Cockfighter

I haven't seen this many...since...you know the joke writes itself.

"He came into town with his cock in hand, and what he did with it was illegal in 49 states."

A grown man takes a vow of silence which he will break when he wins a medal that only about 30/40ish hillbillies care about. "Cockfighter of the year" I laughed when I saw the title of the movie, I hooted when they said "cock" about 100 times and I'm hollerin' now.

Follows the story of Frank, a cockfighter who has taken a vow of silence until he wins the Cockfighter of the Year award. Warren Oates is fantastic in a role with almost no dialog, and the fights themselves are actually pretty brutal (animals were definitely harmed in the making of this film), but the flick is pretty pointless and the ending is dumb. You get to hear them say cock about a thousand times though. Tee hee.

Very low-key and wryly observed in the appealing style of better known (and better) early 1970s films like CALIFORNIA SPLIT, FAT CITY, FIVE EASY PIECES and Hellman's own earlier TWO-LANE BLACKTOP, this features good performances by Richard B. Shull and the always likeable Harry Dean Stanton, but not all the scenes are great and the decision to make the great Warren Oates's character voluntarily mute seems like a fatal, incomprehensible mistake. Still, despite some clunkiness it's worth a look.

Some may avoid this if they find cockfighting unwatchable, as I do, but they are missing a good film. Despite having to look away during numerous fight scenes, the viewing left me satisfied. A companion piece to Two-Lane Blacktop, Cockfighter has the same graceful writing and directing. It surges with testosterone but doesn't overplay the symbolism inherent in its topic. It has Harry Dean Stanton, and the spectacular Warren Oates in the challenging lead role of a cockfighter who doesn't talk.

Certainly a bit distasteful, in part because the cockfights are so well filmed that the contrast between the style and the gruesome reality is so jarring. It may not be a whole lot of screentime, but it is a constant throughout the film. If you can get past that, though, it's a very good story that does not hold back, but also doesn't patronize. Oates has the screen presence to make his role work and the atmosphere captured by the film feels genuine. Great ending too.

Viewed November 26, 2013. Interesting film. Not as great as Two-Lane Blacktop, but few things are. Warren Oates is utterly perfect in this movie, really one of his best performances. The violence in the film is often brutal, but seems to serve a purpose. That slow-motion fight in the motel room is incredible.

Things really climax once Harry Dean Stanton and Warren Oates put there cocks into the same cockring

Hellman clearly knows this milieu well, or has at least gone to the trouble of presenting it as authentically as possible. Consequently, Cockfighter never resorts to farce or condescension, even though the characters who inhabit this 'world' are not too bright. The absurdism of their hobby/livelihood isn't lost on him, and he wisely focuses on the quotidian aspects of these bizarre rituals performed by social outsiders. Not a major work by any means, but it quietly exceeds expectations.

No holds barred film about merciless men and their obsession with one of the sickest form of gambling imaginable. Not for the sensitive animal lover types.

Slow, meandering and deeply unpleasant. I don't get why people rate this trash so highly

I understand Hellman's work is way beyond a 'cruel film with real cockfighting scenes'. He is a brilliant director, able to build a movie in an unique way, this single work being a master's task, without any doubts. But it's painful to watch some of these bloody scenes anyway. And yes, I do eat chicken.

Unforgivably barbaric, but smart and hauntingly effective in the style of Hellman's Two-Lane Blacktop or Hill's The Driver.

It is a difficult film to watch for the animal cruelty and morally wrong because of it, but it is a film trying to reach a higher goal. The animal cruelty act preventing the film from being released in the UK is also pointless for a 35+ year old film when it's too late to stop to acts being staged. The film itself is too languid in pace, even at 80 or so minutes, to completely work; despite clear themes to it, it doesn't amass to much.

Warren Oates, Harry Dean Stanton...and COCKFIGHTING! What more can ya say?

The people responsible for banning this movie in the UK are a bunch of pathetic hypocrites. This isn't ok but wolfing down our factory chickens is ok? I guess they don't like being reminded of the truth.

Many-O-Stereotype

Feels like there's something under the surface of this film.

Hellman's contemplative piece is brimming with men searching for a way to express their manhood. Oates is fantastic with looks worth a thousand words. The actor continues to impress with his ability to portray determined but, ultimately, flawed characters.