The Wild Bunch

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William R S One of my all time favorite westerns. Cutting edge violence, editing, direction and acting. The movie that put Peckinpah on the map and made his movies "must see" events (for me, anyway.) Saw this when it was released in 1969 and it's still as potent a story now as it was then. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 05/14/24 Full Review Hector I A film that appears fairly classic but has a rather interesting construction. A fairly classic film in its construction, but with a few rough edges. Synopsis: Two ex-bandits, one caught and working for the authorities (Thornton) and the other still at large (Pike), are after each other. The film opens with Pike's gang robbing a bank, only to be ambushed by Thornton. The bandits get away, but the loot is a fake, and Pike's gang crosses the border into the service of a bloody Mexican general, Mapache. While the script is classic - we follow a band of vigilantes who track down bandits - the direction completely reverses the roles. We follow the adventure from the bandits' side, and with them their moments of celebration (there's a lot of partying going on in the film). Every cinematic trick in the book is used to identify with the heroes, except that here the heroes are the bandits. The vigilantes are almost morally worse than the bandits, which puts bounty hunters and bandits in the American West into perspective. The film is quite bloody, almost burlesque, joyfully bawdy and often absurd. A wonderful discovery! Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/11/25 Full Review Jay W "The Wild Bunch" is true to their name. The protagonists of this movie are truly wild and despicable. Typically, when characters are this ruthless, the story will attempt some sort of redemption arc. But no from beginning to end, the Wild Bunch are unapologetic outlaws. And with all the westerns out there, it is refreshing to see something different like that. A western is one of the settings where a group like that can work. This may be the most "gun shotty" movies of all-time. It was once estimated that more blanks were used in this film then were fired in the real life alamo. Even by modern stands, this movie has a TON of shootouts. With all the blanks and squibs, the director does a good job of maintaining clarity, having action and reaction in the same shot as often as possible. Sadly, some of the choreography choices don't work out. Example, classic western set up, a cowboy is shot off the roof and falls to the ground. But the movie cuts away from the fall multiple times. Why? It is a stylistic choice that doesn't work for me. Also, the emotional turning point of the film, just didn't work for me. It felt like the characters just chose it was time to finish the movie, so just decided to end it. But what an ending! The Wild west is a perfect place for the Wild Bunch. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 12/01/24 Full Review Irene M Saw it because we recently saw William Holden in Bridge over the River Kwai. Here he's 51. Never been a fan of westerns, but seems this one is one of the most notable of Sam Peckinpah's. Takes place mostly in Mexico in 1910's...and the Violence has been compared to Quentin Tarantino's. great line from the documentary..."like Orson Welles for film noir, Peckinpah chiseled the gravestone'. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 11/10/24 Full Review Audience Member Absolute Must-See and I mean that with my whole heart. If you love westerns you would be doing yourself a disservice by not watching this. Hell, if you love movies in general you would be doing yourself a disservice by not watching this. 5/5 stars. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 10/05/24 Full Review Tasos L A decent western movie by Peckinpah, not my favorite flick of his works, but surely one of his best ones. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 09/29/24 Full Review Read all reviews

The Wild Bunch

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