Peckinpah's last Western film, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid can be viewed as a tribute to the genre he loved. Many of the minor roles are populated by actors from the golden age of Hollywood Westerns, such as Katy Jurado, Chill Wills, Richard Jaeckel, Jack Elam, Dub Taylor, Slim Pickens, and Elisha Cook, Jr.

The story is based on the events leading up to the death of the famed outlaw Billy the Kid (played here by Kristofferson). Billy and his gang are pursued by a former friend turned lawman, Pat Garrett (James Coburn). The film is really more about the Garrett character, and how he views the decline of the Old West under the encroachment of the industrialized East. Billy the Kid clearly embodies much of the reckless (and lawless) freedom that reflected the spirit of the West. As with much of Peckinpah's best work, a major theme of the film is the importance of values, and the pain of compromising them.

Along with The Wild Bunch, this is one of Peckinpah's finest looking films. The cinematography of John Coquillon is superb. Some of the film's best segments are the montage sequences of Garrett traversing the countryside to the sounds of Bob Dylan's great acoustical soundtrack.

Along with the aforementioned Western film veterans, the cast is rounded out by a number of Peckinpah regulars. R.G Armstrong portrays the bible-thumping Deputy Ollinger (shades of his Ride the High Country character), L.Q. Jones also appears as "Black Harris". Bob Dylan is effective as "Alias" a soft-spoken loner who joins Billy's gang. Peckinpah himself makes a memorable appearance as Will (the coffin maker), near the film's conclusion.

Thankfully, this film was restored to its originally intended running length in 1989 after being butchered by the studio upon its initial release. The film is finally being recognized as the classic that it truly is.