Cockfighter

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

Eating red meat does not make you a man. Those grapes, dangling from that battered bush between your legs, does not make you a man. Wrestling the raw meat of an antelope from the mouth of a lion does not make you a man… Actually, no, wait… That is pretty manly. So scratch that one. Playing on your varsity high school football team does not make you a man. No, none of these things make you a man. So what does make a boy become a man? Conviction. And no story personifies a man’s conviction more than Cockfighter, starring the legendary Warren Oates.

conviction |kənˈvik sh ən|
noun
2 a firmly held belief or opinion :

Warren Oates is Frank Mansfield, a master cocksman whose drinking and mouthing off has steered him away from his goal of being cocksman of the year. This drives Frank Mansfield to vow never to speak another word until he wins the prestigious award.

This movie is filled with great scene after great scene. With a masterful supporting cast of Harry Dean Stanton (no Warren Oates movie is complete without Harry Dean Stanton) as his gentlemanly arch-rival, Jack Burke, a cameo from a young Ed Begley, Jr. as a dum-witted, cheating cockfighter, Richard B. Shull as his partner Omar Baradansky and a great performance by the writer of the original novel and screenplay, Charles Willeford, as the wise Ed Middleton.

I could rave about this movie all day, as it is my favorite movie of all times, but I wouldn’t be doing it any justice. This is the type of movie that you watch after eating a rare prime rib with a cold glass of your favorite beer. Then you sit down on your favorite chair, open a bottle of Fighting Cock Bourbon, pop this DVD in and get your mind blown away as you realize that everything that you have done so far up to this point in your life has been meaningless. You are just a grown child with a head filled of allusions to what you thought it meant to be a man.

Never in your life will you see such a manly movie full of guys caring for and playing with their cocks. The camaraderie between Warren Oates and Harry Dean Stanton is amazing despite them being rivals. Just to give you a taste of what this movie entails; within the first few minutes of the movie Frank Mansfield loses a cockfight to Jack Burke to no one’s fault but his own for trying to cheat the odds by making his cock look like it had a cracked beak. Unfortunately, it backfires, Frank loses his bet which included his car, trailer, a few bucks and his 14-year old girlfriend. Of course she protests, but Frank has nothing to say; he can’t say anything. He vowed not to talk, but he does have a thought as he walks away.

“I feel sorry for her in a way; but I ain’t worried about her. She’s pretty and young, a good lay. Hell, she’ll get by anywhere. Piss on her and the horse she road in on.”

This movie is fantastic. Warren Oates is great as Frank Mansfield. This screenplay is wonderful. The acting is great. And the movie is full of great quotes and scenes, all the way until the credits roll at the end. Do I recommend watching this movie? I do, but not to everyone. If you can’t gut a fish, change a tire, grow a beard, bet on a horse, or willing to give up a life of comfort and security in exchange for adventure, glory and conviction, then this movie is not only not for you, but you shouldn’t be allowed to watch it. This is a Glennfiddich Whiskey, an Iberian Black Leg ham, a Koby Steak, a 1969 Charger, and a beautiful exotic woman all wrapped up in movie form.

This movie gets 10 meaty steaks out of 5. Yeah, I just did that.

BONUS: Click the Movie Poster

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