The wild bunch film analysis

By 1950 television as the prevailing mass medium had come to stay in american cultural and social life, as well as colonising the yankee imagination and the movie business overall. The differences which indicate a film s story and a film s plot are the what and the how. Set in 19 during the mexican revolution, along the mexicantexan border, the wild bunch tells the story of an aging gang of outlaws led by pike, and chased by bounty hunters led by a former gang member, deke thornton. The script, performances, and style are all excellent, and have stood the test of time.

The making of the final shootout, an extract from the wild bunch. Sam peckinpahs the wild bunch marks 50th anniversary variety. The new group is a leading independent european film distribution and production services company, listed on the german market and has an average of 149 employees. Into the wild the movie into the wild is about a young man who finished his university education and through everything away. By the time the wild bunch hit screens and became the most controversial movie of 1969, peckinpahs erstwhile detractors were elevating him to the pantheon, up there with stanley kubrick and john ford.

The wild bunch is sam peckinpahs shocking, violent ballad to an old world and a dying genre. In honor of the films 50th anniversary, journalist w. The wild bunch is a genre classic thats arguably influenced every action film thats come since. When their attempted train robbery goes awry, the gang flees to mexico and falls for the fiftieth anniversary of the film, w.

A thrilling and infuriating burst of movie id, the wild bunch makes you want to slump into the dust and stare dumbly into the distance which is exactly how we find robert ryans beaten bounty hunter at the film s end. Beginning and ending with two of the bloodiest battles in screen history, sam peckinpahs classic revisionist western ruthlessly takes apart the myths of the west. Sam peckinpahs film the wild bunch is the story of a gang of outlaws who are one big steal from retirement. Sam peckinpahs film the wild bunch was a reflection of the changes taking place at the time of its 1969 release. Sam peckinpahs the wild bunch is a profound deconstruction of cinematic violence. Unlike most of the analysis found herewhich simply lists the unique individual story appreciationsthis indepth study details the actual encoding for each structural item. This was my very first rated x film i ever saw, entering the cinema as a nervous kid in 1970. I believe that alongside the theme of friendship and loyalty, violence is a major theme in this film. Sam peckinpah, a revolution in hollywood, and the making of a.

The film begins with the wild bunch holding up a bank in a desert town while the railroad has its bounty hunters waiting in ambush. There are multiple scenes that moved me when watching this movie. The wild bunch 1969 is directorcowriter sam peckinpahs provocative, brilliant yet controversial western, shocking for its graphic and elevated portrayal of violence and savagelyexplicit carnage, yet hailed for its truly realistic and reinterpreted vision of the dying west in the early 20th century. Paul seydor has described the film as one of the great masterpieces of world cinema, and then further notes that any discussion of the wild bunch implicitly acknowledges the editing by lou. Released in the late 60s discord over vietnam, in the wake of the controversial bonnie and clyde 1967 and the brutal spaghetti westerns of sergio leone, the wild bunch polarized critics. Likewise, the film as well as peckinpahs other films broke crucial ground for the representation and aestheticisation of. The scorpion and the ants a meditation on the wild bunch.

Ronald grant archive d irector sam peckinpah was considered a spendthrift, a loose cannon, and a failure by the time he shot the wild bunch in 1968. Fsms final album is a definitive 3cd presentation of jerry fieldings masterpiece, the wild bunch. It might be a scene from a classic movie, which has been crowded out by other, more showy scenes and setpieces. When their attempted train robbery goes awry, the gang flees to mexico and falls. The hundreds of victims in the wild bunch are not characters but actors stunt men, extras, standins. Peckinpahs the wild bunch in sam peckinpahs the wild bunch p. Feb 26, 2019 in honor of the film s 50th anniversary, journalist w.

From the godfather to heat, the stamp of the wild bunch is selfevident. Bishop kills the bandit chief in retaliation, thereby setting off a slaughter in which the entire gang, as well as hundreds of mexicans, are killed. Demystifying the traditional western through raw, unglamorous violence, the wild bunch exploded onto the screen in 1969 and altered the. One example of violence in the film is in the beginning. Its a close cousin, in a way, of ken loachs two most recent pictures a sardonic aim at the economic, emotional and social costs of an online world. He uses the sort of techniques that can only exist in film. Sequences of impressionistic violence are punctuated by zooms, quickcuts, slowmotion, pov shots, and 180 line breaks. Wild bunch ag operates as an independent film distribution and production services company in france, germany, italy, spain, and austria. I do not like that emphasis on the difference between right and wrong, focusing on action, so. A landmark film in many respects, sam peckinpahs the wild bunch was considered controversial not only because of its extreme, now legendary, slowmotion violence, but also because of the war started between the producer, phil feldman, and the director synopsis.

Stratton has written an ambitious and lively history, the wild bunch. Sam peckinpahs the wild bunch killed the western dream. Parents need to know that the wild bunch is a 1969 western directed by sam peckinpah, a filmmaker known for cynical and violent cinematic tableaus that underscore the worst in human nature. Amongst the inhabitants of this dying era are a gang known as the wild bunch. The wild bunch 1969 essays i rarely see western films, so this time i decided to see a western film, the wild bunch for this film analysis. In the fictional south texas town of starbuck, the wild bunch led by pike bishop william holden, and also including dutch engstrom ernest borgnine, lyle and tector gorch warren oates and ben johnson, angel jaime sanchez, buck rayford barnes, and clarence crazy lee bo hopkins, among others enters the town, with half of them dressed as united states cavalry soldiers. The scoring of this sam peckinpah western was a long and contentious affair that resulted in numerous demos, revisions and variations being recorded at the warner bros. This film features several balletic, slowmotion massacres in which men, women, and children are killed, sometimes in closeup, with maximum use of fake. In describing the wild bunch story into the outlaws themed plot of violence, director sam peckinpah used dramatic impact quick action cuts coupled with slow motion aesthetic balance to create a mood of chaos throughout the fierce gun battle scenes which advantageously draws the viewer connecting them to the story of the film.

Movies that were initially lynched can later be regarded as classics. The wild bunch initially shocked and disgusted many including film critics. Although some of the wild bunch hold off the troops momentarily by using grenades and by commandering the machine gun the ultimate symbol of the new industrial society and firing it with orgasmic intensity, they are soon wounded first tector and then lyle both at the machine gun fighting side by side, then dutch, and finally pike. He did this because he wanted to go into the wilderness to find answers to his questions to his life. First, the film is attacked for its excessive violence. The film includes a large cast of outstanding, aging actors headed by william holden as pike and ernest borgnine as dutch, the leaders of the wild bunch, a. An aging group of outlaws look for one last big score as the traditional american west is disappearing around them. After a suggestion from a fan, i finally watched the wild bunch in full for the first time and my god, i should try and watch a classic western every. No 4 best action and war film of all time film the. Second, it is defended by its admirers as a statement against violence. All that matters is that the film comes in on time and within budget. This also means it has been incorporated into the dramatica story expert application itself as an easily referenced.

The national society of film critics 100 essential films, 2002 reprinted by permission of the author sam peckinpahs the wild bunch opens with perhaps the most startling burst of sustained violence in all of the american cinema. They appear heroicallypositioned, riding stiffly and formally into a dusty town san rafael, also called starbuck along railroad tracks. Strattons definitive history of the making of the wild bunch, named one of the greatest westerns of all. When a particularly violent film like the wild bunch comes along, there are usually three stages to the critical reaction.

They have trapped some scorpions and are watching them being tortured by ants. We dont have an article named analysis thewildbunch, exactly. William holden, ernest borgnine, robert ryan, edmond obrien, warren oates, jaime. The wild bunch 1969 a landmark film in many respects, sam peckinpahs the wild bunch was considered controversial not only because of its extreme, now legendary, slowmotion violence, but also because of the war started between the producer, phil feldman, and the director. Later in the film, a member of the bunch named angel is captured by.

After a failed railroad office robbery, the gang heads to mexico to do one last job. The movie starts out with the wild bunch and their plan to rob a train station. Mar 11, 2016 after a suggestion from a fan, i finally watched the wild bunch in full for the first time and my god, i should try and watch a classic western every year from now on. Sam peckinpahs the wild bunch cambridge film handbooks is available from amazon.

Historically, butch and sundances actual gang was called the wild bunch, not the holeinthewall gang, but i believe the movie changed it because they knew the wild bunch was going to come out. His edit gives you the impression of violence, and has been borrowed by films like. What we found was a film which, according to george, lives in my mind like a dream, a traumatic and troubling work the madness of which still haunts all those. While the shoot progresses in and around the city of cochabamba, civil and political unrest simmer, as the entire water supply of the city is. Despite sebastians fury, they will shoot in bolivia, the cheapest, most indianof latin american countries. The film is set in texas in 19, as progress, old age, and the onset of world war i. Sam peckinpah, a revolution in hollywood, and the making of a legendary film bloomsbury makes the case for the 1969 western about american. Blanche gardin is the film s comedic center of gravity. A landmark film in many respects, sam peckinpahs the wild bunch was considered controversial not only because of its extreme, now legendary, slowmotion violence, but also because of the war started between the producer, phil feldman, and the director. Awesomethe wild bunchfilmthe wild bunchrecapthe wild bunchtriviathe wild bunchymmvthe wild bunchif you meant one of those, just.

Even sam peckinpah, a crusty cynic who wanted no part of psychedelic hippie. As a bluray release, this ones also quite strong, boasting a wonderful video transfer thats a clear improvement over earlier dvd editions, plus a. The wild bunch does not provide this kind of death until the very end, when credibility has already been lost. Wild bunch ag was created in 2015 through the merger of the german entertainment company senator entertainment ag and the european film distribution company wild bunch sa. Even the once indestructible and allpowerful major studios mgm, universal, et al were struggling to find and hold a new audience. Later in the film, a member of the bunch named angel is captured by mexican rebels, and dragged around the town square behind one of the first automobiles anyone there has seen. In an early scene of the wild bunch, the bunch rides into town past a crowd of children who are gathered with excitement around their game. A thrilling and infuriating burst of movie id, the wild bunch makes you want to slump into the dust and stare dumbly into the distance which is exactly how we find robert ryans beaten bounty hunter at the films end. Which is to say that the wild bunch is not an exercise in nihilism. Since loyalty to one another is all that remains, the wild bunch demands angels release.

The wild bunch 1969 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. To the sound of snare drums and cymbals, the wild bunch five of them masquerade in the disguise of tancolored, regulation khaki outfits as u. The wild bunch 1969 in our unheralded scene series, our consultants nominate a classic film or tv scene, which in their view hasnt received the admiration it deserves. The following analysis reveals a comprehensive look at the storyform for the wild bunch. An album in montage, a documentary of the making of the film by paul seydor and. Its 19, and the traditional american west is dying. The gang spies the trap midway through the robbery, and as the town temperance union coincidentally marches unaware down the street, the bunch makes their break using them as a shield. Ronald grant archive d irector sam peckinpah was considered a spendthrift, a loose cannon, and a failure by. Following peckinpahs ideological assault upon the conventions of john fords cavalry trilogy in the mutilated, but still resonant, major dundee 1965, the wild bunch continues his brutal interrogation into the pathological nature of american masculinity and society making his film more relevant now than ever. Walon green, sam peckinpah, adapted from a story by walon green and roy m. Strattons definitive history of the making of the wild bunch, named one of the greatest westerns of all time by the american film institute. The kids in my neighborhood are still engaged in the same argument that i fought, summer after summer, when i was their age.

The film s opening with freezeframe credits is brilliantly presented with martial music. Screen daily a hilarious analysis of the terrible world we live in. Stephen prince wrote in 1999, the wild bunch is an epic work, and it has had an epic impact on american cinema and noted martin scorseses description of the film as savage poetry. Oct 16, 2016 i believe that alongside the theme of friendship and loyalty, violence is a major theme in this film. Jim kitses sees the film as a dark vision of the american experience, succinctly expressed in his monumental sentence, the wild bunch is. Apr 25, 2012 sam peckinpahs the wild bunch is a profound deconstruction of cinematic violence. The wild bunch is a 1969 american revisionist western film directed by sam peckinpah and starring william holden, robert ryan, ernest borgnine, edmond obrien, ben johnson and warren oates. What we found was a film which, according to george, lives in my mind like a dream, a traumatic and troubling work the. The wild bunch is the most optically violent film ever made, one which relentlessly assaults the senses of its audience with a torrent of violent images to rival and finally exceed eisensteins achievement in the odessa steps sequence of potemkin. Originally a division of studiocanal, wild bunch s. The eyes of pike william holden, leader of the bunch, briefly meet the eyes of one of the children. Sam peckinpahs the wild bunch film turns 50 national.

In the interim peckinpah had regained a measure of respect. Blanche gardin is the films comedic center of gravity. The excess of violence, it is argued, causes a reaction in the audience. Martin scorsese was one of the films avid viewers whose aesthetics of violence was much influenced by the wild bunch.