The Wild Bunch [1970] | ![The Wild Bunch [1970]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/5106YS1VQ6L._SL160_.jpg)
 enlarge | Director: Sam Peckinpah
Actors: William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Robert Ryan, Edmond O'brien, Warren Oates
Studio: Warner Home Video
Category: Video
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Rating:  16 reviews
Sales Rank: 8418
Format: Director's Cut, Pal
Languages: English (Original Language), German (Original Language), Spanish (Original Language)
Rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
Media: VHS Tape
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 138
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.3 x 4.2 x 1.1
EAN: 5014780010147
ASIN: B00004CKAR
Theatrical Release Date: December 3, 1969
Release Date: April 27, 1998
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Amazon.co.uk Review
Here's how director Sam Peckinpah described his motivation behind The Wild Bunch at the time of the film's 1969 release: "I was trying to tell a simple story about bad men in changing times. The Wild Bunch is simply what happens when killers go to Mexico. The strange thing is you feel a great sense of loss when these killers reach the end of the line." All of these statements are true, but they don't begin to cover the impact that Peckinpah's film had on the evolution of American movies. Now the film is most widely recognized as a milestone event in the escalation of screen violence, but that's a label of limited perspective. Of course, Peckinpah's bloody climactic gunfight became a masterfully directed, photographed, and edited ballet of graphic violence that transcended the conventional Western and moved into a slow-motion realm of pure cinematic intensity. But the film--surely one of the greatest Westerns ever made--is also a richly thematic tale of, as Peckinpah said, "bad men in changing times." The year is 1913 and the fading band of thieves known as the Wild Bunch (led by William Holden as Pike) decide to pull one last job before retirement. But an ambush foils their plans, and Peckinpah's film becomes an epic yet intimate tale of betrayed loyalties, tenacious rivalry, and the bunch's dogged determination to maintain their fading code of honor among thieves. The 144-minute director's cut enhances the theme of male bonding that recurs in many of Peckinpah's films, restoring deleted scenes to deepen the viewer's understanding of the friendship turned rivalry between Pike and his former friend Deke Thornton (Robert Ryan), who now leads a posse in pursuit of the bunch, a dimension that adds resonance to an already classic American film. The Wild Bunch is a masterpiece that should not be defined strictly in terms of its violence, but as a story of mythic proportion, brimming with rich characters and dialogue and the bittersweet irony of outlaw traditions on the wane. --Jeff Shannon
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| Customer Reviews: Read 11 more reviews...
 "If they move, kill em....." July 3, 2008
"Its time we started thinking beyond our guns, those days are closing fast," muses Pike (William Holden) shortly after the bloodiest shootout in cinema history. The shootout was the result of a botched robbery attempt, and it soon descended into chaotic carnage where Pike and his titular Wild Bunch are forced to shoot their way out of an ambush, killing a good portion of civilians in the crossfire.
This classic movie was released in 1969 in response to the hugely successful gay western `Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'. Butch Cassidy's huge success at the box office essentially green lit the way for Sam Peckinpah's vision of a changing wild west in The Wild Bunch.
It would be a travesty to think about The Wild Bunch in terms of its violence; it is a much better movie than that. It is indeed a violent movie, but it is also a solid drama that is well acted. The music (award winning Jerry Fielding), the script, editing (eg. the opening credits with the scorpions) and acting are second to none.
The story of the movie is ageless and such a similar story/plot can still be seen in contemporary cinema, i.e. in classics such as HEAT where the main characters (bank robbers) are dreaming of abandoning their violent ways and start living up to their oft-spoken ideals, after they achieve their dream of "one last job". This crime plot was never used with better results.
The screenplay by Peckinpah and Walon Green contains several other moments of brilliance. My personal favorites are the exchanges beside a campfire between the leaders of the group (Holden and Borgnine) regarding the state of their affairs. Says Holden, "I'd like to make just one last big score and then back off." "Back off to what?" replies Borgnine, implying that their violent pasts wouldn't allow them to simply settle down peacefully at this point in their lives. I also particularly enjoy Holden's commentary on his hubris-filled nemesis Harrigan: "There's an awful lot of people who just can't admit to being wrong, or to learn from it." "Pride," answers Borgnine simply and shrugs his shoulders. Other central themes in the screenplay include honor, integrity, companionship, and in the end, redemption.
In a masterstroke of casting The Wild Bunch is headed by the great William Holden (Bridge over River Kwai, Network) and supported by other great actors who are not prettyboy Refords or Newmans. In terms of editing The Wild Bunch abandons traditional sound and editing processes in favour of visionary new ones, and thus revolutionising the depiction of onscreen violence (nobody would ride a bike in a Peckinpah movie, and `Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head' would not be on the soundtrack).
The Wild Bunch was released in the same year as the second greatest Western ever made: `Once upon a time in the West' (Box office flop in USA). Like Sergio Leone, Peckinpah's mission was to pay homage to the classic Western while at the same time completely eviscerating it.
Unlike Leone, however, Peckinpah's Westerns aren't parodic or surreal. The Wild Bunch is set in a particular place (Mexico as opposed to the mythic nowhere of the Dollars trilogy) at an explicit time 1913, and Peckinpah wants us to empathise with these out-of-time characters despite the fact that they are cold blooded killers. Peckinpah's greatest achievement is that he succeeds.
Despite the violence there is camaraderie between the Wild Bunch members. The movies bleak tone is lightened with scenes of boozing and whoring. There is a lot of humour in the Wild Bunch: children and the scorpions; drunken fooling around with whores in the cellar; Old Sykes laughter over the films final moments.
By the movies end it is obvious that the Bunch cannot think beyond their guns; they try to rescue their friend (Angel).
"Lets go."
"Why not?"
The dark side October 19, 2007
The Wild Bunch is a brutal masterpiece of a western. It depicts the end of the western era (the film is set in 1913) through a group of ageing outlaws who just want to pull off one more big job. In fact the west has already ended but they dont realise it yet.
From the opening bank raid to the bloodbath ending the film is brilliantly realised by Peckinpah. The casting is perfection. William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Warren Oats and Robert Ryan all give memorable performances. Although the film is actually quite depressing, it is strangely compelling viewing and the reason for this is that the characters do gain our sympathy. Curiously watching it again recently it occured to me that this film is the dark side of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Except in The Wild Bunch the cameras don't freeze at the end...
Ultimately the main credit goes to Sam Peckinpah who made a number of classic films. This is one of his best - a great movie.
A comedy western June 27, 2007
1 out of 4 found this review helpful
Although I did really enjoy the film, it probably wasn't for the same reasons that most other people did. Yes it was exciting and the blood-spurting and violence may have been original at the time but after a while those elements (especially the final Wagnerian gunfight in which the bodies just pile-up), which have been parodied so much, became over-the-top and surreal. Were they actually being serious when they made this? The characters are another example in point; they are rich as someone else put it, but for me they came across as hilarious stereotypes. Both the Mexicans with their big floppy hats and silly mustachios, who go all starry-eyed when singing ballads and thinking of their country ("Mejico!"), and the strong silent cowboys with their one-liners who engage in all sorts of idiotic capers created an atmosphere of grotesque humour. This is probably how some dreamy Americans view themselves and the world, but it is just that: a dream world and a funny one at that. Better off believing that than seeing it as serious representation of the Wild West, in which case it hasn't aged particularly well. However, just a minor gripe, it is a lot of fun and well-done.
Peckinpah's Masterpiece September 26, 2005
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
This is among the classic westerns, one which must be seen only in the 145-minute director's cut version to be fully appreciated. Yes, it is an exceptionally violent film but none of the graphic violence seems to me gratuitous, unlike in some of director Sam Peckinpah's other films. Pike Bishop (William Holden) heads a gang which robs banks and trains. Deke Thornton (Robert Ryan) is a former member whom railroad owner Harrigan (Albert Dekker) arranges to be released from prison on the single condition that Thornton lead efforts to kill or capture Bishop and his gang. If he fails, he will be returned to prison. The quality of all performances is outstanding, as are Peckinpah's direction and the cinematography provided by Lucien Ballard. The primary plot involves Thornton's efforts to complete his assignment but there are several interesting sub plots, notably one involving Coffer (Strother Martin) and his fellow scavengers. (Martin once observed that he and Dub Taylor specialized in portraying "prairie scum.") The opening scene shows a scorpion being consumed by fire ants. Coffer and his motley crew hope to have a similar opportunity to feast on what remains of the Bishop gang. I was also fascinated by the interaction between the Bishop gang and the Mexican federales (headed by General Mapache played by Emilio Fernandez) who also pursue them. Time eventually runs out. Bishop and his associates must decide: Either quietly depart with their tails between their legs or take a stand and probably be killed. In my opinion, the final sequence justifies all of the violence which precedes it. Many of those who have seen this film are offended by its especially graphic portrayal of bloodshed. They have a point unless they take into full account the frontier culture in 1913 in which Bishop and his associates challenge all manner of conventions (as does Peckinpah) while fulfilling their destiny as robbers and killers. They are what they are. They have no self-delusions. None. Thornton is the only sympathetic character, Bishop's reluctant and weary adversary. In the last scene, his body language is especially eloquent. He and we feel spent. Enough. No more. It's over. Question: Given the recent advances in technologies of various kinds, why does the visual and/or audio quality of DVDs often vary so much? Why can't "they" get it right every time?
 Peckinpah's masterpiece? Hmmm ... eh, well probably! August 1, 2005
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Sam Peckinpah's masterpiece, according to many. After the Hollywood Western's pummelling at the hands of the Spaghetti Western, this was THE film "... that enlarged the form aesthetically, thematically, demonically" [Stanley Kaufmann, 1972]. This was also the film which set a fashion for blood-spurting violence in Westerns - the special effects fad of which prompted many a feminist lobby to 'claim' that the human male suffered from a barely-concealed 'menstrual envy' ...!
Stalwarts of the 'old Western' - principally then-President of the American Legion John Wayne - were said to have hated the film, as embittered William Holden's amoral and ruthless band of outlaws, pursued by an even more ruthless band of cutthroat dregs-of-society bounty-hunters reluctantly led by an equally-embittered and disillusioned Robert Ryan, realize with almost-touching pathos that they have outlived their age - if ever there really was one - and go down fighting to avenge the capture and death of a compadre. The 'might is right' power of the machine-gun was amply brought to the film-going public in BONNIE & CLYDE (1967), when in the climactic scenes the eponymous villains are punished for their crimes (but even more so for their audacity) by being riddled with hundreds of .45 cal rounds of Thompson M1928 sub-machineguns (hence: Tommyguns). But even more so Peckinpah's THE WILD BUNCH. This final shoot-out - much of it 'gloriously' shot in slow-motion - remains to this day the epitome of Last Stands by the hideously-outnumbered, and provides one of the most moving elegies for a vanished age, denigrating as it does the image of the lone heroic cowboy/lawman that made John Wayne and his personae great ...
Made in 1969, the film draws some parallels with the USA's ill-fated involvement in Vietnam; the eponymous Wild Bunch are seeking fortune/vindication/redemption [viewer take your pick!] in the latest round of the Mexican Revolution/Civil War (most of the 'lesser' Spaghetti Westerns were also set during the Mexican Civil Wars). Peckinpah was more or less saying, Don't Get Involved In Other People's Civil War ...
THE WILD BUNCH has been much-imitated (notably the pursuing riders in Sergio Leone's MY NAME IS NOBODY ["There's only a hundred-and-fifty of them ... but they ride like thousands"], and Walter Hill's semi-remake for the 1980s, EXTREME PREJUDICE) and, of course, parodied - particularly by the Monty Python team in their "Sam Peckinpah's Salad Days" sketch ...!
However, as rightly pointed-out by previous reviewers, the film is on a two-sided DVD. Why? The technology certainly exists to have it on a single-sided dual-layer disc and include many extras (commentary track, interviews, etc.). Alas, it gives the product a 'cheapo' feel and prevents my giving the DVD the full five stars the film itself certainly warrants ...
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