The Wild Bunch is a 1969 American epic Revisionist Western film directed by Sam Peckinpah and starring William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Robert Ryan, Edmond O'Brien, Ben Johnson, and Warren Oates. The film was controversial because of its graphic violence and its portrayal of crude men attempting to survive by any available means.
It is noted for intricate, multi-angle, quick-cut editing using normal and slow-motion images, a revolutionary cinema technique in 1969. The writing of Green, Peckinpah, and Sickner was nominated for a Best Screenplay Oscar, and the music by Jerry Fielding was nominated for Best Original Score.
The film is considered a seminal work of violence and artistry that forever changed the landscape of motion pictures. It represented a new sense of cinematic freedom and change, one that emerged after the Production Code fell and the Motion Picture Association of America's rating system was enacted.
It is a classic Western film that pushed the boundaries of the genre and remains a cinematic masterpiece today.
Plot
The Wild Bunch is a Western film that tells the story of an aging outlaw gang on the Mexico-United States border trying to adapt to the changing modern world of 1913. The plot revolves around the gang's last robbery attempt in a dusty Texas town, which leads to a brutally violent last stand against their enemies deemed to be corrupt, in a small Mexican town ruled by a ruthless general. The film depicts the tired outlaws at the end of their careers after a life of crime and the rise of a more technologically advanced society with automobiles.
Trailer
Cast
- William Holden as Pike Bishop
- Ernest Borgnine as Dutch Engstrom
- Robert Ryan as Deke Thornton
- Edmond O'Brien as Freddie Sykes
- Warren Oates as Lyle Gorch
- Jaime Sánchez as Angel
- Ben Johnson as Tector Gorch
- Emilio Fernández as General Mapache
- Strother Martin as Coffer
- L.Q. Jones as T.C
- Albert Dekker as Pat Harrigan
- Bo Hopkins as Clarence 'Crazy' Lee
- Dub Taylor as Reverend Wainscoat
Other actors in the film include:
- Jorge Russek as Zamorra Herrera
- Alfonso Arau as Herrera's Lieutenant
- Chano Urueta as Don Jose
- Elsa Cárdenas as Elsa
- Aurora Clavel as Aurora
- José Chávez as Ignacio
- Sonia Amelio as Rocio
- Enrique Lucero as Juan Jose
- Paco Pharrez as Juan
- Felipe Turich as Benson
- Elsa Medina as Emma Mohr
- Bill Hart as Alvarado
- Rayford Barnes as Buck
- William Holden Jr. as Mapache's Officer
Director: Sam Peckinpah
Writer: Walon Green, Roy N. Sickner, Sam Peckinpah
Box Office Gross: $638,641
Distributor: Warner Home Vídeo
Genre: Western
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 18, 1969
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 19, 2016