The Wild Bunch

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2:53

The Wild Bunch

R

Released Jun 18, 1969

2h 22m

Western

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

91%

Tomatometer

66 Reviews

90%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

In this gritty Western classic, aging outlaw Pike Bishop (William Holden) prepares to retire after one final robbery. Joined by his gang, which includes Dutch Engstrom (Ernest Borgnine) and brothers Lyle (Warren Oates) and Tector Gorch (Ben Johnson), Bishop discovers the heist is a setup orchestrated in part by his old partner, Deke Thornton (Robert Ryan). As the remaining gang takes refuge in Mexican territory, Thornton trails them, resulting in fierce gunfights with plenty of casualties.

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Critics Consensus

The Wild Bunch is Sam Peckinpah's shocking, violent ballad to an old world and a dying genre.

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Penelope Gilliatt

New Yorker

Apart from Peckinpah's simple technical control and the cut of his script, which is a knife that never slips off the bone, there is an angry quality to his mind.

Jul 7, 2022

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Tom Milne

Sight & Sound

The film drives to its foregone conclusion with the sureness of an arrow.

Mar 18, 2020

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Judith Crist

New York Magazine/Vulture

If you must see The Wild Bunch, be sure to take along a barf bag.

Jan 1, 2020

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Bianca Garner

InSession Film

While I don’t exactly have the stomach for the violence, the sexism or the racism/xenophobia of The Wild Bunch, I do admire it for its artistic and technical aspects. There’s something oddly fascinating about the film...

Jul 31, 2024

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Danielle Solzman

Solzy at the Movies

To say that The Wild Bunch is a violent masterpiece would not be an understatement.

Rated: 5/5

May 31, 2023

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Rob Gonsalves

Rob's Movie Vault

The pictorial style of the film — classical, elegiac — bumps up against the technique that fractures and prolongs death.

Rated: A+

Aug 24, 2022

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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 out of 5 stars

05/14/24

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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 out of 5 stars

11/10/24

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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 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 out of 5 stars

09/29/24

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Lanfranco C

Blood and Redemption in Mexico.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

08/28/24

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Fer S

A great movie with an ending that did not make much sense.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

08/10/24

Full Review

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Sam Peckinpah

Director

William Holden

Pike Bishop

Ernest Borgnine

Dutch Engstrom

Robert Ryan

Deke Thornton

Edmond O'Brien

Freddie Sykes

Warren Oates

Lyle Gorch

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The Wild Bunch: Trailer 1

2:53

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Synopsis

In this gritty Western classic, aging outlaw Pike Bishop (William Holden) prepares to retire after one final robbery. Joined by his gang, which includes Dutch Engstrom (Ernest Borgnine) and brothers Lyle (Warren Oates) and Tector Gorch (Ben Johnson), Bishop discovers the heist is a setup orchestrated in part by his old partner, Deke Thornton (Robert Ryan). As the remaining gang takes refuge in Mexican territory, Thornton trails them, resulting in fierce gunfights with plenty of casualties.

Director: Sam Peckinpah
Producer: Phil Feldman
Screenwriter: Walon Green, Roy N. Sickner, Sam Peckinpah
Distributor: Warner Home Vídeo
Production Co: Warner Brothers
Rating: R
Genre: Western
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 18, 1969, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 19, 2016
Runtime: 2h 22m

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