'Cockfighter' is intense and gritty drama that proves Monte Hellman might be one of the most underrated directors of all time. Screenplay is adapted by Charles Willeford from his own novel by the same name. Roger Corman intended to direct the film himself at first, but then decided to hire Monte Hellman instead who turned the film's questionable subject matter into bloody work of art. Although cockfighting is the setting the film never glamorizes the cruel and bloody sport. The slow motion scenes of fighting cocks might seem cool (and definitely cruel), but these are not there just for style but to emphasize the brutality and cruelty of the so called sport. 'Cockfighter' is not your usual sports film (cockfighting is not very usual sport either) but rather deep character study.The movie follows the story of silent anti-hero Frank Mansfield, professional cockfighter and trainer who vowed to stay silent after his loud mouth lost him the Cockfighter of the Year award, and caused the death of his pride fighting rooster. Warren Oates gives brilliant performance as a man who is so obsessed in this cruel sport that he is almost incapable for normal human feelings and relationships. Competition is his drive and everything else, including other people, are secondary. Even his facial expressions when he watches the fights are unnerving as we can witness seemingly nice guy very close to being psychotic. It is hard to sympathize with Frank, but it is easy to feel for him on his quest back to the top of the sport and losing people (and his soul) around him.Thanks to the portrayal of animal cruelty 'Cockfighter' might not be very suitable for faint hearted, but still it is a magnificently powerful and intense film with masterful performances. Unfortunately the film have flown under the radar and it will probably stay in the unknown cult film slump as misunderstood masterpiece without getting the recognition it truly deserves.

I am one of the few people who managed to see this in the UK, because it was banned, an understandable if incorrect decision, as the film does not glamorise the unpleasant "sport" of cock fighting. Neither is it really the subject of the film, it just happens to be the driver of the obsessions of the central character played by Warren Oates, and what a completely mesmeric compelling portrait he gives! He has always been one of my favourite film actors, and this IMO is his best performance. Anyone interested in the craft of film acting, or the independent Ameriacn movies spawned by "Easy Rider" must see this haunting, unsettling and beautiful movie, which I believe to be unjustly neglected, and severely underrated.

I'm just glad I saw this movie on an empty stomach. The cockfighting scenes are too graphic and made me nauseous. It's not clear whether Hellman sees these guys as heroes or idiots. Maybe both. Still, I thought Warren Oates was amazing. He's the only actor I can think of who can make a mute, borderline-retarded cockfighter seem poignant, without being exploitive or gimmicky. He's one of the great character actors from the 1970s and 1980s, and he has good chemistry here with Harry Dean Stanton.Piece of trivia: The videostore guy told me that Hellman rented rooms to hold the cockfights but neglected to tell hotel management about it.

I`ll be quick and to the point without going into details about the film itself. I caught this a few years back for the first time on one of the movie channels and became immediately engrossed in it. A terrific character study with a performance by the late-great Warren Oates that consumes the screen.The kind of film most people don`t have the attention span for anymore....and that`s a shame. If you`re familiar with Hellman`s work, and appreciate it, it`s a must see. 8/10