Sam Peckinpah was a person born in a wrong age. He lived with the ideal of the Old West in a time long past it. But cinema gave him a chance to recreate all the tales he grew up with, and it was here where he found solace. His vision was not the idealized, sugary concept of the Hawkes and Ford era, nor the operatic, anti-hero, Italian western this was an entirely new representation. Dark, violent, gritty yet so human and believable one could really accept that this was the way it was. "The Wild Bunch" remains as Peckinpah's most famous example of his "West". A multi-layered narrative that progresses so perfectly on all levels it becomes astounding to watch. It propelled modern action movies to a whole new direction even though it itself could hardly be considered action. Why? Because Peckinpah's idea of violence isn't an idealization of the act of killing, he doesn't glamorize it. Instead shows us the consequences it has on the people caught in the crossfire.
The end of the Old West is drawing near. Vehicles have began replacing horses and semi-automatic weapons have started replacing the revolvers. It is at this fabled time, where our story takes place amidst the desert badlands of the U.S. Mexico border. A group of aging outlaws led by Pike Bishop (played by William Holden) scour through in hopes of completing one final job before retiring. They are relentlessly chased by a band of bounty hunters led by Deke Thornton (played by Robert Ryan) a former associate and friend of Pike who has been forced into to service against his old friend. The relationship between the two men plays a crucial part of the plot. The way it unfolds, we get a very clear indication of who these men are, what are they like. Setting their motivations clear and opening the path to the final realization of what has become of them.
"The Wild Bunch" is one of the most morally ambiguous movies I have ever seen. Peckinpah doesn't waste his time in telling us who is good or who is bad, he doesn't try to convince us what is morally right or wrong. Instead he just tells this story of a group of outlaws this Wild Bunch who face the reality of their actions leading up to the point where they no longer find what they do compelling and in a final gesture of conscience, they decide to do what's right. In those moments before the epic finale we see Pike question himself as he drinks from the nearly empty bottle of whiskey while sitting on an old bed in a run-down shack. He questions his whole life, practically comparing it with the empty bottle in hand. That moment seals it, he knows what he must do, he knows he won't live through it, but it doesn't matter his time is over. The land had changed but Pike couldn't, they all couldn't. In their last breathe of defiance the Bunch sacrifices itself, finally keeping up to their oath "never leave a man behind".
Peckinpah's vision of the West becomes fully alive with the great performances by the cast. But it was Holden who made the biggest impression, his character is such a morally complex individual and yet he did with such precision, capturing the image of Pike Bishop in the fullest. I truly doubt anyone could have done it better than Holden. When it comes to the other aspects of the movie, Sam Peckinpah continues to excel. His direction is bloody and vicious, has more in common with an war movie. Action scenes are a battlefield where innocents are often caught in between the line of fire. It's not really meant to be entertaining or beautiful. Peckinpah wasn't searching for style when he used slow-motion during death scenes, he was trying to send a message, violence is not pretty. Yet somehow so many people misunderstood him.
Whether people like it or not "The Wild Bunch" will remain a great movie. To this day no one has told the story of the end of the West better, and it's doubtful someone ever will. Peckinpah's masterpiece has been huge influence on cinema it opened the way for the modern action genre, inspiring dozens of directors.
The end of the Old West is drawing near. Vehicles have began replacing horses and semi-automatic weapons have started replacing the revolvers. It is at this fabled time, where our story takes place amidst the desert badlands of the U.S. Mexico border. A group of aging outlaws led by Pike Bishop (played by William Holden) scour through in hopes of completing one final job before retiring. They are relentlessly chased by a band of bounty hunters led by Deke Thornton (played by Robert Ryan) a former associate and friend of Pike who has been forced into to service against his old friend. The relationship between the two men plays a crucial part of the plot. The way it unfolds, we get a very clear indication of who these men are, what are they like. Setting their motivations clear and opening the path to the final realization of what has become of them.
"The Wild Bunch" is one of the most morally ambiguous movies I have ever seen. Peckinpah doesn't waste his time in telling us who is good or who is bad, he doesn't try to convince us what is morally right or wrong. Instead he just tells this story of a group of outlaws this Wild Bunch who face the reality of their actions leading up to the point where they no longer find what they do compelling and in a final gesture of conscience, they decide to do what's right. In those moments before the epic finale we see Pike question himself as he drinks from the nearly empty bottle of whiskey while sitting on an old bed in a run-down shack. He questions his whole life, practically comparing it with the empty bottle in hand. That moment seals it, he knows what he must do, he knows he won't live through it, but it doesn't matter his time is over. The land had changed but Pike couldn't, they all couldn't. In their last breathe of defiance the Bunch sacrifices itself, finally keeping up to their oath "never leave a man behind".
Peckinpah's vision of the West becomes fully alive with the great performances by the cast. But it was Holden who made the biggest impression, his character is such a morally complex individual and yet he did with such precision, capturing the image of Pike Bishop in the fullest. I truly doubt anyone could have done it better than Holden. When it comes to the other aspects of the movie, Sam Peckinpah continues to excel. His direction is bloody and vicious, has more in common with an war movie. Action scenes are a battlefield where innocents are often caught in between the line of fire. It's not really meant to be entertaining or beautiful. Peckinpah wasn't searching for style when he used slow-motion during death scenes, he was trying to send a message, violence is not pretty. Yet somehow so many people misunderstood him.
Whether people like it or not "The Wild Bunch" will remain a great movie. To this day no one has told the story of the end of the West better, and it's doubtful someone ever will. Peckinpah's masterpiece has been huge influence on cinema it opened the way for the modern action genre, inspiring dozens of directors.