KnotStronger
This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.
Hadrina
The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful
Lela
The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.
Fella_shibby
As a fan of Westerns, I saw this film many times in the early 90s. Saw this recently again on a DVD aft many years. The film is groundbreaking and beautiful and extremely violent. It tells the story of an aging gang of outlaws going for one last big score with the plan to retire aft its completion. Times r changing, towns n people r getting civilized, automobiles r replacing horses. An older n tired looking William Holden stars as Pike Bishop, the leader of his gang of outlaws. He's a bad guy but he's also noble. Ernest Borgnine is William Holdens second in command. Their scene together around a campfire is very good. Warren Oates, Ben Johnson n Jaime Sánchez r the remaining gang members. The camaraderie n chemistry between the gang members is what makes us root for the bad guys. The 4 men must put their collective code of honor to the test when they come to the aid of one of their member, Jaime Sánchez. I loved the scene where the gang of four r walking with their guns for the final confrontation after Pike (Holden) mutters "let's go," and no one questions him. The film has many great scenes. The bank heist n shootout in the beginning, the train robbery, the bridge explosion, the out of control machine gun scene and of course the final shootout. Robert Ryan plays a former member of the gang, released from a Yuma prison in order to lead a gang of bounty hunters in tracking down his old partners in crime. He has no choice but to hunt down his old friend (Holden) or else be sent back to the prison. Peckinpahs direction n screenplay is brilliant. His filming techniques were awesome. The Wild Bunch is beautifully shot by Lucien Ballard. The editing by Lou Lombardo is awesome.
Leofwine_draca
Sam Peckinpah's tribute to the old west is a stunningly violent tale of loyalty, brutality, and, well, violence! The excellent storyline is about a group of old men who reminisce about the old ways of the West - and increasingly find themselves in a strange new world. Thus, Peckinpah includes much talk about the "old glory days" as our sorrowful heroes remember how times were. If this doesn't stir you, nothing will! For the most part, we're in standard western territory, with gangs on horses riding around, blowing bridges up, and shooting each other. However the film is book-ended by two spectacular gun battles which put to shame anything John Woo has ever done. Indeed, Peckinpah was the original master of the "heroic bloodshed" film before Woo ever came into the picture and these action scenes have never been bettered, especially the closing one. A trapped bunch, whittled down to four men, see one of their own have his throat graphically cut by a drunk general of the Mexican army. They fire, blasting him apart, and then a silence falls as they look at the two hundred men around them. Just after that, all hell breaks loose...This is an extremely bloody film, where squibs are used constantly and we see blood pumping everything. It certainly earns its 18 certificate, but the violence is not really excessive or gratuitous- it's part of what this film is all about. These were violent times and the people lived and fought in violent ways. The cast is excellent, from a fantastic and understated Holden and Borgnine in leading roles to the supporting players who all do their bit. On top of all this there's lots of beautiful photography and a really clever scene involving a scorpion being attacked by ants which foreshadows the ending. This is a controversial, ageless masterpiece; sometimes powerful, at other times wistful, and very funny with it. It's a must see for anyone with the slightest interest in the western. It also just happens to be one of the most violent films ever made, a film which broke new boundaries on release. And if that's not reason enough, it instantly became one of my favourites on first viewing. See it and find out why!
TankGuy
"If they move, kill em'!" exclaims Pike Bishop, leader of an ageing band of outlaws who are in the midst of holding up a railroad payroll office in a small Texas town. However the "wild" west is no more and it's inhabitants are becoming more civilised. Deke Thornton(a former associate of Pike's who is now working for the railroad)and his posse ambush the gang resulting in a bloody shootout which needlessly claims many innocent lives. The robbery a failure, Pike and the surviving members of the gang flee across the border into revolution-torn Mexico pursued by Thornton and his posse. It isn't long before Pike and the bunch fall in with ruthless bandit chief Mapache, who coerces them into stealing arms from the U.S army in return for thousands of dollars in gold. Pike and his compatriots become increasingly disillusioned with life as they know it and end up betraying Mapache, ultimately deciding to go out all guns blazing in one of the most spectacular bloodbaths Hollywood has ever seen!.Sam Peckinpah's savage essay on the decline of the American frontier disgusted critics of the day solely due to the extremity of the violence, even at a time when audiences of the world were being increasingly desensitised by horrific images of the Vietnam war. The Wild Bunch has since become a highly respected cult film which, despite the brutality of it's content, explores the more tender issues of friendship, honour and redemption. It can also be interpreted as a comment on the dying(or dead)western genre itself. Peckinpah conveys his thoughts and feelings in an aggressively overt way, which is what makes the film all the more fantastic. The lives of the main characters are epitomised by greed, murder and other forms of amoral self indulgence, although the movie depicts brilliantly how deep reflection coupled with fate can alter the moral compass of even such violent individuals and instil in them a sense of dignity and self-respect to the point where they attempt to put things right(which is ironically represented in the brutal climax). William Holden gave a superb performance as Pike Bishop, leader of The Wild Bunch. Ernest Borgnine was equally impressive as his second-in-command, Dutch as were Warren Oates and Ben Johnson as the Gorch brothers, not to mention Robert Ryan as Pike's former ally Deke Thornton. I think Edmond O'Brien gave the best performance in the film next to William Holden, as cranky old timer Freddie Sykes. Peckinpah also co-wrote the great script and excellent lines are in abundance, I also detected a few pinches of terrifically cynical black comedy.The Wild Bunch is bookended with two magnificent but vicious shootouts. The first which opens the movie is a rollicking warm up for what is to come. Taut slow motion intercutting would appear as a rudimentary manifestation in Peckinpah's subsequent efforts but it is here that the chilling technique makes it's amazing debut. Almost baroque in execution, the riotous climax is nothing more than totally unashamed chaos!. The bodycount in this sequence alone is stratospheric and watching Pike and the bunch get torn apart by unrelenting gunfire as they fight for control of the machine gun is a truly spectacular sight!. The bunch seem almost indestructible for the duration of this excessively violent orgy until their bodies are literally blasted away from the machine gun, with Pike still gripping hold of it's trigger and spraying bullets as he dies!.It can be said that this Peckinpah classic is the western to end all westerns(with stiff competition from Leone's The Good, The Bad And The Ugly!).This scabrous homage to tough men who have become relics of a blood stained chapter in American history is as harsh as it needs to be. 10/10
jadavix
Peckinpah's classic western is considered a masterpiece by many, but time has dulled the sheen a tad. It's not the equal of Once Upon a Time in the West or The Good, The Bad and the Ugly. It doesn't have any scenes that pack the same kind of emotional punch. Mostly it is about epic displays of gun fire: many people in large spaces shooting each other and dying.Plot details are lost in the fracas. Why did Pike leave the young man behind at the beginning of the movie? If he did it deliberately, why did he even bring him along in the first place?I also missed seeing Pike die in the end.It is unquestionably very well made, and perfectly cast. I just didn't get much of an emotional jolt from it.
