I was somewhat surprised to see the Lincoln County War portrayed as accurately as it was, even though there were a number of historical inaccuracies. Since I'm doing extensive research on the Lincoln County War for a novel about same, I expected to gag often at historical lapses, but the screenplay by John Fusco stays reasonably close to the historical record. Of course the historical record has produced many conflicting interpretations as I soon discovered.
The choice to make Billy a psychopathic killer, whether by Emilio Estevez's interpretation or the director's is not well supported by historical facts, but Emilio's insane giggle after each killing strongly suggests it.
In the context of the times, within a lawless county that at the time was as large as Connecticutt, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont combined, men often settled things with a gun and violence, and Billy was definitely a product of those times.
One glaring mistake, and one made often in Billy the Kid movies was John Tunstall's real age, which was 24, not 55 as Terrence Stamp (I'm being charitable) appears to be in the film. While Billy was loyal to the man that gave him honest work, I don't think he'd be perceived as a father figure. Nonetheless, the scene at Tunstall's home where he asks Billy to read for him did portray the fact he was quite literate as his letters to Gov. Wallace prove.
The scene where Billy kills Henry Hill in the outhouse is pure fabrication. There was a Tom Hill that rode with Jessie Evans, but he was killed later by an Cherokee Indian when Tom and Jessie tried to rob a sheep drover, John Wagner. Legend did have Billy responsible, but most accounts tagged the notorious Jessie Evans for that mishap.
The Five Day Battle, one of the most famous in the west, was done reasonable well. Col Dudley did get involved in the fray, and brought a six pounder howitzer and a Gatling Gun with him. His intent, while he denied it was to "even the odds", which meant to give the Murphy-Dolan gang a 2 to 1 advantage. However, the gun was NOT used to kill McSween, but to intimidate McSween's men housed in two other buildings in Lincoln.
McSween was killed trying to escape the conflagration, but had waited too long after Billy led a diversion to draw their fire. Many of the soldiers were shown also firing at the McSween home, but little evidence supports that possibility. However, Dudley's positioning of his men alongside Dolan's made it impossible for McSweens's men to return fire for fear of hitting a soldier that would have resulted in Dudley firing his cannon and Gatling Gun.
Also, on this point, the soldiers of Fort Stanton would have been hard pressed not to get involved with all the guns going off. These were battle tested veterans, many of whom knew Murphy and Dolan as they both were mustered out at Fort Stanton, and Murphy had a store at the fort years earlier and no doubt got drunk with some of them.
The character of L. G. Murphy was perfectly cast with Jack Palance. You never had any doubt this was a bad dude. However, at the time of the battle, Murphy suffered from Cancer of the bowels, and was singlehandedly drinking up his saloon's profits. Dolan was by then the man in charge, and an even nastier man than his ex-boss.
The one point of departure that had me completely aghast was the needless peyote scene. Unless, true to the times, we had to have a "drug scene", where were they going with this? Others have commented on the music, and I must say, when playing the DVD in its intro mode, the replaying of that dreadful song is enough to make one hit the mute button. One of the extras that I appreciated is a documentary of Billy the Kid, which does correct some of the deviations in the movie.
One place they did get things right was in the characterization of Buckshot Roberts by the late Brian Keith, one of my favorites. Buckshot got his name from a load of same that shattered his shoulder making it impossible for him to raise his rifle above his waist and Keith mimicked that perfectly.
There were other inaccuracies to be sure, but I have covered the most glaring. And of course most of you are not watching this as western history, I trust. Faults aside, this is still one of the most realistic and accurate portraits of the 1870's in New Mexico.
The choice to make Billy a psychopathic killer, whether by Emilio Estevez's interpretation or the director's is not well supported by historical facts, but Emilio's insane giggle after each killing strongly suggests it.
In the context of the times, within a lawless county that at the time was as large as Connecticutt, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont combined, men often settled things with a gun and violence, and Billy was definitely a product of those times.
One glaring mistake, and one made often in Billy the Kid movies was John Tunstall's real age, which was 24, not 55 as Terrence Stamp (I'm being charitable) appears to be in the film. While Billy was loyal to the man that gave him honest work, I don't think he'd be perceived as a father figure. Nonetheless, the scene at Tunstall's home where he asks Billy to read for him did portray the fact he was quite literate as his letters to Gov. Wallace prove.
The scene where Billy kills Henry Hill in the outhouse is pure fabrication. There was a Tom Hill that rode with Jessie Evans, but he was killed later by an Cherokee Indian when Tom and Jessie tried to rob a sheep drover, John Wagner. Legend did have Billy responsible, but most accounts tagged the notorious Jessie Evans for that mishap.
The Five Day Battle, one of the most famous in the west, was done reasonable well. Col Dudley did get involved in the fray, and brought a six pounder howitzer and a Gatling Gun with him. His intent, while he denied it was to "even the odds", which meant to give the Murphy-Dolan gang a 2 to 1 advantage. However, the gun was NOT used to kill McSween, but to intimidate McSween's men housed in two other buildings in Lincoln.
McSween was killed trying to escape the conflagration, but had waited too long after Billy led a diversion to draw their fire. Many of the soldiers were shown also firing at the McSween home, but little evidence supports that possibility. However, Dudley's positioning of his men alongside Dolan's made it impossible for McSweens's men to return fire for fear of hitting a soldier that would have resulted in Dudley firing his cannon and Gatling Gun.
Also, on this point, the soldiers of Fort Stanton would have been hard pressed not to get involved with all the guns going off. These were battle tested veterans, many of whom knew Murphy and Dolan as they both were mustered out at Fort Stanton, and Murphy had a store at the fort years earlier and no doubt got drunk with some of them.
The character of L. G. Murphy was perfectly cast with Jack Palance. You never had any doubt this was a bad dude. However, at the time of the battle, Murphy suffered from Cancer of the bowels, and was singlehandedly drinking up his saloon's profits. Dolan was by then the man in charge, and an even nastier man than his ex-boss.
The one point of departure that had me completely aghast was the needless peyote scene. Unless, true to the times, we had to have a "drug scene", where were they going with this? Others have commented on the music, and I must say, when playing the DVD in its intro mode, the replaying of that dreadful song is enough to make one hit the mute button. One of the extras that I appreciated is a documentary of Billy the Kid, which does correct some of the deviations in the movie.
One place they did get things right was in the characterization of Buckshot Roberts by the late Brian Keith, one of my favorites. Buckshot got his name from a load of same that shattered his shoulder making it impossible for him to raise his rifle above his waist and Keith mimicked that perfectly.
There were other inaccuracies to be sure, but I have covered the most glaring. And of course most of you are not watching this as western history, I trust. Faults aside, this is still one of the most realistic and accurate portraits of the 1870's in New Mexico.