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The Wild Bunch
1969
As a counterpoint to the heroic horde of THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN, the ageing gunmen of Sam Peckinpah's masterpiece break the very laws of honour which bind them in this bloody and meditative tale of the American West--widely considered to be the self-conscious nail in the coffin of the genre. William Holden, Robert Ryan, and .. Read more
| Starring | William Holden, Robert Ryan, Ernest Borgnine, Warren Oates |
|---|---|
| Director | Sam Peckinpah |
| Genres | Action/Adventure |
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The Wild Bunch
As a counterpoint to the heroic horde of THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN, the ageing gunmen of Sam Peckinpah's masterpiece break the very laws of honour which bind them in this bloody and meditative tale of the American West--widely considered to be the self-conscious nail in the coffin of the genre. William Holden, Robert Ryan, and Ernest Borgnine star as the leaders of a grizzled crew of Texan bandits who ride to Mexico, where, one by one, they are unceremoniously slaughtered by a Mexican revolutionary. The western, a genre steeped in legend and the concept of loyalty, was a dying breed when Sam Peckinpah unleashed this amoral and violent opus. Along with BONNIE AND CLYDE, it ushered in a new breed of Hollywood film, depicting a harsh reality where lines between right and wrong became blurred. Peckinpah brilliantly used ageing Western stars such as Ryan and Holden to convey this passing of the cinematic torch. The film brought issues of violence and morality in movies to the forefront of American film criticism. Instead of appreciating the film as a critique of brutal violence, many critics responded by rejecting what they saw as a superfluous spectacle of dead bodies.
| Starring | William Holden, Robert Ryan, Ernest Borgnine, Warren Oates, Ben Johnson, L.Q. Jones, Strother Martin, Emilio Fernandez, Edmund O'Brien, Albert Dekker |
|---|---|
| Director | Sam Peckinpah |
| Studio | WARNER HOME VIDEO |
| Run time | DVD: 2 hrs 19 mins Blu-ray: 2 hrs 18 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Collections | 100 Wild Westerns |
| Genres | Action/Adventure |
| Language | DVD: English Blu-ray: English |
| Hearing-impaired | English |
| Subtitles | DVD: Arabic, English |
| Released | DVD: 17 Oct 2002 Blu-ray: 03 Nov 2008 Production year: 1969 |
| Format | DVD |
The Wild Bunch (1969)
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Sign up Wild Bunch, The - Feature
As a counterpoint to the heroic horde of THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN, the ageing gunmen of Sam Peckinpah's masterpie...
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As a counterpoint to the heroic horde of THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN, the ageing gunmen of Sam Peckinpah's masterpie...
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Critics' reviews (6)
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This is, arguably, one of the greatest westerns ever made. And argument is what Sam Peckinpah's masterpiece has always caused for its slow-motion spurting of blood, its surrealistically choreographed gunfights and its portrayal of Pike Bishop's amoral Texas outlaws as heroes. Yet William Holden's laconic Bishop, however violent, is one of a truly romantic breed as he leads his bunch to their deaths in a defensive revenge on revolutionary guerrilla forces. Lucien Ballard's photography gives a funereal hue to this elegy to the passing of a certain breed of chivalry. You can see why John Wayne is said to have hated the film; Peckinpah was practically reinventing a genre, with no place left for false nobility.
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"...Virtually every character in THE WILD BUNCH is a fully fleshed-out, complex portrait of humanity....It's a tale that is just as important and pertinent as ever..."
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Most helpful member's review
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12 out of 19 people found this review helpful
Peckinpah classic
The Wild Bunch was a defining moment in the career of director Sam Peckinpah, and also the Western genre as a whole. Peckinpah took a seemingly stock western plot and produced a masterpiece. Set in 1913, the film depicts what happens to all those heroic, lawless gunmen left behind by changing times. Old, tired outlaws just trying to scrape enough gold together to retire, the Wild Bunch are unglamorous, dirty and desperate. Yet Peckinpah makes these stock characters human, and we see them grow together as a group until they give their lives for a friend in one last blaze of glory.
The film features mesmeric performances from William Holden, Robert Ryan and Ernest Borgnine, who look like they've spent years growing old in the saddle. The action is bloody, the set pieces fantastic, and the Mexican army suitably corrupt. Awesome, and a fitting epitaph to Peckinpah's vision of a time and place in history. -
Most recent members' review
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6 out of 10 people found this review helpful
[Highly rated reviewer]
They will live forever!
I saw this film originally at the cinema in 1970 and its memory has stayed with me for a long time. I was pleased to see the DVD and study it in depth both with and without commentary.
Whilst the opening and closing gunfights together with the bridge scene have always remained clear memories, I was pleased to see the attention to detail that Sam Peckinpah gave to the whole plot.
The whole story was a tribute to the bond between men, whatever their background or beliefs.
Whilst the audience always remembered the violence, did they also recall the economic script that commanded deep respect for its memorable phrases and avoided the trap of confusing blasphemy for wit.
The influence of Sam Peckinpah upon other Directors work can be seen throughout this film. The memorable scenes, the fast cuts, use of light, motion and the attention to detail put this work amongst the greatest of the cinematic artform.
I was pleased at how much I remembered after 36 years and confirm that this is a must see film. Well worth the money! -
News and features
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Peckinpah Convoy to get remake
- 09 Dec 2005
Sam Peckinpah's trucking movie Convoy is set to be remade. The film, which originally starred Kris Kristofferson and Ernest Borgnine, will be directed for the second time by John Singleton, the man behind Boyz 'N The Hood, 2 Fast 2 Furious and this year's sleeper hit Four Brothers. The original, based on a country and western song, told the story of a group of truckers who take revenge on a small town sheriff by creating a mile-long convoy. Singleton's version will be set in Afghanistan and... Read more
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- Wild Bunch, The - BLU-RAY Version
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As a counterpoint to the heroic horde of THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN, the ageing gunmen of Sam Peckinpah's masterpiece break the very laws of honour which bind them in this bloody and meditative tale of ... -
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The Wild Bunch
As a counterpoint to the heroic horde of THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN, the ageing gunmen of Sam Peckinpah's masterpiece break the very laws of honour which bind them in this bloody and meditative tale of the American West--widely considered to be the self-conscious nail in the coffin of the genre. William ...
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