Movie Review - The Wild Bunch

The Wild Bunch - (1969) - The days of the "Old West" are coming to an end as World War I approaches.  A gang of aging outlaws goes for one final score as they are pursued by bounty hunters sent by the railroad company.

This is another movie around which legend gathers.  John Wayne claimed that this movie killed the "myth of the Old West" (which might not have been a bad thing).  Most people will remember the violence and the blood (it's Sam Peckinpah, so there's blood by the gallon) or that it nearly earned an X rating for violence twice.  It certainly changed the way stories were told in the movies.  With more edits coming more quickly, intermixing slow motion sequences "The Wild Bunch" was something new in its time.  Peckinpah allowed the actors to find their own way through the story which resulted in some absolutely classic and brilliant film moments (like the one in the picture.  It was unscripted and pretty much made up on the spot by director and cast)

Beyond the film making what really makes this movie is the cast.  Given a script that allows them more depth of character than you might expect up front they bring some amazing subtlety to the story.  William Holden and Robert Ryan lead the way as former partners now on opposite sides of the conflict.  Supported by a fabulous group of character actors (Ernest Borgnine, Edmund O'Brien, Warren Oates, Strother Martin and Dub Taylor among others) they create something that is truly epic and iconic.  It's easy to think that the movie begins and ends with the blood and violence.  That seriously undersells "The Wild Bunch".  This is the story of men facing age and the change of everything they have known and held dear.  I found myself thinking of George Roy Hill's "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" a lot while I watched this.  There are some amazing parallels between the two, both of which were released just months apart in 1969.

I went into this viewing thinking that I had a pretty good idea what I was about to see.  "The Wild Bunch" managed to surprise me several times by being much more than I expected.

Rating - **** Recommended