Rating: 
Summary: WONDERFULLY PECKINPAH
Review: THIS IS THE WESTERN THAT CHANGED THE WAY HEROES WERE MEASURED.
THIS ANNIVERSARY VIDEO IS MANY TIMES WORTH THE PRICE OF ADMISSION. IT STARTS WITH A THIRTY MINUTE DOCUMENTARY OF HOW THE FILM WAS MADE AND THE GENIUS THAT WAS SAM PECKINPAH. THROUGH BLACK AND WHITE STILLS AND FILM AND EXCELLENT NARRATION WE ARE TREATED TO A TOUR INSIDE THE DIRECTORS PSYCHE.
THE FILM ITSELF IS THEN INTRODUCED BY THE ONLY SURVIVING ACTOR OF THE FOUR STARS, ERNEST BORGNINE.
IN THIS THE DIRECTORS CUT WE COME TO UNDERSTAND WHY THESE MEN ARE THE WAY THEY ARE. THEY ARE ROBBERS AND KILLERS BUT NOT WITHOUT CONSIENCE AND INTEGRITY.
I CANT THINK OF BETTER PERFORMANCES BY HOLDEN, BORGNINE, OATES AND JOHNSON. PECKINPAH BRINGS OUT THE BEST IN THESE GREAT ACTORS.
WE ARE SHOWN THEIR GOODNESS AMONG THEIR FLAWS AND YOU CANT HELP BUT TRULY FEEL A LOSS AT THE END WHEN THEY ARE KILLED.
IN THE END THEY SACRAFICE IT ALL FOR LOYALTY AND FRIENDSHIP WHICH WAS THE UNDERLYING THEME IN NEARLY ALL OF PECKINPAHS FILMS.
HE IS REMEMBERED FOR THE GRAPHIC VIOLENCE BUT HIS HEART SHOULD NOT BE ECLIPSED BY IT.
THERE HAS NEVER BEEN AND PROBABLY NEVER WILL BE A WESTERN TO TOP THIS ONE. IT BREAKS OUT OF THAT GENRE, CROSSES OVER AND IS SIMPLY ONE OF THE BEST AMERICAN MOVIES EVER MADE.
WHO CAN FORGET THE EXPERTLY EDITED SLOW MOTION ACTION SEQUENCES, THE REALISTIC DIALOGUE, THE PARCHED DESERT CINEMATOGRAPHY.
IT WAS AHEAD OF ITS TIME AND LAMBASTED IN 1969 FOR ITS BLOODLUST.
BUT IT WASNT BLOODLUST JUST HONESTY WITHOUT APOLOGY.
WATCH IT, THEN WATCH IT AGAIN. MODERN FILMAKERS ONLY WISH THEY COULD PRODUCE A MOVIE LIKE THIS.
Rating: 
Summary: The Peckinpah Bunch
Review: It's a tribute to Peckinpah's skill at engineering the story that it takes some time for the essential knuckleheadedness of "The Wild Bunch" to dispel the impact it makes on a viewer. The story is based on the dim-bulb idea that a Mexican revolutionary would hire six complete strangers to rob an American munitions train, and that these has-been outlaws would outwit and outrun a full troop of U.S. cavalry in the process of pulling the job. Peckinpah also reverses history when he comprises of shabby nincompoops the railroad posse also trailing the bunch, when in fact American rail companies could and did hire the best men available for such work. In terms of historical reality, the film is completely outclassed by another western released the same year, "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid." Some of the scenes in "The Wild Bunch" are quite amazing in their technical virtuosity but Peckinpah was rarely if ever in total control of himself or his material. His one legitimate masterpiece in my opinion is "Ride the High Country."
Rating: 
Summary: Saddle up for a wild, violent, worthwhile film.
Review: A group of dusty men rides into a town past a gang of children, who laugh as they prod a colony of fire ants to kill several large scorpions. It's gruesome, and suggestive of what comes next. A heist gone bad, the town ablaze with gunfire, bodies falling everywhere... This ain't no "Rio Bravo.""The Wild Bunch" is what one would call a "revisionist western." In other words, it has more in common with post-classical films like those by Sergio Leone than the classical films of John Ford and Howard Hawks. It's grim, coarse, and violent on a level never seen in John Wayne flicks. Nevertheless, "The Wild Bunch" deserves its position as one of the best in the genre. This film is often panned for its "extreme" violence, gritty nihilism and (what some refer to as) the "misogynistic bent" of Peckinpah's vision. In 1969 "The Wild Bunch" was the bloodiest film ever made, but a lot has changed since then. The violence no longer seems shocking or over-the-top. Nevertheless, people are shot, throats are cut, and the blood squirts and splashes like red paint. The movie is nihilistic, true. Insects are tortured, gunslingers use old ladies as shields, and murder raises nary an eyebrow. But extreme nihilism is more a consistent theme of the revisionist western rather than a singular quirk of this film. See also Cormack McCarthy's "Blood Meridian" (a novel) and Jim Jarmusch's "Dead Man" (a film.) Peckinpah's vision of the Old West includes courtesans, but I don't think it's because he's a misogynist. Rather, I believe he's aiming for a sense of realism. Back then men drank, cursed and killed, and prostitutes were ubiquitous and disposable. In "The Wild Bunch" five violent outlaws make their way to Mexico during the height of the Mexican Revolution (1913.) Along the way the men's rather dark personalities come to light. For example when a survivor of the bank shootout tells Pike (the leader) he's too hurt to ride any further, Pike shoots him dead, mid-speech. Dutch, the second-in-command, makes fun of Freddie, Lyle and Angel because they want to "waste time" burying their companion. Once the Bunch reaches Mexico, desperate for money, they hire themselves out as thieves to a crooked general named Mapache... ... Which leads to the final shootout. This scene is often considered the highlight of the movie. It holds a legendary status among western fans as one of the bloodiest and most realistic gun battles ever filmed. The body count is tremendous. I think the overriding message of the film can be found in this infamous scene. When it's over, one is left with a sense of loss and emptiness, a tragic feeling that's reminiscent of the beginning of the film when the ants devour the scorpions. And so civilization (the ants) vanquished the Wild West and its deadly, larger-than-life outlaws (the scorpions.) Western fans with a stomach for violence, "The Wild Bunch" is well worth your time.
Rating: 
Summary: Pessimistic Downer Moves At a Snail's Pace
Review: There must be some weird political angle to this film that I'm not getting, because as a straight-up western, it is a dud. Actually, it's a morality play of sorts, and Peckinpah's moral is: "people are bad." We are force-fed this notion over and over again through the course of the film, beginning with the laughing kids torturing bugs, up through gunmen hiding behind old women, stealing from the dead, all the while shooting and killing each other in some of the most gratuitous footage ever to appear in a western (over-emphasized with lots of campy slow-mo, and irritatingly quick cut-away-and-back editing). All this would be excusable, maybe even interesting, if the story had any life to it or if the characters were in any way likable. But between the initial gun-fight and the train robbery (which occurs an hour and fifteen minutes into the film), virtually nothing happens. I suppose this portion of the film was supposed to be "character development," but I just wanted the 'wild bunch' to get shot and get it over with. There's also an attempt on the part of the filmmakers to make the dialogue as "cowboy" and "salty" as possible, with ridiculous lines like "You can kiss my sister's black cat's a**," or "this is even better than a hog killin'!" I thought it felt incredibly unconvincing and contrived. Bearing all that in mind, I find it bizarre and confusing that so many people consider "The Wild Bunch" a classic. When it comes to westerns, "The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly," "Once Upon A Time In The West," and "The Magnificent Seven" absolutely TOWER over this film, in terms of atmosphere, characters, and entertainment value. And if you want a GOOD western with a critical message about the selfishness and violence of the old west, "Little Big Man" is far, far superior.
Rating: 
Summary: Peckinpah's best comedy !
Review: More overhyped drivel from Sam Peckinpah. I realize since his canonization it's unpopular to speak out against his ode to the dying west "masterpiece" but this film is mediocre at best. OK, so there were some innovations like airborne blood and dizzying scene to scene edits (3600 in all-bring some Dramamine)but that doesn't equal classic in my book. It leaves the viewer dizzy in the wake of a director's blatant self-indulgence and disregard for his audience and honestly it's just plain tiresome to watch. And the clear highlight of the film is the bridge scene but we even get shafted on that one too. Hey Sam, 17 frenetic camera angles for every conversation with your 5 losers, and one for this scene. Where are the multiple camera angles for this shot you bozo??? However, in the midst of this mess we are introduced to the genre's first two gay killers by LQ Jones and Strother Martin. Now these two are funny, but not as funny as Gen. Mapache with his finger superglued to the trigger of a Gatling gun. Most of what Peckinpah did was to borrow from the popular Sergio Leone formula for violence, magnify it, and squirt some blood in the air in super-slow motion, while omitting the imagination that made Leone's films so unique. Even the famous "walk" into Mapache's compound for the final showdown is hilarious...with shotguns casually cradled in their arms and a dumb grin on their face these guys look like they're going duck hunting, not marching to their almost inevitable demise. Final analysis: Overated with a capital "O". Aside from the blood and guts this film's departure from the tried and true western formula leaves you flat- there aren't any good guys in this movie. There was no one to root for or against-you just don't care one way or the other. This movie is totally pointless and the director knows this. It's a joke on the public and the critics, all who unbelievably refuse to say anything negative about this film. The final shoot out is hysterical, actually it's just plain camp and offers William Holden's best line of the movie..."Bitch." Take a cue from Edmund O'Brien and Robert Ryan in the final scene....they're laughing along with the rest of the cast via flashbacks and so am I at anyone who thinks this is some sort of masterpiece. Is it creative film making-yes, does it pass for entertainment-NO, is it any good-Uh, NO. Not unless your exposure to westerns is limited. 2 empty bottles. Pitiful.
Rating:
Summary: It might just get a lot better than this!
Review: The directing and photographing part of this movie is very well done.Having said that,the story behind the technique does not appeal to me.
Many people truly love this film,as they say it`s realistic and true to life,but personally,I think the picture it paints is way too grim. The best westerns have always provided the viewers with a sense of hope and strenght. In the case of such westerns,the directors and the actors have told us something about what it means to be a human being and what power we have to change our own lives and the lives of those we hold dear-in the very best way. Here,we learn a lot about what it might mean to be a human being-in the negative sense,of course:here it`s taken so far that the human being is almost totally inhuman-but we learn nothing about hope,strength and the power of the will,things that made both the West and the western movie.
Other Peckinpah-films are brutal as well,but then,the characters-like for instance Pat Garrett-hold their heads up high and ride on.
Maybe "The Wild Bunch" displays our reality,but we don`t have to settle with that. No way.
Rating:
Summary: One of the greatest western films ever made....
Review: This is the best work of Sam Peckinpah who is known as a godfather of the violence film. This film shows that the violence can express to be beautiful. This film is different from other western films. There is no good and evil, it can be called revisionism western film. The most catching the eye scene, which is the beginning of the film, is gunfight between Pike¡¯s group who fall into a pit during robbing a bank, and Deke¡¯s group who chase Pike¡¯s group. This scene is made as a slow scene, which is quite more realistic. Besides, it is a gunfight that happens while Christians march in procession. So, many innocent people die in the gunfight, it is pretty impressive and graphically. One more tremendous scene is the final of Pike¡¯s group that fight with Mexican counterrevolutionary army at the end of the film. It is also outstanding and excellent. It has a little exaggeration but the express of the gunfight scene which is very stylish and splendid, seems that get to the state of art. That¡¯s why the directors who are rising to fame such as John Woo, Quentin Tarantino, respect to Sam Peckinpah. There are many beautiful shots, which can make Sam as a great artist
Rating:
Summary: A dusty stroll to Valhalla
Review: I often feel that if Shane, WyattEarp(the John Ford version) the lawmen of Rio Bravo or High Noon had seen Pike Bishop and Co. walking down their streets, it would've of been a fine time to go fishing. These outlaws are tougher to kill than Dracula and would have pistolwhipped the Count for his drinking habits. This is the closest an American film has caught the mood of a Viking saga; bloody heroes, magnificently bad yet courageous foes,and a sense of doom Gotterdamrung style. Pike Bishop is not a Fordian character like Wayne in the Searchers or in Red River; he is far more harder than those two iron wimps.He holds a pack of wolves together only Dutch truly backs him and his good friend Deke which his arrogance caused to be captured and "corrupted" by the railroad/modernity,is forced to hunt him down with a pack of scurvy hounds that in "the great days" they would have turned on and slaughtered. But because of Pike's continuing guilt at his partner's capture he tries to avoid "to kick hell out of 'em,' like Warren Oates younger Gortch suggests. But. Antiauthoritarianism makes the Bunch take that stroll against Mapaches minions. And like a western version of the Nibelung Saga, they go akillin'. Into legend. Even Matt Dillon would of got out of Dodge seeing that primal force coming.
Rating:
Summary: "Let's go"
Review: "Let's go" thats all William Holden says just before the big shoot out. This would have been the perfect place for a speech about friendship and the power of a man's word. But Peckinpah saw just what I now see, that those two simple words were all that was needed to be said. The film is great, and had being only 23 when I first saw this movie I could see how the violence was more than anybody had seen at that some what more innocent time of 1969. The next thing I love about this movie has got to be the lines. "You'll learn to live with it, or we'll leave you here." Or "You give your word to a man and you stick by it, and if you can't do that. Your no better than an animal," and of course "Let's go." Since seeing this movie I have devoted much of my time with friends trying to get them to watch this movie, but when you have ... friends like I do, who think "Dude Where's My Car?" is a cultural phenomena it can be a tad frustrating. Also another thing that I think is important is the fact that this movie made me fall in love with the Western, a genra of film that I didn't greatly enjoy until I saw this movie. Since I watched the Wild Bunch I have seen nearly every great western from the Outlaw Josie Wales to the Magnificent 7 (also a movie with great lines). Also that image of the 4 of them walking down the dirt streets with their Winchester 97's brings a bit of a nastalgic feeling to me.
Rating:
Summary: Honor Among Thieves
Review: One of the best films ever made in my book. A story of a gang of over the hill gunmen whose past glory is an old west being overtaken by modernity. This is more than just a western, it rises above the genre into reflections on what it means to be a man and living up to a personal code even if it's one of violence and crime. Strangley enough you find a sense of respect for these losers and thieves with their special though violent codes of honor. Even the bloody ending isn't gratuitous the way that modern action films are. The casting is excellent. There are no "heroes" here in the normal sense of the word. The real heart of the movie comes from the decision the group makes near the end that condemns them, a decision taken without any words or discussion, only knowing glances. Their code and sense of honor, intact in spite of their lifestyle, tell's them that's the path they must choose. The directors cut is even better than the studio release. It is the version of the film that Peckinpah wanted shown before the studio cut it down to ninety or so minutes. A great film, deserving of its status in the top 100 films of all time.
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