The Wild Bunch (1969)

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Directed by Sam Peckinpah, Paul Seydor.

Starring Ernest Borgnine, William Holden, Edmond O'Brien, Warren Oates, Robert Ryan.

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"If they move, kill 'em!" Beginning and ending with two of the bloodiest battles in screen history, Sam Peckinpah's classic revisionist Western ruthlessly takes apart the myths of the West. Released in the late '60s discord over Vietnam, in the wake of the controversial Bonnie and Clyde (1967) and the brutal "spaghetti westerns" of Sergio Leone, The Wild Bunch polarized critics and audiences over its ferocious bloodshed. One side hailed it as a classic appropriately pitched to the violence and nihilism of the times, while the other reviled it as depraved. After a failed payroll robbery, the outlaw Bunch, led by aging Pike Bishop (William Holden) and including Dutch (Ernest Borgnine), Angel (Jaime Sanchez), and Lyle and Tector Gorch (Warren Oates and Ben Johnson), heads for Mexico pursued by the gang of Pike's friend-turned-nemesis Deke Thornton (Robert Ryan). Ultimately caught between the corruption of railroad fat cat Harrigan (Albert Dekker) and federale general Mapache (Emilio Fernandez), and without a frontier for escape, the Bunch opts for a final Pyrrhic victory, striding purposefully to confront Mapache and avenge their friend Angel. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide

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Reviews and discussions

Violence in movies...
by Dr_Gor in Violence on film

loved it.

"There are certain movies that are all about the violence! (insert your favorite horror movie here) And then there are some which are more 'drama' but with at least one or two really violent scenes for an 'attention-grabber' . In other words, in some cases the violence helps to tell the story, and in other cases, the violence IS the story... here are some examples... The Good, The Bad and The Ugly and ALL of the Clint Eastwood westerns ... Up to, and including, Unforgiven ... ALL of the Bruce Lee movies and most of the Steven Segal movies and Jean Claude Van Damme and Don 'the dragon' Wilson and Jeff Speakman , etc ... No. My favorite violent movies are the ones about real warriors... THAT is what it's all about! Movies like The Warriors and The Wild Bunch and The Magnificent Seven and The 13th Warrior and 300 are excellent examples of movies which are all about the violence... not to mention the Kill Bill ... " [More]

Re: My favorite directors (by a ...
by Dr_Gor in Directors

loved it.

"OH! And ANOTHER much overlooked director (at least in this group) ... Sam Peckinpah ! "The Wild Bunch" is ABSOLUTELY one of the best pictures ever made! " [More]

Bang! "Ya got me pal!" ...
by jlgdrd in Wicked Fun

hasn't rated it.

Was this review helpful? [Be the first to tell us!]
"Years ago, a local film critic (living in the Dallas-Ft. Worth Metroplex) dismissed Crimes of Passion by saying, “Why doesn’t Ken Russell just go back to England?” as if this were a legitimate, professional reaction to any film. You just couldn’t help the feeling that she didn’t get it. “It” not being the film itself. It was awful but I don’t think it’s ever okay to pan a film because one’s sensibilities are offended. Or ravaged. Ironically I find myself in a similar situation after viewing Spike and Mike’s Sick and Twisted Festival of Animation. Call it Karmic Justice. I repeatedly wondered if I’d viewed this collection, say, 25 years ago, if I’d have been rolling in the proverbial aisles. Though I’d like to think I’m smarter today. From The Grand Guignol Theatre of 19th Century Paris, to Peter Jackson’s Dead Alive to the Mr. Creosote sketch in Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life, ... " [More]

Top 5 Westerns
by chesterfilms in chesterfilms Blog

loved it.

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"1. Once Upon A Time In The West2. The Good, The Bad & The Ugly 3. The Searchers4. Rio Bravo5. The Wild Bunch " [More]

Re: Italian Horror....
by Dr_Gor in HORROR MOVIES 101

loved it.

"Thank you, Froggy! But, I have to ask you, it sounds like you have seen this movie only once? If that is the case then you need to watch it again! This is one of those movies that actually gets BETTER every time you watch it! Much like... JAWS The Exorcist The Wild Bunch The Magnificent 7 The Beyond Dracula Frankenstein Rocky III Mars Attacks ... I will quit here before I wander TOO far off track! Ooh! wait! ... a couple more! ... Cannibal Holocaust Make Them Die Slowly " [More]

Re: Top Westerns
by josephkuzma in Top 5

liked it.

"1. A Fistful of Dollars / For a Few Dollars More / The Good, The Bad & the Ugly - This is essentially one film. One huge, phenomenal film.2. Treasure of the Sierra Madre - You find me a better Bogey and I'll kick you in the nuts for lying.3. The Wild Bunch - The beginning and end of this movie scarred me in the best way as a kid.4. The Magnificent Seven - You'd think I would hate this because it's a remake (sort of) of one of the greatest movies of all time but damn it I can't not love this film. Yul Brynner & Steve McQueen were never better.5. Tombstone - Prior to seeing this movie I had a weird stigma against any and all westerns that prevented me from even watching one much less liking one. But after this I realized that they were legitimate films and for months afterwards it was all I'd rent when it was my turn to pick (I was 12 at the time). " [More]

Ain't no tragedy - I shot him. ...
by Windbreaker in Windbreaker!

loved it.

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""Ain't had no water since yesterday, Lord. Gettin' a little thirsty. Just thought I'd mention it. Amen." That touching prayer comes in the early moments of the movie, but those early 20 mins or so were the only excellent minutes. I'm a fan of all sorts of westerns. Don't have to be bloody, intellectual, comedic, whatever. They just have to be good. Overall Cable Hogue is borderline -- I'm sitting on the fence, so I rate it neutral. The story is simple: Cable Hogue is left in the desert to die, finds water, and makes himself a rich man because of it. The most potential in the story is the revenge theme. What will Hogue do if he ever spots those dastardly devils again? Slaughter them? Make them beg for their lives and then slaughter them? Or is he capable of forgiveness? Unfortunately, the revenge issue was ignored at times and rushed at others, so by the end I felt a little ripped off. The love story was solid. No complaints there.Final compla ... " [More]

Re: Top Westerns
by paul in Top 5

loved it.

"I recently watched Heaven's Gate and it's in my top 5 westerns now.I'll also second Unforgiven and The Wild Bunch.Maybe this isn't the old west, but there's cowboys and bullriding. I have a real soft spot for Urban Cowboy.I'll save the fifth one until after I've seen Once Upon a Time in the West and Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid. " [More]

Re: Top Westerns
by Risselada in Top 5

hasn't rated it.

"Oh, and a couple more things I'd like to bring up. What's the deal with The Searchers? I don't think it's a bad movie, but why is it so often declared to be the greatest western. I've even heard people argue it for contention of the greatest movie ever made. Also, I remember seeing The Wild Bunch as one of the first R rated movies I rented when I turned old enough. That must have been about 8 years ago. Can't remember it well enough to rate it, but I imagine if I see it again it has a good chance of making the top 5. I find it fascinating that movies about such a particular time and place have achieved their own major genre label. It's not like video stores have sections just for movies about the ancient Romans, or Russian feudal societies, or 1920's Venezuela. " [More]

Review by All Movie Guide

All Movie Guide

loved it.

From the opening image of children happily watching fire ants kill a scorpion, Sam Peckinpah presents a relentlessly pessimistic view of frontier life in 1913 as it gives way to modernity; any sense of honor is strictly relative, and "civilization" means venal businessmen and mercenaries. The western's myth of "righteous" violence is literally blasted to pieces in the two battle sequences evocative of the 1968-69 carnage in Vietnam. In elaborately edited montages using different camera speeds and distances, Peckinpah and cinematographer Lucien Ballard show what it looks like when bullets hit flesh, drawing out moments of death amidst bloody chaos in a balletic yet repellent spectacle. The Wild Bunch eventually became a moderate hit, and it got Oscar nominations for Jerry Fielding's score and Walon Green's and Peckinpah's script. Unsatisfied with Peckinpah's 145-minute cut, Warner Bros. pulled the film after its debut and shaved 10 minutes of exposition but left the violence intact. The footage was fully restored in 1995. With its stunning technical finesse and uncompromising view of the West's bloody demise, The Wild Bunch remains one of the most powerful "last" westerns ever made. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide

Tags: shootout , western , violent , circle , macho
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