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MOVIES / ON DVD / THE WILD BUNCH
The Wild Bunch

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The Wild Bunch (1969)

97%
75%
91%
N/A
N/A
N/A
97 %
Reviews Counted: 35 Fresh: 34  Rotten:1 Average Rating: 8.8/10

How does the Tomatometer work?

The Tomatometer measures the percentage of positive reviews from Approved Tomatometer Critics for a certain movie.[-]

Runtime: 2 hrs 59 mins

Synopsis: As a counterpoint to the heroic horde of THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN, the aging gunmen of Sam Peckinpah's masterpiece break the very laws of honor which bind them in this bloody and meditative tale of the American West--widely considered to be the self-conscious nail in the coffin of the genre.... As a counterpoint to the heroic horde of THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN, the aging gunmen of Sam Peckinpah's masterpiece break the very laws of honor which bind them in this bloody and meditative tale of the American West--widely considered to be the self-conscious nail in the coffin of the genre. William Holden, Robert Ryan, and Ernest Borgnine star as the leaders of a grizzled crew of Texan bandits who ride to Mexico, where, one by one, they are unceremoniously slaughtered by a Mexican revolutionary. The western, a genre steeped in legend and the concept of loyalty, was a dying breed when Sam Peckinpah unleashed this amoral and violent opus. Along with BONNIE AND CLYDE, it ushered in a new breed of Hollywood film, depicting a harsh reality where lines between right and wrong became blurred. Peckinpah brilliantly used aging Western stars such as Ryan and Holden to convey this passing of the cinematic torch. The film brought issues of violence and morality in movies to the forefront of American film criticism. Instead of appreciating the film as a critique of brutal violence, many critics responded by rejecting what they saw as a superfluous spectacle of dead bodies. [More]

Genre: Westerns

Starring: William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Robert Ryan, Warren Oates, Jaime Sanchez

Director: Sam Peckinpah
Producer: Phil Feldman
Screenwriter: Walon Green, Sam Peckinpah
Story: Roy N. Sickner
Composer: Jerry Fielding

DVD Info

Release:

Jan 9, 2009

[DVD Details]

Blu-ray Features:

  • Widescreen - 2.40

Audio:

  • Dolby Surround 5.1 English
  • Dolby Surround Stereo 2.0 French, Latin Spanish

Reviews

 
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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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In purely cinematic terms, the film is a savagely beautiful spectacle, Lucien Ballard's superb cinematography complementing Peckinpah's darkly elegiac vision.

Full Review | comment Comment
01/26/06
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review | comment Comment
07/04/08
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid
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5/5

No review available.

comment Comment
04/13/08
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com
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9/10

...a landmark Western and a good, thoughtful, rousing adventure besides.

Full Review | comment Comment
10/11/07
John J. Puccio
DVDTown.com
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N/A

Film at 145 minutes is far over-length, and should be tightened extensively, particularly in first half.

Full Review | comment Comment
06/26/07
Whitney Willaims
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
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N/A

The on-screen carnage established a new level in American movies, but few of the films that followed in its wake could duplicate Peckinpah's depth of feeling.

Full Review | comment Comment
06/26/07
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader
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A

Peckinpah's masterpiece, which is replete with poetic and violent imagery, demystifies the Old American West where no group (outlaws, railroaders, businessmen) is spared critical scrutiny. A highlight of the Western genre, it's one of 1969's best films.

Full Review | comment Comment
12/20/06
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
Ratings Image
4.5/5

the sign of change in the old formula, the advancement of technology and time in a genre that brutally snuffed both

Full Review | comment Comment
10/23/05
Chris Cabin
Filmcritic.com
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5/5

No review available.

comment Comment
09/16/05
Daniel M. Kimmel
Worcester Telegram & Gazette
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5/5

No review available.

comment Comment
06/26/05
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
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5/5

A glorious and brutal Western that's truly one of a kind.

comment Comment
09/02/04
Rob Thomas
Capital Times (Madison, WI)
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5/5

No review available.

comment Comment
06/23/04
Andy Klein
Los Angeles CityBeat
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5/5

No review available.

comment Comment
10/24/03
Jon Niccum
Lawrence Journal-World
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5/5

The Wild Bunch takes the basic elements of the Western movie myth, which once defined a simple, morally comprehensible world, and by bending them turns them into symbols of futility and aimless corruption.

Full Review | comment Comment
05/20/03
Vincent Canby
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image
4/5

No review available.

comment Comment
05/02/03
Matt Brunson
Creative Loafing
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N/A

The film does not highlight genre traits, and replaces them with a violence unparalleled in the genre’s other entries; it is Sam Peckinpah’s trademark punch, and The Wild Bunch is his showcase.

Full Review | comment Comment
04/10/03
Rumsey Taylor
Not Coming to a Theater Near You
Ratings Image
4/5

An incredible western. Opened the door to a whole new world of violence.

comment Comment
03/27/03
Alex Sandell
Juicy Cerebellum
Ratings Image
4/5

No review available.

comment Comment
11/07/02
Michael Szymanski
Zap2it.com
Ratings Image
4.5/5

Time may have diminished the film's shock value, but time hasn't faded The Wild Bunch's immense appeal.

Full Review | comment Comment
11/07/02
James Rocchi
Netflix
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4/4

Peckinpah tells intense tales of male bonding, where honor and loyalty are the codes to follow, even if it means a bloody end. When paired with the mythology of the Western, it adds up to a fascinating movie.

Full Review | comment Comment
09/10/02
Kevin N. Laforest
Montreal Film Journal
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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