Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Slow
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Graphic
- elegiac
- melancholic
- bleak
- classic western night
- cinephile deep dive
What critics said
Critics broadly recognize an atmospheric, lyrical, strongly cast revisionist western whose music and visual style endure despite its slow pacing and uneven construction.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid are presented as damaged, aging men whose legend is eroded by political and economic change.
Garrett and Billy were traveling companions and outlaw associates before Garrett became the lawman hunting him.
Cattle interests employ Garrett to impose a new order in 1881 New Mexico, while Billy embodies an older lawless freedom.
Peckinpah’s gun battles and deaths use stylized editing and slow motion to make the pursuit feel mournful and brutal.
Films like Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid, and why
The Wild Bunch
revisionist western atmosphere, aging outlaws, and elegiac friendship turned adversarial
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
mythic western history, morally compromised lawmen, and mournful reflections on a vanishing frontier
Unforgiven
revisionist western fatalism, outlaw mythology, and the collision between personal loyalty and institutional power
The Professionals
bleak frontier violence, lawlessness, and a doomed pursuit shaped by changing social order
Movie Details
- Director
- Sam Peckinpah
- Release Date
- 1973-05-23
- Runtime
- 106 min
- Rating
- 7.2 / 10 (483)
Cast
- James Coburn
- Kris Kristofferson
- Richard Jaeckel
- Katy Jurado
- Chill Wills
- Barry Sullivan
- Jason Robards
- Bob Dylan
- R.G. Armstrong
- Luke Askew
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Howdy Amazon Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid about?
- A mournful revisionist western follows a former outlaw turned sheriff as he hunts his old companion through a frontier being remade by cattle power and institutional law.
- What is Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid as slow, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid as graphic.
- What did critics think of Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid?
- Critics broadly recognize an atmospheric, lyrical, strongly cast revisionist western whose music and visual style endure despite its slow pacing and uneven construction.
- Which films are like Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid?
- Films with a similar feel include The Wild Bunch, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Unforgiven, and The Professionals.
- How long is Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid?
- Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid runs 106 minutes.
- Where can I watch Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid?
- In United States, Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid streams on Howdy Amazon Channel.
