Rating: 
Summary: One of the true greats
Review: Films like this put the movie industry of today to shame. This is a classic tale of ageing men who can not compete with the changing society, so they go out in a blaze of bullets and glory. This is one of those movies where you are actually rooting for the bad guys to win because they show a different side then being the cold-blooded killers they are. This film is not to be missed and never to be forgetten.
Rating:
Summary: One of the great ones, despite its flaws
Review: The big gunfight is still intense (how electrifying it must have been in '69!) and it holds up as one of the great set-pieces in American cinema - on par with the title number in "Singing in the Rain", let's say. But it certainly isn't realistic. (If you get shot in the back at close range by a prostitute, you don't whirl around, mutter an insult, and blow her away. You fall down on the floor and scream. But then Peckinpah had his issues with the ladies.) And, as such, it distracts one from the film's real achievement - "a study of bad men in changing times", as the director eloquently put it.There are other minor but irritating flaws - the barely adequate performance of Ernest Borgnine (I suppose Keanu Reeves is as bad an actor in his own way, but at least he's quieter), the many episodes of mocking laughter that go on for so long you think of Dr. Evil. But this is still one of the best Westerns ever made and an enduring American classic.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best Westerns ever
Review: Truly one of the most stunning Westerns ever made. A milestone in cinema as it is now. The story is interesting and tragic, bad men in changing times, said Sam Peckinpahs of his film. The acting is first rate. Holden and Borgnine are excellent as always. Robert Ryan, as the "villian" of the piece is soulful and pressed into service with those he despises. The rest of the cast is outstanding as well, making up one of the best ensembles in filmmaking anywhere. Angel ranks right up there with Ethan Edwards,Shane and William Munny as one of the most compelling characters to come from the Western genre. The action is brilliantly done. The two blazing gunfights, one at the beginning the other at the end, are stunning and mind blowing. These people come alive and we feel for them as they suffer. Peckinpahs makes sure to show the good and the bad. The outlaws have more fun and laughter than most I've seen, but they are bathed in tragedy. The most powerful moment in the film is the confrontation lkeading up to the final battle. The villian's actions, condemning him to death. Those few seconds of dead silence before the shooting starts in earnest are stunning and moving. Recommended if you can take a little violence.
Rating:
Summary: Testosterone theater.
Review: Depending on one's outlook, this is either one of the all-time great Westerns, or one of the most egregiously violent movies ever made. The two long shootouts, one right at the beginning of the film, are perversely thrilling. A guilty pleasure underlined. Pike Bishop (William Holden) and his gang of thieves and killers shoot up a southwestern town during a failed bank robbery. After a series of adventures, subplots, and fits of introspection, the remnants of Pike's Wild Bunch square-off against a Mexican general and his private army in the ultimate movie shootout. The carnage of this lengthy segment is a hallmark of this movie. The violence of this film has been controversial since its release in 1969. It is common to see gunshot victims falling in slow motion while blood splatters from the body. The opening segment portrays women, children, and senior citizens marching in a temperance parade that are caught in the crossfire. One person's violence is another person's blood and thunder. Between gunfights, Pike and the boys ruminate on the good old days, when siding with a man stood for something. Lamenting the passing of the Old West and its values is one of the themes. There is dark humor in thieves and killers pontificating on values, of any kind. The action of the film is fierce and swift. The movie's rambling length at over two-and-a-half hours can be troubling. The restored version includes additional scenes that flesh out the subplots. Fans of rugged action-adventure films should be pleased. Collectors of classic Westerns need this addition to their movie library. Others beware. ;-)
Rating:
Summary: A Saga of Loyalty
Review: I saw this movie when it first came out and thought it was about violence. However, on seeing it again and again I realize it is about human relationships and in particular about loyalty. I wish the haunting guitar music in the background was available on a CD.
Rating: 
Summary: Depressing violence
Review: Enticed by the rave reviews I took a look at The Wild Bunch. I was sorry I did. It is a long, tedious chase interupted by excessive violence and plenty of insults among those supposed to be companions. It has no "redeeming social value."
Rating:
Summary: A "pack" film - a masterpiece, in tough guy terms
Review: Without regurgitating the content of earlier reviews, this film is one of the best westerns ever made. It is, however, violent and dark. The screenplay is like a Bonnie and Clyde version of a Louis L'Amour novel, with a dead little bird shot I still can't figure out. Not to mention slashed throats and splattered women and realistically portrayed decadence. That said, this story is a classic western about male friendship and commitment that shines in an era where people can easier relate to movies more in line with Oliver Stone's "Wall Street." In this film, you don't know the good guys from the bad guys - really a question of which set of bad guys is more likable. Holden turns in a three-dimensional performance as does Borgnine. The DVD quality is superb. The sound is rich, and the restoration to the print is one of the best I have seen yet. Also included is a 30 minute documentary on the making of the film.
Rating:
Summary: Still an Influential Violent American Masterpiece !
Review: One of the greatest and most influential films ever made. The Wild Bunch takes John Huston's Treasure of the Sierra Madre, Sergio Leone's Dollars trilogy, (Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, and The Good the Bad and The Ugly), and Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai marries them to the best of the Ford./Hawks Westerns and adds some of the most graphically violent yet visually poetic scenes ever seen in 1969. It's use of sound and imagery, is still beyond impressive: The heartbeat which blends into the snare drum and cymbals marching beat which punctuates the incredible opening sequence; The sounds of the various rifles, pistols and gattling guns; The sound inside the steam baths, riding the deserts of Texas, crossing the Rio Grande and into Mexico is as full of distinction as the characters we meet. And what characters we meet. The good guys employ dangerous felons and bottom feeders and are willing to kill innocent civilians to defeat the bad guys who have honorable traits and a solid sense of ethics. These are bad men however who have chosen to be criminals and no longer know any other existence than the life of criminals. It's just past the end of an era. The old ways are rapidly changing in 1913. The West was changing rapidly and there was no longer any room for bands of outlaws. The Times were a changin', just as they were when Peckinpah filmed his masterpiece in '68. The film opens with children laughing, poking at a pair of Scorpions who are being stung slowly to death by hordes of red ants. Later on as what's left of the Wild Bunch rides out of town, the kids will be laughing and lighting the Scorpions and ants on fire with straw. A child will also fire a lethal shot in an unforgettable scene later on in the film. There are so many layers to this film, several viewings are necessary to appreciate and catch all of them. Cruelty and Sadism does not belong merely to the old and hardened, but to the young and naive as well. Mis-directed, or managed poorly, our blind allegiance to doing what is right will get us killed. Whether it is trying to rid the world of criminals, or trying to rid the world or its vices, -if you move at the wrong time, you can still be killed. The film is authentic in its period details, and it's dusty, grimy sun baked locations are so vividly captured the audience feels all the textures captured by Lucian Ballard's exquisite cinematography, Peckinpah's flawless direction and Peckinpah's and Waylon Green's at times surprisingly literate screenplay. Listen closely and you'll hear memorable lines of (almost) minimalist poetry. The film is also blessed with a wonderful Jerry Fielding score that mixes period influences in with the requisite orchestral themes. William Holden, and Ernest Borgnine were well-known to audiences in 1969-but no one was prepared to see Holden, Borgnine, former big star Edmund O'Brien, or Robert Ryan in anything like this. This was a full realization of the NEW breed of Hollywood film-makers. Rule breakers who defied the censors and broke out of the restrictions of how films were made under the aegis of Hollywood's moguls and the Hayes Code. In fact when the restored director's cut was re-released, the ratings board wanted to slap an NC17 rating on it. It delayed the re-release for nearly a year. The Wild Bunch is first and foremost a Hollywood Western. It's reputation as a work of art, notwithstanding does not change the fact we are watching a masterfully mounted, well produced Hollywood film. It has dated a bit, and the acting styles are from the older less Actor Studio influenced era of film-acting. It blends a new (in '69) film-making sensibility with some of the old rules of Hollywood epics. It does this seamlessly. The film is gritty, ugly and at times very brutal and gory however. And its violence is more powerful than what we see in newer films. More powerful because it retains a lot of the feel of a Hawks or Ford Western and such brutality wasn't shown in the classics the way it is here. How the violence is stages however is akin to a ballet. Yes, John Woo's action scenes are derivations of what Peckinpah did in this film over 30 years ago. The last part of the film moves toward the most famous bloodbath in film history. It's a long powerful scene of carnage. And it doesn't end with a victory the audience can somehow justify. It has more to say than that. A lot of you will notice a lot of similarities to Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. It was filmed at almost the same time and released the same year as The Wild Bunch. Never have two films been more different. Butch Cassidy is an almost sacharine sweet, bit of audience pleasing revisionistic Western cotton candy (especially today). It established forever the cliche of the buddy-buddy pictures that are the core of so many action movies. However, it was creating a instant phony mythology. It's an entertaining, even romantic, comedy western adventure. The way in which Butch has influenced other films has been in mostly negative ways. Butch's better brethren have included films such as Midnight Run and Rush Hour while Bunch can be linked to The Killer, Unforgiven and Goodfellas. The Wild Bunch however is a film with much more on it's mind that merely entertaining its audience with charming pretty boy actors and B.J. Thomas pop songs. It doesn't end in a freeze-frame that allows the audience to continue to feel somewhat upbeat after a tragic ending, it ends with the most violent and bloodiest scenes movie audiences of its day had ever experienced. TheWild Bunch is a work of art which has become even more than what it's makers intended and has stood the test of time better than most films -- even after it's techniques and once ground-breaking violent action scenes have been used, stolen and updated by dozens of film-makers. It remains a one of a kind influential masterpiece. Revisit it soon. Chris Jarmick, Co-Author (The Glass Cocoon with Serena F. Holder A Steamy Cyber Thriller -Available January 2001. Please order today!)
Rating:
Summary: Peckinpah's ode to the closing of the American West.....
Review: It would be impossible for film fans to have a conversation about controversial movies throughout the years, and for the epic western, "The Wild Bunch" not to get a solid mention. Since I first saw this film over twenty years ago, I have owned numerous versions on VHS and laser disc, and it is particularly satisfying to finally have the restored directors version, with the accompanying documentary "The Wild Bunch : An album in montage" available on DVD in true widescreen format. Sam Peckinpah's blood and thunder tale of outlaws on the Texas/Mexican border with their own set of unique morals has been such a dynamic influence on many directors and future films since it's release way back in 1969. But what sets "The Wild Bunch" apart from it's many imitators is it's deep, almost mythical storytelling, the complex moral nature of the characters peopling the tale and the gritty passion & energy that Peckinpah infused into the entire production. William Holden and Ernest Borgnine are simply tremendous as Pike & Dutch, the leaders of the Bunch...each man with his own individuality. Ben Johnson & Warren Oates portray the crazy Gorch Brothers, Jaime Sanchez is the arrogant and fiercely partiotic Mexican, Angel...and Edmond O'Brien is the grizzly, old timer Sykes. Additionally, Peckinpah's film features Emilio Fernandez as the bloated, evil dictator Mapache...Albert Dekker as the manipulative and remorseless railroad man, Harrigan....and Robert Ryan putting in another one of his strong performances as the ex-gang member turned reluctant bounty hunter, Deke Thornton. And a Peckinpah movie almost wouldn't be complete without the appearance of LQ Jones and Strother Martin as a pair of filthy, grave robbing bounty hunters out for the reward on the heads of the Wild Bunch. The Wild Bunch pulls no punches in it's tale of desperado's who they themselves are desperately running out of time...as Holden reflects in the film "We've got to start thinking beyond our guns...those days are closing fast". Whilst "The Wild Bunch" is most notorious for it's two bloody shootouts that book end the film's 144 minute running time...there is so much excitement, passion, adventure and personal conflict within the movie that can be found upon each repeated viewing of this stunning work. A film that can be treasured and enjoyed by any true film fan....The Wild Bunch will be continually looked upon as one of the most important contributions to American cinema.
Rating:
Summary: The most controversial and best western ever made
Review: When one movie critic said that when you go se The Wild Bunch, upon its first release in 1969, the reviewer was not kidding. The violence and subject matter in the film was controversial when it first came out in July of 1969. Not only that, the film truly reflected the turbulent '60's in a most provocative and explosive manner with its depiction of explosive, brutal, lethal violence and subject matter. Nevertheless, Sam Peckinpah did an extraordinary job of bringing a wonderful masterpiece of the western genre to the big screen. A western that actually depicted such violent times and stayed true to it. The Wild Bunch tells the story of aging outlaws in a dying west, making one last heist before retiring. At the same time, they get caught up in the Mexican Revolution, and perform one last heist for a renegade Mexican general and his band. From that point on, the outlaws make their last stand in a bloody, ultra-violent gunfight and go out in a blaze of glory and a hellfire of bullets. Aside from the realistic portrayal violence, what sets this film apart from other westerns is the outlaws being bound by a code of honor, and the regrets they have had in life. Knowing they are going to die in end, really brings out some of the best acting in years. With a powerful cast that consists of William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Kentucky native Warren Oates, Ben Johnson, Edmund O'Brien, Robert Ryan, Jaime Sanchez, L.Q. Jones, Strother Martin, and countless others, The Wild Bunch still packs an explosive punch after thirty years. The violence may seem tame by today's standards, but the powerful storyline, and solid acting still strikes a chord within all of us. If you enjoy a good western or are a violence-junkie, check this film out. It's worth it. Most of all, it's a classic.
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