.

"Do we need another book on Sam Peckinpah and, in this case, a whole book devoted to one film? An unqualified yes if it is written by Paul Seydor and as original and provocative as this one. Considered a leading scholar of Peckinpah, Seydor has written extensively, persuasively, and passionately about Peckinpah’s Westerns, but none of his previous books has focused exclusively or so intensely on one film... This book has cast a stunning light on the making of the film and carved a coherent path through the jungle of controversy. It has helped us see and understand how Peckinpah, in this last of his Westerns, has left an indelible mark on the genre. In essence, this study as accomplished what the best film criticism always aspires to: producing fresh eyes and awakened senses in viewers, preparing us for a profoundly visceral experience. Seydor comments on one of Peckinpah's frequent sayings: ' 'feeling it' is what his films are all about' (243). Seydor's book helps us to feel it, powerfully and unforgettably in Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid." —Western American Literature