Watch: Sam Peckinpah Discusses Movie Violence In 20-Minute Interview

With gun violence still as prevalent as ever and on the heels of Harvey Weinstein’s change of heart regarding violence in movies, it remains difficult to have a discussion on the role cinema has in dealing with the issue. It’s a debate that was taking place even during the seventies when Sam Peckinpah sat down for a combative nearly half-hour interview with the BBC.

The Seventh Art dug up a rare interview with the “Wild Bunch” director that originally aired on December 1st, 1976 and takes place only a few years removed from Peckinpah’s divisive “Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia.” For fans of the director it’s well worth a watch to see Peckinpah defend his work and spar with the interviewer. The first words out of the iconic director’s mouth? “One of the most controversial areas surrounding me is the fact that there are three people in the world that call me Mr. Peckinpah. They are all lawyers for MGM.”

Watch the interview below and while you’re at it, check out this eighty-minute documentary on the man.