by John Simons, CC Professor of English

“Peckinpah’s Tragic Westerns” examines the work of filmmaker Sam Peckinpah and places it within the 2,000-year-old tradition of Western tragedy. The tradition, enfolding the Greeks, Shakespeare, and modern tragedians, is represented in Peckinpah’s art in numerous ways, and the fact that he worked in the mode throughout his career distinguishes him from most American film directors. Book jacket comments by producer and director Garner Simmons note that the book “provides fresh and, at times, profound insights into how and why Peckinpah’s work touches us in such a deep and visceral way.”

ISBN-13: 978-0786461332. Published by McFarland; 2011.