An aging group of outlaws look for one last big score as the "traditional" American West is disappearing around them.An aging group of outlaws look for one last big score as the "traditional" American West is disappearing around them.An aging group of outlaws look for one last big score as the "traditional" American West is disappearing around them.
- Nominated for 2 Oscars
- 6 wins & 8 nominations total
Jaime Sánchez
- Angel
- (as Jaime Sanchez)
Emilio Fernández
- Mapache
- (as Emilio Fernandez)
Elsa Cárdenas
- Elsa
- (as Elsa Cardenas)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaRobert Ryan's incessant complaints about not receiving top billing so annoyed director Sam Peckinpah that he decided to "punish" Ryan. In the opening credits, after freezing the screen on closeups of William Holden's and Ernest Borgnine's faces while listing them, Peckinpah froze the scene on several horses' rear ends as Ryan was listed.
- GoofsEarly in the film, Harrigan threatens Deke Thorton by promising to send him back to Yuma if he doesn't catch Pike. In reality, the Yuma Territorial Prison had already shut down in 1909, roughly four years before the events of the movie, and had been converted to a high school.
- Alternate versionsThere have been at least four different "official" versions of The Wild Bunch since its initial release in 1969. Thanks to Paul Seydor, author of "Peckinpah: The Western Films: A Reconsideration" (1980, rev. ed. 1997: University of Illinois Press) for the following data:
- ConnectionsFeatured in Precious Images (1986)
- SoundtracksPolly Wolly Doodle
(uncredited)
Traditional
Sung by the bounty hunters as they leave Agua Verde
Featured review
Brutal and elegiac masterpiece.
Outlaws led by Pike Bishop on the Mexican/U.S. frontier face not only the passing of time, but bounty hunters (led by former partner of Pike, Deke Thornton) and the Mexican army as well.
In 1969 Sam Peckinpah picked up the torch that Arthur Penn lit with 1967's "Bonnie & Clyde", and literally poured gasoline on it to impact on cinema to the point that the shock wave is still being felt today. The death of the "Motion Picture Production Code" in 1967 ushered in a new era for cinema goers, it was a time for brave and intelligent directors to step up to the plate to deliver stark and emotive thunder, and with "The Wild Bunch", director Sam Peckinpah achieved this by the shed load.
The Wild Bunch doesn't set out to be liked, it is a harsh eye opening perception of the Western genre, this is the other side of the coin to the millions of Westerns that whoop and holler as the hero gets the girl and rides off into the sunset. Peckinpah's piece is thematically harsh and sad for the protagonists, for these are men out of their time, this is a despicable group of men, driven by greed and cynicism, they think of nothing to selling arms to a vile amoral army across the border.
The film opens with a glorious credit sequence as we witness "The Bunch" riding into town, the picture freeze frames in black & white for each credit offering, from here on in we know that we are to witness something different, and yes, something very special. The film is book-ended by ferocious bloody carnage, and sandwiched in the middle is an equally brilliant train robbery and a slow-mo bridge destruction of high quality. Yet the impact of these sequences are only enhanced because the quality of the writing is so good (Walon Green and Roy N. Sickner alongside Peckinpah).
There's no pointless discussions or scene filling explanations of the obvious. Each passage, in each segment, is thought through to gain credibility for the shattering and bloody climax. There is of course one massive and intriguing question that hangs over the film - just how did Peckinpah make such low moral men appear as heroes, as the "four outlaws of the apocalypse" stroll into town, their fate to them already known?. Well I'm not here to tell you that because you need to witness the film in its entirety for yourself. But it's merely one cheeky point of note in a truly majestic piece of work. A film that even today stands up as one of the greatest American films ever made. 10/10
In 1969 Sam Peckinpah picked up the torch that Arthur Penn lit with 1967's "Bonnie & Clyde", and literally poured gasoline on it to impact on cinema to the point that the shock wave is still being felt today. The death of the "Motion Picture Production Code" in 1967 ushered in a new era for cinema goers, it was a time for brave and intelligent directors to step up to the plate to deliver stark and emotive thunder, and with "The Wild Bunch", director Sam Peckinpah achieved this by the shed load.
The Wild Bunch doesn't set out to be liked, it is a harsh eye opening perception of the Western genre, this is the other side of the coin to the millions of Westerns that whoop and holler as the hero gets the girl and rides off into the sunset. Peckinpah's piece is thematically harsh and sad for the protagonists, for these are men out of their time, this is a despicable group of men, driven by greed and cynicism, they think of nothing to selling arms to a vile amoral army across the border.
The film opens with a glorious credit sequence as we witness "The Bunch" riding into town, the picture freeze frames in black & white for each credit offering, from here on in we know that we are to witness something different, and yes, something very special. The film is book-ended by ferocious bloody carnage, and sandwiched in the middle is an equally brilliant train robbery and a slow-mo bridge destruction of high quality. Yet the impact of these sequences are only enhanced because the quality of the writing is so good (Walon Green and Roy N. Sickner alongside Peckinpah).
There's no pointless discussions or scene filling explanations of the obvious. Each passage, in each segment, is thought through to gain credibility for the shattering and bloody climax. There is of course one massive and intriguing question that hangs over the film - just how did Peckinpah make such low moral men appear as heroes, as the "four outlaws of the apocalypse" stroll into town, their fate to them already known?. Well I'm not here to tell you that because you need to witness the film in its entirety for yourself. But it's merely one cheeky point of note in a truly majestic piece of work. A film that even today stands up as one of the greatest American films ever made. 10/10
Helpful•849
- hitchcockthelegend
- Mar 3, 2008
- Permalink
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Divja banda
- Filming locations
- La Loma, Durango, Mexico(train robbery: about 25.461°N, 103.657°W, Pancho Villa attack on train station: 25.452°N, 103.659°W)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $6,244,087 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $638,641
- Gross worldwide
- $640,561
- Runtime2 hours 15 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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