 Although the movie was generally panned by movie critics, it was rereleased twice over the course of the next decade, grossing more than $20 million and solidifying the legend of Billy the Kid (although a distorted and unhistorical one) in the consciousness of the American filmgoing public.The film director Sam Peckinpah attempted an ambitious retelling of the legend in his last western film, "Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid" (1973), covering the last few months of Bonney's life, in which the violence and physical brutality of the world the protagonists inhabited is portrayed realistically.The film suffered from production difficulties as well as from Peckinpah's battles with MGM over his artistic vision and budget overruns.