Cockfighter

"Cockfighter" is one of a number of collaborations between Monte Hellman and Warren Oates, with a brilliant, austere script written by Charles Willeford (also author of the book) and equally simple yet elegant cinematography by Nestor Alemendros, D.P. of Malick's "Badlands" and "Days of Heaven".

This film really captures an emerging respect and relationship between Hellman and Oates, who barely utters a word through the whole film. Like "The Shooting", "Ride in the Whirlwind" and "Two-lane Blacktop", Hellman turns to Oates for a unique and character-driven performance.

It's qualities envoke a very specific 60s and 70s motif of existentialism, a rambling from place to place and between relationships. Oates' stoicism really carries the feel of the film, with very honest performances from supporting actors Harry Dean Stanton, Richard B. Shull and Laurie Bird.

While not wanting to ruin the plot, it must be stated that the "sport" of cockfighting, while playing a part in the plot and cinematography, is really the backdrop of the story. Oates' Frank Mansfield is the true subject of the film, who, from the beginning, is a broken man on a mission, willing to keep going against the odds for his small piece of redemption. His path is very idiosyncratic, yet empathy for his positions and desires is universal.

From the cover and other reviews, it may seem that "Cockfighter" is an adventure film, rife with shock value and violence. While there are distinctly beautiful and poignant images of cockfighting (animal lovers beware), it's pace and personality are more like that of an "art film". In an effort to market the film by famed "shock" producer Roger Corman, posters and alternate titles ("Born to Kill") depict a film for a mass, Middle-American audience ready to see blood drawn.

As a huge fan of Hellman and Oates, especially Cockfighter, my opinion is that the marketing of the film and it's outer "cover" (literally and figuratively) were designed to get it seen at any cost.

This is Independent Film before it had a name, when it was simply at any cost and by any means. "Cockfighter" is a film full of philosophy, humility and respect, underrated if one ever was.

Warren Oates is great. This isn't his best performance (he's better in BRING ME THE HEAD OF ALFREDO GARCIA and TWO LANE BLACKTOP...maybe even RACE WITH THE DEVIL), but he's still fantastic. I love how he manages to convey so much without speaking (those who haven't seen the film - Oates barely speaks in this film).

Monte Hellman...does a good job, but this is not his best work. I prefer TWO LANE BLACKTOP, THE SHOOTING, and RIDE IN THE WHIRLWIND. There are some amazing moments in this, though, and the cockfighting footage is insane (and I'm sure this film didn't qualify for the "no animals were harmed..." tag, which wasn't in use then anyway, but you get the point).

And I love what Hellman does in the love scene by the lake between Frank and his girl. That was pure genius.

Ed Begley Jr. is also really fantastic, and Harry Dean Stanton is great. This movie actually made me want to go to a cockfight, so, I mean, yeah.

COCKFIGHTER...a must-see for Oates/Hellman fans. And, frankly, the video is impossible to find so unless you're a diehard fan you probably won't see this anyway. I found this in a video store in L.A. (Los Feliz). Video's out of print, but definitely worth seeing if you can find it.

I realize this review is rather poorly thought-out. Please forgive me.

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" is not an easy movie. It doesn't have one of those carbon-copy scripts that you can write like cheap romance novels. It doesn't have characters that cater to what the stars think will make them look good. There is no spoon-feeding here.

Just re-released for sale on tape (and DVD), this film is now available again for those who like to watch a movie that honestly takes you someplace that few of us have ever been. Warren Oates plays a character who lives by a moral code much like the people in the pulp westerns and detective stories -- a man's honor is shown by his actions, and his willingness to see his convictions through to whatever end may come. After letting his pride destroy his chance of winning a high honor amongst cockfighters, he takes a vow of silence that will last until he earns that honor.

While the scenes of actual cockfights can be distressing, they are essential to showing the viewer the main character's struggle as well as his obsession. When the character's love interest is added to the equation, the story takes on an epic quality formerly reserved for tales of a knight trying to win the love of his lady and the respect of his peers.

Perhaps that may be giving the film too much credit, but I don't think so. While there are plenty of exploitational elements to draw a wide audience, the actual meat of the film is a man seeking redemption and honor.

Find this movie. Watch it. Enjoy it. And see if it doesn't stick in your mind a heck of a lot longer than the average contemporary "Hollywood" movie.

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.