In purely cinematic terms, the film is a savagely beautiful spectacle, Lucien Ballard's superb cinematography complementing Peckinpah's darkly elegiac vision.
Comment
01/26/06
The Wild Bunch (1969)
97
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:36
Fresh:35
Rotten:1
Average Rating:8.7/10
Runtime: 2 hrs 59 mins
Genre: Westerns
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... [More]
Starring: William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Robert Ryan, Warren Oates
Director: Sam Peckinpah
Reviews for The Wild Bunch
Top Critic... a spurting blast of pulp and poetry choreographed into a ballet of violence.
10/26/08
Sam Peckinpah's great, bloody Western shocked most people with its extreme violence upon its original release, but now it's firmly nestled in the American canon.
07/04/08
No review available.
04/13/08
...a landmark Western and a good, thoughtful, rousing adventure besides.
10/11/07
Film at 145 minutes is far over-length, and should be tightened extensively, particularly in first half.
06/26/07
Top CriticThe 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.
06/26/07
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.
12/20/06
the sign of change in the old formula, the advancement of technology and time in a genre that brutally snuffed both
10/23/05
No review available.
09/16/05
A glorious and brutal Western that's truly one of a kind.
09/02/04
No review available.
06/23/04
No review available.
10/24/03
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.
05/20/03
Top CriticNo review available.
05/02/03
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.
04/10/03
An incredible western. Opened the door to a whole new world of violence.
03/27/03
No review available.
11/07/02
Time may have diminished the film's shock value, but time hasn't faded The Wild Bunch's immense appeal.
11/07/02
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.
09/10/02
Latest News for The Wild Bunch
September 05, 2007:
Total Recall: 3:10 to Yuma And The Dark Side of the Frontier
3:10 to Yuma joins a long line of Westerns that explore the complexities of human nature against the unforgiving backdrop of the frontier. More...
June 22, 2007:
AFI Announces Top 100 Movies of All Time ... Again
Ten years ago the AFI gave us a list of the Top 100 American Films Ever Made -- and when that was done they churned out 15 other lists every few years. And then last night they... More...
May 05, 2006:
Guy Pearce and John Hillcoat Discuss "The Proposition"
Director John Hillcoat had a big ambition when he undertook "The Proposition": a Western with a truly Aussie sensibility.
"It's the Australian West,"... More...
November 04, 2005:
WB Signs David Ayer to Direct a Remake of "The Wild Bunch"
Don't ask me why Warner Bros. has decided to mount a remake of Sam Peckinpah's 1969 classic "The Wild Bunch," because I just don't know. True, they hired a pretty... More...
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