Year of Release: 1969Country of Origin: USA
Director: Sam Peckinpah
Cast: William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Robert Ryan, Edmond O'Brien
Plot outline: An aging group of outlaws look for one last big score as the traditional American West is disappearing around them (IMDb).
The Wild Bunch had modest box office success, but its real influence was with film critics and western aficionadoes. More violent than any western that preceded it, the movie opened and ended with extensive scenes of graphic bloodshed. Violence was depicted as ugly and not heroic. The leads were not portrayed with nobility, nor did they have the cool demeanor of Clint Eastwood's Man With No Name. The story is set in Mexico circa 1910, and Angel (Jaime Sanchez) gets into trouble for his revolutionary sympathies. As he is a member of The Wild Bunch, weak attempts are made to rescue him. If the gang was completely corrupt, they would instead laugh at his misfortunes. Analysis of symbolism sometimes cannot be avoided. In The Wild Bunch, we see a group of children laughing and grinning as they place a small scorpion into a swarm of ants. As if the scorpion doesn't have enough troubles, the children later set both the ants and scorpion ablaze. I suppose the scorpion represents The Wild Bunch, who themselves represent both lawlessness and advanced middle age. The ants represent the public, who seeks law and order. The fire stands for the coming of a new age, that of the automobile and the end of the west. The children are the next generation, who will thrive in the new order but retain the cruelty of the past. (BK)
My judgement: *** out of 4 stars
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