The Wild Bunch (1969)

An aging group of outlaws look for one last big score as the "traditional" American West is disappearing around them.

Director:

Sam Peckinpah

Writers:

Walon Green (screenplay), Sam Peckinpah (screenplay)

Stars:

William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Robert Ryan

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 6 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
William Holden	...	Pike Bishop
Ernest Borgnine	...	Dutch Engstrom
Robert Ryan	...	Deke Thornton
Edmond O'Brien	...	Freddie Sykes
Warren Oates	...	Lyle Gorch
Jaime Sánchez	...	Angel (as Jaime Sanchez)
Ben Johnson	...	Tector Gorch
Emilio Fernández	...	Mapache (as Emilio Fernandez)
Strother Martin	...	Coffer
L.Q. Jones	...	T.C
Albert Dekker	...	Harrigan
Bo Hopkins	...	Crazy Lee
Dub Taylor	...	Wainscoat
Paul Harper	...	Ross
Jorge Russek	...	Zamorra

Storyline

It's 1913, and the "traditional" American West is dying. Among the inhabitants of this dying era are an outlaw gang called "The Wild Bunch." After a failed railroad office robbery, the gang heads to Mexico to do one last job. Seeing their times and lives drifting away in the newly formed world of the 20th century, the gang takes the job and ends up in a brutally violent last stand against their enemies deemed to be corrupt, in a small Mexican town ruled by a ruthless general.

---

Plot Keywords:

arizona | yuma territorial prison | shoulder holster | arizona territory | texas | 

---

Taglines:

They came too late and stayed too long.

---

Genres:

Action | Adventure | Western

---

Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish German

Release Date:

7 August 1969 (Hong Kong)

Also Known As:

Divlja horda

Filming Locations:

Bavispe, Sonora, Mexico

Box Office

Budget:

$6,244,087 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$638,641, 31 December 1995

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Brothers/Seven Arts

Technical Specs

Runtime:

145 min (director's cut)

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) DTS (1995 re-release) Dolby Digital (1995 re-release) Mono (35 mm prints) SDDS (1995 re-release)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The last scene to be completed was the exploding bridge over Rio Nazas (substituting for Rio Bravo). Five stuntmen--each was paid $2000--and six cameras were used. The scene was shot in one take. One camera fell into the river and was lost.

---

Goofs

At least twice in the movie, characters refer to Gen. Huerta as the president of Mexico. This would place the time period between early spring of 1913 and the summer of 1914. However, when Sikes is telling his colleagues about a "flying machine", Pike informs them that he heard the machines would be used in "the war", which would place the time period late 1914, after Huerta had been overthrown. Also, at least twice during the film a character refers to Pancho Villa indicating he was a major figure in the rebellion against Huerta. During the revolt Gen. Venustiano Carranza was the leading rebel; Villa was a minor figure, although he did ally his forces with those of Carranza (he also later led a rebellion against Carranza after Huerta was overthrown). Mentioning Villa's name may have been an attempt to place a well-known name before the audience to give them an historical context.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
[indistinct voices]
Rev. Wainscoat: Do not drink wine or strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, least ye shall die. Look not though upon the wine when it is red, and when it bringeth his color in the cup, when it moveth itself aright at the last, it biteth like a serpent and stingeth like an adder. Now folks, that's from the Good Book, but in this here town it's five cents a glass. Five cents a glass, now does anyone think that that is a price of a drink?

---

Alternate Versions

There 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:

---

Connections

Referenced in Chicago P.D.: Debts of the Past (2015)

---

Soundtracks

Shall We Gather at the River?
(uncredited)
Written by Robert Lowry
Played by the Temperance Union Band in the shootout at Starbuck

User Reviews

Peckinpah's ode to the closing of the American west.

Probably one of the most controversial films ever made, the Wild Bunch was equally hated and admired upon it's release over 30 years ago. Even today, as proof of it's staying power, it is still widely debated if Sam Peckinpah made a masterpiece or a monstrosity. Personally, I'm of the firm belief that Peckinpah contributed one of the finest American films of the last century.

The chemistry that Peckinpah was able to put on celluloid for this film is brilliant. William Holden and Ernest Borgnine as the leaders of the Bunch, play their roles with conviction and tenacity. Robert Ryan, once an outlaw with Holden, and now forced to hunt him down, portrays the tortured individual caught between an old friendship and the threat of incarceration in a vicious prison. Ben Johnson and Warren Oates are solidly believable as real life brothers as they depict their roles as Tector and Lyle Gorch, and finally Jaime Sanchez rounds out the gang as the fiercely patriotic Mexican, Angel.

Also a Peckinpah movie wouldn't be complete without L.Q. Jones and Strother Martin portraying the cowardly, scheming, body robbing bounty hunters eager for the money on the heads of the Wild Bunch.

This is a film that you can re-visit time and time again and relish the depth of the characters and feel their desperation as the west that they once knew has now become a distant memory.

Apart from the great casting, the tight scripting , exciting stuntwork, wonderful cinematography, gripping dialogue, and first class editing of the gunfights, this movie will be continually looked upon as one of the most important films of American cinema.

See it, enjoy it and experience great movie making!!