Most undeservedly obscure movies of the 70's, certainly the most authentic and graphic depiction of the practice in America. With profuse use of the voiceover, intimately tells a simple story that confronts the male protagonist with his desires and fantasies that lead him to desperate search for victory (and how lonely he is! How great his despair! And how terribly far all salvation!). Warren Oates is Frank Mansfield who trains and fights roosters. Focused towards being the best, Frank is a very ambitious man. He is almost silent for most of the film; falls silent after losing his cock, determined to open his mouth only after winning the most important medal in cock sport. The photography is expressive and painterly, the images are packed with mood and detail, and Michael Franks music does play a decidedly stupendous role. The film contains some of the most realistic depiction of American masculinity and exultation in violence. There is even a pseudo-documentary atmosphere that anticipates something similar, especially in cockfights, which were so realistic that the film was banned by censors from countries like England - even though Hellman apparently refused to shoot the most violent scenes.
Written by Charles Willeford, one of the best pulp writers, directed by the great Monte Hellman and starring Warren Oates and Harry Dean Stanton. Celebrated Spanish cinematographer Néstor Almendros who left Cuba after the revolution and went to Paris and collaborated with Éric Rohmer and François Truffaut. His Hollywood debut was his Cockfighter (1974) but acclaim came for his work in Terrence Mallicks's Days of Heaven (1978).
Review of Cockfighter
