# Major Dundee
**Major Dundee** is a 1965 American Western directed by [Sam Peckinpah](https://www.edgepedia.org/sam-peckinpah), in which a Union cavalry officer leads a mixed force of Confederate prisoners, freed slaves, deserters, and criminals across the Mexican border to hunt down the Apache chief who massacred his post. It stars [Charlton Heston](https://www.edgepedia.org/charlton-heston) as Major Amos Charles Dundee, Richard Harris as Confederate Captain Benjamin Tyreen, and [Jim Hutton](https://www.edgepedia.org/jim-hutton), with James Coburn and Michael Anderson Jr. in supporting roles.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/18738-MAJOR-DUNDEE?cp=1&pos=2&sid=ed4a0e27-f4c5-4a6b-8603-bc8677c94cb7&sr=0.029500054) • [2](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/major-dundee-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0ynta2nji) The film is as well known for its production history as for its content: Peckinpah was fired during post-production, the studio released a version roughly a third shorter than his cut, and a partial restoration appeared in 2005.[3](https://www.tcm.com/articles/194223/major-dundee-extended-version) • [4](https://sony.mediaroom.com/2005-04-08-Sony-Pictures-Releasings-Reconstructed-Sam-Peckinpah-Epic-Major-Dundee-Premieres-in-Theatres-This-April)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | Premiered in Chicago on 2 April 1965; New York opening 7 April 1965; Los Angeles opening 14 April 1965[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/18738-MAJOR-DUNDEE?cp=1&pos=2&sid=ed4a0e27-f4c5-4a6b-8603-bc8677c94cb7&sr=0.029500054) |
| Theatrical length | 124 minutes (BBFC classified the cinema print at 124m 27s on 9 April 1965)[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/18738-MAJOR-DUNDEE?cp=1&pos=2&sid=ed4a0e27-f4c5-4a6b-8603-bc8677c94cb7&sr=0.029500054) • [2](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/major-dundee-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0ynta2nji) |
| Director's cut | Peckinpah assembled a 164-minute version (some accounts say 161 minutes); producer Jerry Bresler cut about 30 minutes and the studio cut 12 more after a poor preview[3](https://www.tcm.com/articles/194223/major-dundee-extended-version) |
| Principal cast | Charlton Heston (Major Amos Charles Dundee), Richard Harris (Captain Benjamin Tyreen), Jim Hutton (Lieutenant Graham), James Coburn (Samuel Potts), Michael Anderson Jr. (Tim Ryan)[5](https://fest.afi.com/2008/milestones-2008/major-dundee/) |
| Production | Shot 6 February to late April or early May 1964, photographed entirely in Mexico by Sam Leavitt in Panavision and Eastman Color[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/18738-MAJOR-DUNDEE?cp=1&pos=2&sid=ed4a0e27-f4c5-4a6b-8603-bc8677c94cb7&sr=0.029500054) • [4](https://sony.mediaroom.com/2005-04-08-Sony-Pictures-Releasings-Reconstructed-Sam-Peckinpah-Epic-Major-Dundee-Premieres-in-Theatres-This-April) |
| Cost overrun | The picture wrapped 15 days late and $1.5 million over budget[3](https://www.tcm.com/articles/194223/major-dundee-extended-version) |
| 2005 restoration | The Extended Version restored 12 minutes with a new score by Christopher Caliendo, supervised by Grover Crisp of Sony Pictures[6](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-apr-15-et-dundee15-story.html) |
## Spoilers
### Story
In the last months of the Civil War, Apaches led by Sierra Charriba attack a cavalry post in [New Mexico](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-mexico), massacre almost the entire garrison, kidnap three children, and escape into Mexico. Major Dundee, warden of 400 Confederate prisoners, Union deserters, murderers, and thieves at a nearby fort, augments his small force with renegades, Black volunteers, and Confederate prisoners given the choice of fighting or hanging for killing a prison guard. The Confederates are led by Captain Benjamin Tyreen, an old enemy of Dundee's who swears to kill him once the mission is over.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/18738-MAJOR-DUNDEE?cp=1&pos=2&sid=ed4a0e27-f4c5-4a6b-8603-bc8677c94cb7&sr=0.029500054)
Once in Mexico, tension between the two commanders grows as Tyreen steps into Dundee's faltering command and loyalties to North and South divide the ranks. The troop frees a village from occupying French soldiers, and the two leaders become rivals for Teresa Santiago, the widow of a Mexican physician hanged by the French. Dundee, though wounded, leads a final battle in which Charriba is killed in a trap. On the return march the remnants of the troop encounter a French regiment; Tyreen dies in a lone charge, and Dundee heads back across the river with 11 survivors.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/18738-MAJOR-DUNDEE?cp=1&pos=2&sid=ed4a0e27-f4c5-4a6b-8603-bc8677c94cb7&sr=0.029500054)
## Production
[Columbia Pictures](https://www.edgepedia.org/columbia-pictures) acquired Harry Julian Fink Jr.'s original story for Peckinpah in January 1963. Charlton Heston was cast a few months later; according to a 1969 Los Angeles Times report, Heston accepted the lead after viewing Peckinpah's previous Western, *Ride the High Country* (1962), and insisted that Peckinpah also write the screenplay.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/18738-MAJOR-DUNDEE?cp=1&pos=2&sid=ed4a0e27-f4c5-4a6b-8603-bc8677c94cb7&sr=0.029500054) The screenplay credits Harry Julian Fink, Oscar Saul, and Peckinpah, from a story by Fink, and the film was produced by Jerry Bresler for Jerry Bresler Productions.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/18738-MAJOR-DUNDEE?cp=1&pos=2&sid=ed4a0e27-f4c5-4a6b-8603-bc8677c94cb7&sr=0.029500054) • [4](https://sony.mediaroom.com/2005-04-08-Sony-Pictures-Releasings-Reconstructed-Sam-Peckinpah-Epic-Major-Dundee-Premieres-in-Theatres-This-April)
**A troubled shoot.** Two days before filming began in February 1964, Columbia underwent a corporate shake-up and the shooting schedule and budget were slashed. Peckinpah, who had envisioned the film on the scale of *Lawrence of Arabia* (1962), continued shooting as originally planned; the picture wrapped 15 days late and $1.5 million over budget.[3](https://www.tcm.com/articles/194223/major-dundee-extended-version) The production was contentious: the MidCenturyCinema retrospective describes an uneasy relationship between the combative director and his discontented cast, including an incident in which Heston charged at Peckinpah on horseback before a crane lifted the director out of reach.[7](https://midcenturycinema.org/2015/04/07/50-years-ago-this-week-sam-peckinpahs-major-dundee/) Heston's commitment to the director ran the other way as well: when the studio shortened the production schedule, he forfeited his entire salary to buy back the extra days Peckinpah needed to finish shooting.[4](https://sony.mediaroom.com/2005-04-08-Sony-Pictures-Releasings-Reconstructed-Sam-Peckinpah-Epic-Major-Dundee-Premieres-in-Theatres-This-April)
## Editing and release
After the shoot, Peckinpah assembled a 164-minute version (some accounts say 161 minutes) and was fired by producer Jerry Bresler, who objected to Peckinpah's use of violence in the film. Roughly 30 minutes of material was cut under Bresler's supervision, and Daniele Amfitheatrof was brought in to compose a score, both changes that Peckinpah detested. After a bad preview screening, the studio cut 12 more minutes, bringing the running time to 124 minutes.[3](https://www.tcm.com/articles/194223/major-dundee-extended-version) Peckinpah later claimed that no previews were held of the film as he had made it and that no one ever saw it before the cuts that "destroyed" it; he called the experience one of the most painful of his life and described the film as possibly the best picture he ever made.[8](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/major-dundee-return-of-a-classic-322686.html) • [6](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-apr-15-et-dundee15-story.html)
The film opened to largely poor reviews and a disappointing box office, setting Peckinpah back after the acclaim of *Ride the High Country*.[9](https://blueprintreview.co.uk/2021/06/major-dundee-arrow/) The AFI Fest retrospective places it among the films severely edited against their directors' wishes and later partially restored, and reads its themes of loyalty, risk, and obsession as a practice run for issues that would preoccupy the director of *The Wild Bunch* (1969).[5](https://fest.afi.com/2008/milestones-2008/major-dundee/)
## The 2005 Extended Version
[Sony Pictures](https://www.edgepedia.org/sony-pictures) released a reconstructed version theatrically in April 2005 for the film's 40th anniversary, supervised by Grover Crisp, the studio's Vice President of Asset Management and Film Restoration, who had been assembling elements since 1991. The restoration put back 12 minutes cut after the unhappy preview and replaced the studio score with a new one by Christopher Caliendo; the soundtrack was remixed in 5.1 [Dolby Digital](https://www.edgepedia.org/dolby-digital).[6](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-apr-15-et-dundee15-story.html) • [10](https://www.sonypictures.com/movies/majordundee) Crisp stated that some original scenes had been destroyed after Peckinpah's cut was rejected, and called the result "the most complete cut of the film that could be constructed." Because the film remained a few minutes short of its intended length, Sony called it "The Extended Version" rather than "The Director's Cut."[4](https://sony.mediaroom.com/2005-04-08-Sony-Pictures-Releasings-Reconstructed-Sam-Peckinpah-Epic-Major-Dundee-Premieres-in-Theatres-This-April)
**How long was the original cut?** The sources disagree, and the disagreement is part of the film's record. TCM reports Peckinpah's assembly at 164 minutes, with some accounts at 161;[3](https://www.tcm.com/articles/194223/major-dundee-extended-version) the *Independent* gives the version conceived by the director as 160 minutes;[8](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/major-dundee-return-of-a-classic-322686.html) the Los Angeles Times refers to a reputed first cut of two hours and 40-plus minutes;[6](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-apr-15-et-dundee15-story.html) and the [Blueprint](https://www.edgepedia.org/blueprint) review states that a full 155-minute cut is assumed lost forever, while a 136-minute version authorized by Bresler was located for the restoration work.[9](https://blueprintreview.co.uk/2021/06/major-dundee-arrow/) Crisp reported that he was unable to find anyone who had actually seen the original director's cut, and film historians do not agree on what part Peckinpah played in post-production.[8](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/major-dundee-return-of-a-classic-322686.html)
## Cast and later standing
Beyond the four leads, the cast included [Senta Berger](https://www.edgepedia.org/senta-berger), an Austrian actress, as Teresa Santiago; [Richard Harris](https://www.edgepedia.org/richard-harris), Irish, as the Confederate captain; Italian-German Mario Adorf as an Apache-speaking Mexican-American; [Brock Peters](https://www.edgepedia.org/brock-peters); and members of Peckinpah's stock company of character actors, including Warren Oates, Ben Johnson, L.Q. Jones, Slim Pickens, Dub Taylor, and R.G. Armstrong.[4](https://sony.mediaroom.com/2005-04-08-Sony-Pictures-Releasings-Reconstructed-Sam-Peckinpah-Epic-Major-Dundee-Premieres-in-Theatres-This-April) • [1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/18738-MAJOR-DUNDEE?cp=1&pos=2&sid=ed4a0e27-f4c5-4a6b-8603-bc8677c94cb7&sr=0.029500054) L.Q. Jones, who made more films with Peckinpah than any other actor, narrated the trailer for the 2005 theatrical re-release.[4](https://sony.mediaroom.com/2005-04-08-Sony-Pictures-Releasings-Reconstructed-Sam-Peckinpah-Epic-Major-Dundee-Premieres-in-Theatres-This-April)
The film has been re-evaluated in later years. On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes it holds a 97% Tomatometer from 37 critics, with a critics' consensus describing it as a Western with big war scenes shot with bombast typical of Peckinpah; one review there calls it "one of the messiest masterpieces in American cinema," and the Hollywood Reporter's Glenn Abel wrote that Peckinpah's "crippled film plays best as a dry run for *The Wild Bunch*."[11](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/major_dundee) Arrow Video released both the extended edition and the original theatrical cut on limited edition Blu-ray in the United Kingdom.[9](https://blueprintreview.co.uk/2021/06/major-dundee-arrow/)
## References
1. [Major Dundee (1965), AFI Catalog](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/18738-MAJOR-DUNDEE?cp=1&pos=2&sid=ed4a0e27-f4c5-4a6b-8603-bc8677c94cb7&sr=0.029500054)
2. [Major Dundee, British Board of Film Classification](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/major-dundee-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0ynta2nji)
3. [Major Dundee (Extended Version), Turner Classic Movies](https://www.tcm.com/articles/194223/major-dundee-extended-version)
4. [Sony Pictures Releasing's Reconstructed Sam Peckinpah Epic 'Major Dundee' Premieres in Theatres This April, Sony Pictures (8 April 2005)](https://sony.mediaroom.com/2005-04-08-Sony-Pictures-Releasings-Reconstructed-Sam-Peckinpah-Epic-Major-Dundee-Premieres-in-Theatres-This-April)
5. [Major Dundee Milestones, AFI Fest 2008](https://fest.afi.com/2008/milestones-2008/major-dundee/)
6. [Kenneth Turan, "A major return," Los Angeles Times (15 April 2005)](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-apr-15-et-dundee15-story.html)
7. [50 Years Ago This Week – Sam Peckinpah's Major Dundee, MidCenturyCinema (7 April 2015)](https://midcenturycinema.org/2015/04/07/50-years-ago-this-week-sam-peckinpahs-major-dundee/)
8. [Geoffrey Macnab, "Major Dundee: Return of a classic," The Independent (28 October 2005)](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/major-dundee-return-of-a-classic-322686.html)
9. [Major Dundee – Arrow – Blueprint: Review, Blueprint Review (2021)](https://blueprintreview.co.uk/2021/06/major-dundee-arrow/)
10. [Major Dundee, Sony Pictures Entertainment](https://www.sonypictures.com/movies/majordundee)
11. [Major Dundee, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/major_dundee)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Action and adventure films (individual works) › Westerns before 1980 › Released 1961 to 1979*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license