Review of The Wild Bunch (1969) by Danny R — 17 Oct 2015

Sam Peckinpah's astonishing western masterpiece is nothing short of a true cinematic work of art. It concerns a band ruthless bank robbers who are lead by an aging outlaw named Pike Bishop, brilliantly played by the late great William Holden in a larger-than-life performance which is one of the finest of his distinguished career.

He and his men are masquerading as soldiers riding through a dry Mexican town, they plan to rob the railway office of its payroll, but find themselves ambushed by a gang of cut-throat bounty hunters who were hired by the railroad, and has been pursuing Pike's band, they are lead by Pike's former friend turned nemesis Deke Thornton, played to perfection by late veteran character actor Robert Ryan.

Special kudos must be given to Strother Martin and L.Q. Jones for their memorable performances as two scummy psychotic sadistic killers working for Thornton, who are always arguing as to which one of them killed who, and delight in stealing dead men's boots as well as cutting the fingers off the dead to get at their rings, and removing the gold teeth from their dead victims mouths.

The ambush turns into a ferocious gunfight and bloodbath, where many innocent bystanders are slaughtered in the deadly crossfire in one of this film's most famous sequences which displays Peckinpah's hallmark style, the use of slow-motion to prolong the killing turning it into a "ballet of death," also using point of view shots, quick-cuts and off-center close ups to intensify the action of that unforgettable shootout sequence.

The rest of Pike's men includes Dutch, his fearless right-hand men played superbly Ernest Borgnine, the brothers Lyle and Techor Gorch, wonderfully played by Warren Oates and Ben Johnson, and the Mexican idealist Angel, well-played by Jaime Sanchez.

Their failed attempted robbery has them fleeing deeper into Mexico with Thornton's bounty hunters right behind them, Pike and his "Wild Bunch" will hijack a U.S. ammunition train which is crossing through the broader into Mexico for its weapons to supply the revolutionary army of Pancho Villa, but first they must deal with a vicious corrupt Mexican general named Mapache, excellently played by Emilio Fernandez, it will all end in a final extraordinary show-stopping sequence in a Mexican courtyard where Pike and his men with gun drawn will face hundreds of surprised Mexicans, it is clear that they are surrounded outgunned and are about to die, they know this! but decide to go out in a blaze of glory, taking as many as they can with them, it is without doubt one the greatest scene of blood shed and slaughter ever filmed.

An American cinematic classic. Highly Recommended.