Bought this for my husband and he really enjoyed it. Just his kind of movie.The movie got here within a few days after I ordered it.We are very pleased. I would highly recommend buying DVDs from Amazon. Excellent to deal with.

I took a college course in 1979 named "Film as Literature" and "The Wild Bunch" was one of the premier films that we studied. But the version that we saw was the "uncut" version - not the shorter so-called "director's cut" version. The purposefulness of the original longer version brings into focus the very meaningful look of the purposes of violence and that sometimes the violent have a purpose, and sometimes those that oppose the violent actually have less of a purpose and cause much more damage (witness our present political situations in the world...)
In the name of satisfying the full artistic measure of this great film the full uncut version needs to be released. Shame on them for hacking this film - like taking an airbrush to the Sistine Chapel.
I feel privileged to have seen the full version as the artists intended!

I just finished seeing this film and was immediately compelled to write a review. This has definitely got to be ol man peck's finest, which up until now i thought was Straw Dogs. This film is raw, real, cold blooded in a way you cannot imagine and the sheer genius of all this, he brings out that sense of humanity even among the most heartless in a very practical way.

The key thing in Peckinpah films is, the characters will be cruel, evil and cold, but he will still justify that even they are capable of good, unlike other film directors who do not cross that boundary of being binary about the emotions that their actors convey. This film reveals that you can never truly be in a position to judge anyone at all. You start disliking the protagonist and his crew from the start, even towards the end, but its the lead character's almost idiotic adherence to his 'code' that surprises you (you'll know what i mean).
And then in typical Peckinpah fashion (could never figure this trait about the man, then again....), you have a woman who verbally emasculates a man who used to be his fiance' and then proceeds to mock him. In a fit of rage, the man screams, "PUTTAAAA" and blows her away. typical of him.

The wild bunch is about a bunch of outlaws played by William Holden as Pike Bishop and Ernest Borgnine (Dutch Engstrom) among others, it occurs during the time of the revolution taking place in Mexico. They are wanted by the Railroad and hire (by coercion / threat of death penalty) Deke Thornton (Robert Ryan) a former gang member who was abandoned by Pike, to chase Pike's gang and bring them to book. This is definitely no "spaghetti western" and no candy a$$ louis l'amour stuff, its a brutal, gut tearing, balls on movie, which is typical of ol' man peck's style. I heard that it also brought about a lot of innovative film making techniques, the whole slow motion cinematography, quick pan filming, etc.

This is a movie that is now a definitive part of my collection and i highly recommend that you watch this movie. 10 stars, anything less is an injustice.

Not only is this the best Western ever made, it's one of the best movies. Everything about it, from the acting to the editing to the story, is outstanding. Powerful film!

I liked Sam Peckinpah's "The Wild Bunch" way back in 1969, and I like it today. The HD DVD version is pristine, looks like it did on the big screen in 1969. This was probably the most expensive western ever made; a lot of elaborate sets and and loads of extras. There was an outstanding cast, William Holden, Robert Ryan, Ernest Borgnine,Edmond O'Brien, Jamie Sanchez, Warren Oates, and Ben Johnson, and supporting roles with Dub Taylor, Strother Martin, Bo Hopkins, Emilio Hernandez, and L.Q. Jones.The movie is long, very long, 3 hours and 11 minutes long. The story is about a group of aging bank and train robbers, trying to make their last, big score. The year is 1913, and the railroads have gotten very smart and aggressive in going after outlaws, so much so that it's hard to tell who the bad guys are. After a failed robbery, and several members of their gang are killed, the Wild Bunch retreat to Mexico during the height of the Mexican Revolution. The Mexican Federal Army is in danger of losing the war to the revolutionary thug Pancho Villa. The Wild Bunch learn of a train shipment of US Army arms, rifles and a Gatling Gun and plan to pull off the robbery for the Mexican Army. Of course, there is the usual double crosses, treachery in all parties on all levels, and heroics on a grand scale. There is a lot of violence and a very high body count. The movie is well acted and directed, but the audio dynamics that we take for granted today simply aren't there. You'll just have to manage with synthesized two channel stereo and forget about the surround unless you have one of those fancy audio processors. The video is outstanding, restored in 1992, and remastered in 1080p, and there isn't as much of a film scratch or dust spot, and the color is consistent throughout. I am proud to have this movie in my collection. Dan Casey

In my opinion, The Wild Bunch is one of the top five westerns ever filmed, along with Tombstone, One Eyed Jacks, Silverado and a few others. This BluRay format is unbelievable as they have taken a movie that is 30 plus years old and remastered it to look like a new release. The cast, the story and the action in this film are amazing to watch. Sam Peckinpaw's slow motion action sequences are equal to any of the digital special effects you see today in the new movies. If you are a western fan, The Wild Bunch (BluRay) should be in your collection.

I wont review the film. Its a classic that you'll either love or hate (I loved it). I'm only going to comment on the Blu Ray transfer aspect. Simply put, this a a beautiful film to watch on your new HD set and Blu Ray player. Anytime you see somone talking about how "such and such film is an ok blu ray transfer, but since its from way back in the 90's, what would you expect" just ignore that excuse. The picture quality and sound in this late '60s film is outstanding. Definitely worth replacing a standard DVD with. I like the suplemental features, although frankly I rarely watch the extra features of any DVD. I dont know what was on some of the older "special edition" DVDs of this title, so I cant compare.

In this movie, Peckinpah dishes up violence like a glutton at a smorgasbord finally released from an enforced diet. It might have gotten a bit ridiculous except that William Holden, who anchors this film, keeps it within the realm of believability.

Although purportedly a western, The Wild Bunch is really a buddy film that takes place in the Wild West--including the Mexican west for a good part of the film.

This film is well staged and tightly scripted with fine acting by a great ensemble cast. Those that abhor excessive violence may prefer Peckinpah's Ride the High Country, but this is an exceptional Western made by a great director at the top of his game.
The Shut Mouth Society
The Shopkeeper

I cannot agree that this movie is among the best westerns of all time. This film is violence for violence's sake with little purpose behind it. There is so much and so mindlessly portrayed that it is boring after the opening scene. To my mind "Open Range," "Dances with Wolves," "Silverado," "High Noon," "The Searchers," "The Shootist," "Stagecoach," "They Wore a Yellow Ribbon," "True Grit," "Cheyenne Autumn," "Lonesome Dove," "Fort Apache," and "The Man who Shot Liberty Valence" are all much better westerns. At least those come immediately to mind. I'm sure there are more. TWB isn't a bad film, and Edmund O'Brien's performance is above his average presentation. I didn't even recognize him at first. But alas, the film just isn't great.

In my opinion, the Wild Bunch is the greatest movie ever made. However, Warner Bros. after all these years, still refuses to release the uncut original version of which was some 160 minutes in length. The slow motion violent scenes in the "shoot-out" situated within the township have been deleted. The sand-storm has been deleted and some of the violent scenes in the final shoot-out at the end had been deleted. The original uncut version had been removed from the theatres in Australia and replaced with the directors' cut of some 145 minutes in length shortly thereafter.
Please pressure Warner Bros. to right their wrong and release the uncut version as its violence would pale into insignificance with some of its contemporary adult rated gory movies.

Regards,
John Oates,
New South Wales,
Australia.

Many people have reviewed the Wild Bunch so this is a review of the HD-DVD only.

The picture is wonderful. I have this movie on LaserDisk and I A/B it with the Disk

Again, the picture is wonderful but the 5.1 Dolby is a joke. I have seen this movie in 1969 and it was in mono. The LaserDisk is also in mono.

So think of this movie and a stereo upgrade from mono. In this fashion it is very good.

Dear Amazon, Post this as I agree with the other person.
With HD picking up in popularity, I would appreciate it if you could offer a way to filter DVD reviews so that we can see reviews that are HD-specific. I am not interested in getting an HD version of a disc I already have in SD if the HD version is no better in image quality.

Dear Amazon,

With HD picking up in popularity, I would appreciate it if you could offer a way to filter DVD reviews so that we can see reviews that are HD-specific. I am not interested in getting an HD version of a disk I already have in SD if the HD version is no better in image quality.

The five-star rating is based on the movie itself. It's always been one of my favorites (I currently own it in SD and would upgrade to the HD version if I knew the audio/video quality was improved over the SD version).

Thanks...

The Wild Bunch is a brutal masterpiece of a western. It depicts the end of the western era (the film is set in 1913) through a group of ageing outlaws who just want to pull off one more big job. In fact the west has already ended but they dont realise it yet.

From the opening bank raid to the bloodbath ending the film is brilliantly realised by Peckinpah. The casting is perfection. William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Warren Oats and Robert Ryan all give memorable performances. Although the film is actually quite depressing, it is strangely compelling viewing and the reason for this is that the characters do gain our sympathy. Curiously watching it again recently it occured to me that this film is the dark side of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Except in The Wild Bunch the cameras don't freeze at the end...

Ultimately the main credit goes to Sam Peckinpah who made a number of classic films. This is one of his best - a great movie.

Sam Peckinpah's The Wild Bunch is a vicious, visceral tale of a group of outlaws during the height of the Mexican Revolution. It is a bloody affair, filled with shootouts and gore that can even make action moves blush. It's not the type of Western you take your significant other to.

William Holden and Ernest Borgnine lead an all star cast in this triumph of a film. Throughout it echoes the thoughts and feelings of the Mexican Revolution. A very powerful film thats influence is still evident today.

This two disc edition brings the movie back to as close to Peckinpah's original vision as possible. It's a full 145 minutes, better than the predecessors. Also included is a commentary from the Peckinpah biographers, a few deleted scenes, more featuretttes, one which is the Oscar nominated feature worked on by the biographers.

Must Have.
It's quite and experience.

If you have never seen this film is 70mm on a big screen, I recommend this HD version of it on a 50 or 60 inch HDTV (I, unfortunately, due to space limitations, have a 46"). Holden, Borgnine and Ryan have never been better and some of their lines are classic like Holden ("when you side with a man, you stick with him all the way or we're all lost!!) (If he moves, kill him). This film set the standard for all the anti-westerns to come including "The Unforgiven", "The Long Riders" and even the current "The Assasination of Jesse James by the coward Robert Ford" Along with the modern western, "Straw Dogs" (great performance by Hoffman), "Bunch" is recommendend to all cinema fanatics.

I don't care how much people praise this film, it doesn't deliver and I turned if off half way thru. In my opinion Peckinpah is a hack, just look at that dog Straw Dogs, pointless as well. This movie plods along,
framed by the dichotomy of two old friends that are now enemies. Most of the dialogue is no better than a tv western program. Booze, whores, and wanton violence film up the scenes. Some of the cinematography and editing is abrupt and does add a jarring feel to the movie, which isn't bad. However, overall, there is little of value that is transmitted, and it turns out to be another prosaic Peckin' offering. This movie can't hold a candle to Stagecoach or The Searchers. 'Nuff said.

eventhough is an old movie still it is a classic, excellent feature and the performance of the mayority of the actors were excellent.

thank you....

I can't wait to see this movie in HD. I purchased the standard version last year but ended up selling it. The bloody shootout at the end is one of the all time great and influential gun fights ever filmed. Yes it's violent, gruesome and over the top but what else would expect from the late great Peckinpah! The cast led by aging Hollywood's golden boy William Holden is also first rate!! Straw Dogs is still me favourite film of his but I rank this a very close second. Enjoy!!!

Another tradional classic western, much action, anyone who hasn't seen it and is a fan of westerns should.

THE WILD BUNCH (1969) In 1913 at the height of the Mexican Revolution an aging band of outlaws from the last century known as "The Wild Bunch", to fund their retirement decide on a last robbery on a dusty Texas town. Unbeknown to gang leader Pike Bishop (William Holden) and his right-hand-man Dutch Engstrom (Ernest Borgnine) a rival and former gang member and friend Deke Thornton (Robert Ryan) has the bank staked out, ambushing the gang as they try to make their escape after a most violent shootout the survivors head for relative safety across the Mexican border, with Thornton and his posse of roughneck bounty hunters in hot pursuit.

Once across the border the gang the gang head for a small Mexican border town where Freddie Sykes (Edmund O'Brien) is waiting for them with spare horses and saddles, here they discover that their loot from the robbery is made up of worthless steel washers. They then head for the Mexican village home of Angel (Jaime Sanchez) one of the gang members. Bishop learnt from the village elder that General Mapache (Emilio Fernandez) and his troops had attacked the village.

In an effort to restore their fortunes Pike Bishop and his men head for the headquarters of General Mapache (Emilio Fernandez) to sell their horses,
No sooner have they arrived, than Angel spotted his girl friend Teresa in the arms of Mapache, he draws his gun and shoots her dead, when things have cooled down General Mapache and his German advisors hire the gang to hijack a US arms shipment for a price of $10,000 in gold. Angel insists to Pike and Dutch that he's allowed to take one case to his village for their defence, they both agree.

The gang hold up the train only to discover that Deke and his posse our also on board the train. Following the successful hijack of the arms shipment they head back over the Rio Grande via a bridge, which they dynamite just as the posse, is crossing over. The posse was also being followed by a "green" US cavalry troop who had been acting as train guard. After a successful getaway, Pike, suspecting foul play arranges for arms to be delivered to General Mapache in stages delivering the first one his-self in exchange for part payment in gold!

By the time Dutch and Angel ride in for the final exchange big trouble is brewing not least because Mapache knows of Angel's double-dealing and takes him prisoner, Dutch pretends he doesn't care and is allowed to walk away. Back with the rest of the gang Pike decides to try and buy Angel back from Mapche with half of his share of the gold. Meanwhile Deke and his posse are breathing down their necks indeed Sykes has already been seriously wounded in the thigh!

Pike, Dutch and the two Gorch brothers (Warren Oates & Ben Johnson) set out for General Mapache's stronghold, on arrival they find a fireworks celebration in progress along with drunken debauchery, Mapache's car is driving around with Angel tied and dragged along behind the car with children running happily along behind! Pike demands that Mapache lets Angel go. He refuses, Pike and the gang retreat and take solace in local prostitutes, apart from Dutch who waits outside whittling on a piece of wood. Having had their fill of whiskey and women Pike rallies the Wild Bunch and they walk out four abreast into the sunshine heading across town. On arrival he demands of Mapache that he releases the moribund Angel, the General refuses at the same time cutting Angel's throat, which precipitates the last violent shootout. At the end of it all only two survive the adventure of crossing of the River Grande into Mexico, one of the hunted (The Wild Bunch) and one of the hunters (The Posse), but which ones?

Sam Pekinpah had already made the critically acclaimed RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY aka GUNS IN THE AFTERNOON (1962) with those two Western stalwarts Randolph Scott and Joel McCrea. And although this film has a vastly expanded budget it still explores the same theme of men out of their time and place in the advancing twentieth Century! Brilliant Opening freeze-framed credits sequence to the sound of drums and cymbals as they ride past a group of Mexican children who are feeding live scorpions to a colony of red fighter ants. Several other set pieces are expertly handled most notable of which was the blowing up of the bridge over the River Grande The film was made midway through the Vietnam War and the American public by this time were used to scenes of violence on TV news reports. Many critics reported that the film merely reflected that violence. Still not to every ones taste then, or now!

This review refers to the Two-Disc Special Edition from Warner Bros. 2006 (The original directors cut) 139 minutes. Disc 1: The Film (restored) plus Sam Pekinpah documentary. Disc 2: Wild Bunch outtakes plus 3 documentaries. All represents Good Value for Money from Amazon.

One of the featured Amazon reviews, by a fellow named Wilson, alleges that after viewing this movie, "it is the quiet moments one remembers"...I DON'T THINK SO!!!

For me - and I'm sure for most people - it is the ultraviolent beginning and ending that make the film. What happens in between is less interesting.

William Holden plays Pike, the aging leader of a gang of outlaws. As the film opens, they are attempting to rob a train station that, they think, is receiving a large shipment of gold. They are being set up, however, and the station is surrounded by a motley crew of bounty hunters. A wild bloodbath ensues and the surviving gang members are chased into Mexico, where they hope to regroup.

Pike knows that his best days are behind him and looks for one last great robbery to retire on. Having become entagled in a Mexican civil war, Pike and his men agree to rob a train-load of rifles on the United States side of the border for a Mexican General. The General has promised them a very large sum of cash in return.

Ultimately, as the film climaxes, Holden's character leads the last surviving members of the Wild Bunch into battle against the Mexican General and his entire army. It is one of the greatest film endings of all time, with Sam Peckinpaugh's trademark violence exploding all over the screen. I can think of lots of adjectives to describe the ending battle scenes, but, if I had to pick just one, it would be: EXHILARATING!

My wife and I started watching this movie together but, about a third of the way through, she left the room. You've heard of "chick flicks"? This is definitely a guy flick!

The Wild Bunch is in the top four westerns of all time, the first being High Noon, the second being Shane, and then The Wild Bunch and last being Silverado. All four had a positive message in each of them even though The Wild Bunch had the most violence. I saw this movie when it first came out and being in my late teens early twenties it had a major impact on me it was just before going into the service with the war raging in Vietnam and the protests going on here in the United States, my generation never saw that kind of violence while we were growing up the actors got shot at and just fell down there was never any blood or bullet holes in the bad guy.
The message that I took from this movie and I still live by it today is best summed up by Pike and that is you do what is right no matter what, and you stick by your friends to the end.
Sadly in this day and age the younger generations that have followed don't it is all about them and what is in it for them.
The DVD looked great and there were a couple of scenes put back in that you don't see on TV.

This bloody extravaganza made Sam Peckinpah's reputation. A kind of fantasy of machismo set along the Texas-Mexico border around 1913--yes, very late for a Western--The Wild Bunch has thrilled adolescent boys and twentysomethings for almost four decades. The slowmo shots of horses falling awkwardly, of bodies squirting blood as they fall off of roof tops or cliffs, of tough hombres talking tough while they grab loose women and bottles of booze replete with numerous other bits of acrobatic mayhem amid some fantastic scenery makes this a non-cerebral feast for the eyes. The stars, William Holden (Pike Bishop), Ernest Borgnine (Dutch Engstrom), Robert Ryan (Deke Thornton), Edmund O'Brien (Freddie Sykes), etc. are first rate and on form. The plot is a variant of the old "one last job" story which begins with Pike's not-quite over-the-hill gang doing one last bank robbery.

Needless to say something goes wrong. Interspersed between the opening credits we see Pike's gang ride into town dressed as members of the US Army Calvary. On roof tops are some rascals and scallywags with rifles, missing teeth, and murderous gleams in their eyes. They are led by Deke Thornton, who it turns out is working for the railroad. What follows is a good old fashioned shoot 'em up of rather unlikely proportions as Pike's gang exists the bank with bags of loot, dodging and slinging bullets with abandon.

Turns out...well, no I won't say because I don't want to spoil the surprise. Suffice it to say, they need to do another job, this one a good old-fashioned train robbery with a few tricks and extras, like blowing up a bridge and running a locomotive at full throttle backwards. And then across the border into Mexico and some fun and games with Mexican generals, senoritas, banditos and such.

Been there, done that. But Peckinpah's colorful yarn has a few things you might not have seen before, and some of those things that you have seen, he did first and better. The Mexican color with a lot of authentic-looking extras doing authentic-looking Mexican activities was good. The fact that the Spanish spoken was not translated (and didn't need to be translated) was good. General Mapache (Emilio Fernandez) as the drunken, power-hungry warlord bandito was good. The kids feeding scorpions to the ants and then burning them was good. Edmund O'Brien as a degenerate Gabby Hayes kind of character was a hoot and a holler. But mostly this was about grim-faced men, toughened by long hours in saddle under the hot sun who, after decades of outlawing, finally ride gloriously into that last battle. Next stop: boot hill.

I watched the "original director's cut" that runs 145 minutes. At no time was my brain involved, but my eyes couldn't stop watching.

Maverick director Sam Peckinpah released this blood-soaked western ballet in 1969, at the height of the Vietnam War, igniting protests over his graphic depiction of violence. Yet some images, like the opening sequence of children watching a nest of fire ants attack a scorpion, have a cruel poetic force. Boasting a powerhouse veteran cast and virtually non-stop action, this mesmerizing film is not for the squeamish, but fans of pure western action and gunplay should cherish this pounding, hard-edged film.

The Wild Bunch (Sam Peckinpah, 1969)

I will readily admit that my confusion over the prominence of The Wild Bunch in the annals of film criticism probably stems from my having bought into the hype. When I hear people wax poetic about the movie, one thing always comes to the surface sooner or later--the previously unheard-of level of violence in the movie. Here I was expecting something... different; even the tamest giallo lords it over The Wild Bunch in terms of violence. Mario Bava was doing it years before. What makes Peckinpah's opus so special? Not the violence.

The other thing that seems to come up often is that Peckinpah's version of the west is decidedly different than that which had been offered before, but again I head back to Italy, and this time flog the dead horse of Sergio Leone, whose westerns were riddled with grey areas long before this.

Okay, so Peckinpah was the first guy to do it in America. And it got John Wayne pretty mad. (But, really, he was already mad at Clint Eastwood for the Leone movies.) But from every other standpoint--plot, characters, pacing, cinematography, direction--Peckinpah has done better. (The pinnacle came three years later with Straw Dogs.) It's not bad, but don't go into it expecting one of the greatest films of all time, or you're bound to be disappointed. ***

For the third time in 10 years, I have purchased another copy of "The Wild Bunch". And for the third time in 10 years, I have been utterly disappointed. I don't know what all of these other reviewers watched in 1969, but what I watched was a much, much wilder bunch with much more grusome footage at the old Majestic Theater in downtown Dallas. Someone, apparently do gooders, had the film cut back to the bland piece of work that you see in this DVD. Someone should sue Warner Bros. for false advertising. I am still looking for the original film and would pay good money for it, if it even still exists. In the killings in the original film the bodies struck by bullets, immediately went to slow motion as a stream of blood shot from the bullet hole in the beginning murderous scene. There is only one brief shot of this type and the rest, a least a couple of dozen were cut out and are still cut out. Save your money, if you think your getting the original.

This is one of the greatest Westerns ever made. Most people talk about its violence level. The violence here is incredible, and it's still strong and potent today. It shocked the living hell out of everyone back in 1969. It made some people vomit because it was so intense. However, while I do like the shootouts of this film, it's the depth that the characters have that really make this film stand out for me. Some of the speeches Pike gives are quite good, stressing that you stand by a man, and if you don't, you're like some animal, you're finished. Pike and the Bunch lived by these words, and in the end, they died by these words. They lived in a time where your word and your honor meant something, and you lived by a certain code that you tried to stay true to. Nowadays, this kind of message is seen as old fashioned and made fun of mercilessly. It shouldn't be. Despite the Bunch being criminals, they retain their sense of dignity at the end. Even Robert Ryan, Pike's former friend who is now chasing the Bunch, has a dignity as well, keeping his word to the bastard railroad men. But when he's finished with the posse, he stays in Mexico with the locals instead of returning to the US. You don't hate Ryan for what he's doing, and Pike doesn't hate him either. They each just want to live, and they got a job to do. The ending is one of the more poignant and brutal endings ever filmed. The Bunch got their bounty, and are whooping it up with the local whores. Angel had made a deal with them to keep one case of guns for his village, and they agreed. They told the general Mapache that they lost it on the trail. Mapache didn't believe them and accused Angel of stealing it, so the Bunch let him keep it. While the Bunch are drinking and partying, they stop and realise what they have to do. They go back and rescue Angel, not because they have to, but because they need to. They didn't want to abandon their friend. They probably knew they would be killed, and they didn't give a damn about it. I find this extraordinarily moving and quite powerful. After a decade of smug "irony", things like dignity and honor are punchlines. I don't think they are, and I never will. I really like the message of brotherhood and honor here, and I think this is a masterpiece....

I first saw this movie in the theater when it first came out. Then I saw it in the 80's again on HBO and made a VHS copy. This is one of the best westerns (even though it takes place in the early 20th Century), ever made.

Then I saw the directors cut. By spending running time 'explaining' unknown connections that are unecessary to the plot, you take a well a trimmed champion of a film and turn it into a crippled plodding dinosaur. The original theatrical release I give 5 stars to....this "original" directors cut, gets 3.

This has to be the most overrated film I've seen in a long time. The directing is atrocious! The acting is far below what these actors are capable of, and this is certainly the result of the poor directing. The story is choppy and the whole thing lifeless. Don't waste your money--it's not even worth the shipping charge even if you can get it for less than a dollar. To call this thing a classic is beyond belief!

I'm a big William Holden fan. Holden's performance in this one is better than any of his other roles. Probably because I like action type movies, over his usual "cerebral/moody" type movies. Holden(and the entire cast), surprised me with impressive acting. My favorite part is "The Walk", near the end. Pure GENIUS by Peckinpaugh. Executed by Holden, Borgnine, Johnson, and Oates, with no comparison in any movie, in history.

When I was young, I held a low opinion of Western genre films. After viewing many Western films though, I realized the genre is much like the science fiction genre in that there are popular, schlocky movies, and there are classic, well made films. First viewing of this film was such a visceral experience, I stopped watching before it was over. The story is truly of desperadoes. The film is filled with despair. One must suspend disbelief while watching the film, because some of the scenes are surreal. But it is a wonderful film to learn from. Cinematography, casting, location, editing, dialogue, and of course action, are all accessible to mainstream viewers. This is what I like about this film. An interesting comparison is with Lawrence of Arabia, David Lean's film which is stunningly beautiful even in its violence and despair, while this film has little visual beauty. Both are compelling films.

If "Shane" makes a myth of the West, "The Wild Bunch" demythologizes it... If "Shane" draws sharp moral distinctions that are, literally, black and white, "The Wild Bunch" spoils all moral distinctions, offering us only choices between different modes of immorality... If in "Shane" violence is viewed as a necessary evil only to be employed as a last resort, and killing is depicted as fast and pure, in "The Wild Bunch" violence is viewed with exaltation, and killing is prolonged, tormented, and bloody...

"Shane" delivered an old traditional story, a legend, a fabulous hero who idealized the West... "The Wild Bunch" presents it stormy, disturbing, hard to control, and blood-thirsty... In short, within the genre of the Western, "The Wild Bunch" is the precise opposite of "Shane." Each film may be considered an artifact of a view of the American frontier... "Shane," made during the quietude of 1953, romanticizes and idealizes... "The Wild Bunch," made fifteen years later in a turbulent time, tells us that the American Dream is dead...

The opening sequence of "The Wild Bunch" stakes out the virtue of the wild territory... A gang of desperadoes disguised as U. S. soldiers rides into a town, passing children torturing scorpions and adults attending a temperance meeting... The action starts inside the office when Pike, the leader of the bunch warns his men saying: 'If they move, kill'em!'

The Bunch robs the railway office, then finds itself ambushed by a gang of bounty hunters working for the railroad... A savage gunfight erupts, many innocents people are killed, and in few minutes, we discover that we are in middle of a territory full of rage and fury, in a terrain that is beyond good or evil, where the abusing use of force is beyond any reason...

Holden's group was never easy to handle... There is conflict and tension among them... They range from the more idealistic Mexican member, Jaime Sanchez, to the wild Gorch brothers, Warren Oates and Ben Johnson... But what binds them together in the last resort is their life-style and its demanding loyalty... Holden puts it this way: 'When you side with a man, you stay with him, and if you can't do that, you're some kind of animal, you're finished. We're finished. All of us.'

If there are any myths left unexploded in the film, they take place on the Mexican side of the border, where the bandits' departure from a village is staged as it might have been in "Shane." The time of the film is 1913, when the American frontier was closing fast... Mexico, on the other hand, was still a romantic era, the time of Pancho Villa and the Mexican Revolution...

Peckinpah's reputation was well known... He was an expert in violence, offering furious scenes with intense emotion and anger, even immoderately beyond the limit, making his film more important, more powerful, and memorable... Peckinpah sacrificed some two hundred people, most of them accentuated in slow motion, men falling with exaggerated blood flowing out their body...

We even witness the execution of one of Pike's man, seeing with astonishment how his throat is slashed with a knife... Mel Gibson carried it exactly and excessively, in his superb epic tale "Braveheart," when he showed us how a lovely bride is slain in the same way... His film was probably influenced by "The Wild Bunch" at least - as I think - with its technique and style...

The 'savor' of violence in 'slow motion' makes us understand the passion of Peckinpah toward violence... This pleasure for killing, this irresistible exhibition, this 'performance of death' as Peckinpah expressed it himself, could be interpreted maybe as criticism to violence...

"The Wild Bunch" is splendidly acted... William Holden as Pike, was never so magnificent since "Stalag 17" as I remember... It seems that Holden understood the message, specially in the brilliant scene when he clearly decides to rescue one of his men... This particular shot was outstanding because it involved Holden in a great embarrassment with zero dialog... Another proof was also the scene between Robert Ryan and Albert Dekker disputing about the bounty hunters, the 'trash' as Ryan called them...

The climax of the motion picture is astonishing... After Pike had shot the general, he and his pals stood 'peaceful' for a moment facing the Mexican soldiers... The wild bunch was already condemned... Nobody will survive... They were aware of it, we were aware of it... But in their mind, there was a certain determination to take with them as many Mexicans as they can... The seconds passed and in the moment that Pike puts a bullet between the eyes of a German adviser, we were in front of the bloodiest slaughter ever seen on the silver screen... Too much blood for a picture filmed in 1969... Mel Gibson exhilarating fashioned epic, repeated it in the battlefield in "Braveheart."

Now, if you consider "The Wild Bunch" a film against Classic Westerns, the action scenes are at its finest quality in the hijack of Pike's bunch to the army munitions train, and the long range shot, in slow motion, of the exploding bridge with Ryan and his bounty hunters...

"The Wild Bunch" depicts the Mexican music, life in the villages, their special cult to the death, their drunken fiesta, their women, the keen look at the Mexican face, especially the faces of the children, sometimes observers, sometimes participating in the whole twisted ethic of violence...

One last note: Desperation and death wish ride side by side in Peckinpah's motion picture... If the Bunch (Holden, Borgnine, Oates, Johnson, Sanchez and veteran outlaw Edmond O'Brien) are desperate, their bounty-hunter pursuers are no less so...

Nearly as good as Sam Peckinpah's masterpiece that is the star of this deluxe package is Paul Seydor's documentary on the making of the film, "The Wild Bunch: An Album in Montage." The other extras also make this DVD worth buying, but perhaps best of all is being able to see a pristine print of the film in widescreen format. Peckinpah was a master of poetic violence and his work laid the foundation for later directors like Woo and Tarantino. This was arguably (and not even all that arguably) his finest film, and one of the great westerns. It is not to be missed.

The Wild Bunch (1969) Sam Peckinpah's violent (by 1960's standards) ode to honor among thieves, featuring veteran Hollywood tough guys such as William Holden, Robert Ryan, Warren Oates, Edmond O'Brien, and Ernest Borgnine. The final confrontation between the Bunch and the Mexican army is one of the most eloquent and satisfying endings I've ever seen. Everything here, from Sam's casting of Emilio Fernandez, to the opening scenes with the scorpions, to the vultures circling the town at end, is simply brilliant. Robert Ryan and Edmond O'Brien nicely topped their careers here. Don't rent it, just go out and buy this work of art!