Cockfighter

COCKFIGHTER is one of those films that is so surprisingly good that you wonder why anyone wouldn't want to see it. This is the definitive movie on rooster fights, and it features a great performance by Warren Oates. This is a superior flick; it is strange, but beautiful.

I`ll be quick and to the point without going into details about the film itself. I caught this a few years back for the first time on one of the movie channels and became immediately engrossed in it. A terrific character study with a performance by the late-great Warren Oates that consumes the screen.

The kind of film most people don`t have the attention span for anymore....and that`s a shame. If you`re familiar with Hellman`s work, and appreciate it, it`s a must see. 8/10

Cockfighter, another Roger Corman/Monte Hellman collaboration, explores the popular but mostly illegal "sport" of cockfighting (it is banned in 48 states). The film was marketed under several different titles but it never caught on and was virtually unseen until the Anchor Bay DVD release in 2001. Based on a novel by Charles Willeford, the film contains one of Warren Oates' best performances as Frank Mansfield, a trainer of prize cockfighters. Since he was disqualified for the "Cockfighter of the Year" award for excessive drinking and talking during a fight, Frank has taken a vow of silence and refuses to talk until he wins the medal. Filmed in actual outdoor arenas in Georgia (cockfighting was legal in Georgia) by cinematographer Nestor Almenderos (Days of Heaven, Kramer Vs. Kramer), the crowds at the matches consist of real fans and people who have participated in this brutal spectacle, giving the film a documentary look and feel.

In Cockfighter, we are privy to a world that none of us will probably ever see or ever want to see, a world where roosters are bred and trained to engage in a deadly battle with other birds for the benefit of gamblers and spectators. With cocks equipped with little metal hooks attached to their feet to make them more deadly, Cockfighting is shown for what it is, a violent bloody business filled with sleazy operators who have no feeling for the life and death of the animals. Though the roosters in the film were destined to be killed in matches anyway, there is animal violence in the film and those that object to this should be forewarned. I personally had to turn away from the screen on several occasions.

As the film begins, Frank has lost a match with his friendly adversary Jack (Harry Dean Stanton) and has to give up his truck, mobile home, and his girlfriend Dodo (Laurie Bird). Without wheels or money, he sells his house where his brother (Troy Donahue) and his sister-in-law (Millie Perkins) had been living and visits fiancée Mary Elizabeth (Patricia Pearcy). Mansfield is a driven man, yet also one who is thoughtful and gentle and the scenes with him and Mary "talking" about their future with a glittering lake in the background are unforgettable. Mary loves him and wants to get married but is clearly put off by cockfighting and will not go to a match. To shore up his finances, Frank goes into partnership with Omar (Richard B. Shull) and his luck seems to turn for the better. Like most films about sports or competition, the adversaries end up in the big match, in this case, the Southern Conference finals.

While Cockfighter contains some sports clichés, it is not a soap opera in any sense. Rather it is a thoughtful character study of a man on the edge, caught between the only profession he has ever known and a chance to escape a lifetime of loneliness. Although Oates says only a few words during the film, his facial expressions and hand gestures leave little doubt about what he is thinking and feeling. Hellman, true to the standard he set in his earlier films, has created a gritty and involving film that deserves a wider audience and Oates gives the film true character.

This Roger Corman produced movie about the dubious sport of cockfighting probably occupies similar ground to Cannibal Holocaust in a way. They both exploit animal violence for their goals but those goals stretch beyond mere schlocky entertainment (and I have to say that CH is no more hypocritical than the people who condemn it and then chow down on burgers).

True there are actual cockfighting scenes in the movie and real animals were harmed and killed and the fights themselves are presented in a very grim way, so animal lovers are advised to stay away. But Cockfighter is also a Monte Hellman movie and not content with wadding its way through schlock. It's similar in many ways to his masterpiece Two-Lane Blacktop in that it is an understated character study disguised as something else (in Blacktop's case a road movie, here a movie about cockfighting), introvert and contemplative without any pretense and stripped of all fat.

Warren Oates almost totally silent performance is great, relying on glances and gestures and understated enough to suck you in his character's tormented psyche like a Lon Chaney of 70's hardboiled cinema. His character is reminiscent of the G.T.O. he played in Blacktop three years earlier, once again a drifter, a man that has fallen out with society and himself and is now trying to come to terms with life in his own way. As is true for other Hellman movies and his great talent, things are never spelled out but are left vague as if incomplete but still carrying all the meaning they're supposed to carry. The puzzling ending is another example of this and I think the movie is better off because of it.

Newcomers to Hellman's movies might wanna start elsewhere and work their way to Cockfighter. This is still characteristic of his work and Oates is in top form, but it's not as good as Blacktop although maybe more accessible. A must-see for fans of Sam Peckinpah too.

Being a major fan of American movies of the 1970s 'Cockfighter' has been like a Holy Grail for me for as long as I can remember. When I finally got a hold of a copy I'm happy to say it more than lived up to my expectations. I think it's one of the most extraordinary movies of the decade, and further proof that Monte Hellman is one of the most underrated directors of all time. Hellman, like many other film makers, got his first big break working for Roger Corman, directing 'Beast From Haunted Cave' in the 1950s. He then went on to work on Corman's 'The Terror' alongside Coppola and Jack Hill, and edited the biker classic 'The Wild Angels'. Hellman never became a Hollywood legend like Coppola, or a much loved exploitation cult hero like Jack Hill, and has always had difficulties getting his movies made. Why, I really don't know, just watch 'The Shooting', 'Two-Lane Blacktop' and 'Cockfighter' back to back and tell me that he isn't a major talent. After going their separate ways for some time Corman and Hellman reunited for 'Cockfighter'. Apparently Corman hated the ending and the movie is supposedly one of the very few that lost him money, but I think it's an amazing achievement. The controversial bird fighting sequences are very brutal and very beautiful. Animal lovers will abhor the movie for this reason. The morality of filming them is very problematic, even Hellman admits he was disgusted doing it. Aside from that can of worms 'Cockfighter' features a superb performance from Warren Oates, one of his very best ever, so if you are an Oates fan you MUST try and see this movie! Hellman and Oates worked on four movies altogether, and the supporting cast also includes Harry Dean Stanton and Millie Perkins, who had three Hellman movies apiece, and Laurie Bird who co-starred in 'Two-Lane Blacktop'. On top of that you have some strong performances by a whole bunch of character actors like Warren Finnerty ('Cool Hand Luke'), Ed Begley Jr, Steve Railsback (in one of my favourite scenes) and - one of the biggest surprises - Troy Donahue, who has a memorable cameo as Oates alcoholic brother. Richard B. Shull is great as Oates' partner, as is Patricia Pearcy who plays his love interest. Even Charles Willeford who wrote both the movie script and the original novel it was based on has a great bit as a fight official. 'Cockfighter's explicit fight sequences will repel most people but if you persevere you'll witness some brilliant acting, especially from Warren Oates. 'Cockfighter' has immediately rocketed into my all time favourite movies list.