Major Dundee (Heston) leads a group of Union soldiers and Confederate prisoners on a mission against Apaches in Mexico. This Peckinpah Western was made four years before The Wild Bunch but it's light years behind by all measures of cinematic greatness. The story seems to wander aimlessly and, therefore, becomes unbearably long in the restored 136-minute version. There are moments of excitement but there are also long stretches when nothing interesting happens. The cast, which includes many Peckinpah regulars (Oates, Johnson, Jones, Pickens), is good but is pretty much wasted. Heston is earnest and Senta Berger definitely enhances the scenery if not the plot.
Review of Major Dundee
