简介：Forsomereason"NoonWine"isn'toutonDVDyet.Ihopethat,givenPeckinpah'spopularity,itisonlyamatteroftimeuntilthisisreleased,becauseitreallyisoneofthebestthingsheeverdidbothasawriteranddirector.AdaptedfromKatherineAnnePorter'sshortstory,thisisadark,bleaktragedysetin1890Texas.Theoutcomeofthesimplestory(whichIwon'tdescribe)ispredictablebutstillhasastrongimpactontheviewerthankstothestrengthofthescript,actors,anddirection. It'sespeciallysurprisingthat"NoonWine"doesn'thaveanofficialreleasesinceitwasamajorpartofPeckinpah'scareer.Hewasviewedasanoutcastfollowingthetroubledproductionof"MajorDundee"andwasluckilyhiredbyproducerDanielMelnick,afanofPeckinpah's,todirectandwritethisadaptationforABC.Peckinpahwasnominatedfordirectingandwritingrewardsbytherespectiveguilds,andthecriticalsuccessof"NoonWine"ledtoPeckinpahbeinghiredforhismostfamousandappreciatedfilm-"TheWildBunch".Itwouldbesimplistictosaythat"NoonWine"savedhiscareer,butitwouldn'tbe(entirely)incorrect. Peckinpah'sworkhereasawriterisparticularlygood,achievingararelevelofartisticdepth,buthisworkasdirectorisequallyimpressive,muteashisstyleishereincomparisontosomeofhisotherwork.Thefilm,whichclocksinat48minutesinlength,isimmenselysatisfying,morethanmostfeaturesare,infact,partiallythankstoJasonRobards.Heconsidereditoneofhismostsatisfyingprofessionalexperiences,andIthinkitreallyisoneofhisfinestperformances,makingthisamust-seeforallRobardsfansaswellasallPeckinpahfans. Theshortnovelthisisbasedonisdefinitelyworthreading,butIcanseewhyPorterenthusiasticallyendorsedPeckinpah'sscriptfor"NoonWine",becauseitefficientlycapturestheessenceofthestorywithouteverbeingtoostringentlyfaithful,allowingforjustenoughflexibilityforthefilmtoworkonitsownterms.Ifyoucanfind"NoonWine"yousimplymustseeit.…