The Wild Bunch [Blu-ray]

Director: Sam Peckinpah Sam Peckinpah

Overview

Sam Peckinpah's controversial revisionist Western takes place in Texas and Mexico in 1913, a transitional year when the Old West was giving way to the New West. The titular outlaw bunch, headed by ethical-in-his-fashion Pike (William Holden), continues staging violent bank robberies in their old, time-honored tradition. After a particularly brutal holdup in the town of San Rafael, the gang -- or what's left of it -- heads for the hills of Mexico, pursued by a posse led by Thornton (Robert Ryan), an old friend of Pike's. The gang discovers that the bank had been set up to be robbed by Thornton's railroad-executive boss Pat Harrigan (Albert Dekker), and that their booty consists of worthless metal washers. Meanwhile, the conscience-stricken Thornton seethes over Harrigan's scheme, which has cost too many innocent lives, but he is powerless to leave the railroad baron's employ lest he be sent back to jail. While hiding out in a Mexican village, the gang is engaged by corrupt general Emilio Fernandez to steal a huge shipment of guns from the U.S. Army. Like Thornton, Pike agrees against his will: his right-hand man Jaime Sanchez is being held hostage by Fernandez, who in turn is being manipulated by a pair of war-mongering German officers. More violence -- both justified and gratuitous -- follows, leading to a final blood-spattered confrontation between the Wild Bunch and 's posse. For many years, no one audience was privy to a "definitive" version of The Wild Bunch. Peckinpah's 144-minute director's cut was butchered by Warner Bros. after its first press showing (curiously, the studio removed not only the gorier scenes, but also several motivational sequences, rendering much of the film incomprehensible). The 1981 reissue was restored to 141 minutes, but it wasn't until the advent of home video that the complete version was once more made available. Once considered the last word in cinematic bloodletting, The Wild Bunch is a model of decorum compared to what was to follow.

Product Details

Release Date:	12/16/2008
UPC:	7321900142663
Original Release:	1969
Source:	Imports
Region Code:	2
Language:	English
Sales rank:	29,470

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Bill Holden	Pike Bishop
Ernest Borgnine	Dutch Engstrom
Robert Ryan	Deke Thornton
Jaime Sánchez	Angel
Warren Oates	Lyle Gorch
Edmund O'Brien	Freddie Sykes
Albert Dekker	Pat Harrigan
Strother Martin	Coffer
Emilio Fernández	Gen. Mapache
Fernando Wagner	Mohr
Alfonso Arau	Herrera
Chano Urueta	Don Jose
Jorge Russek	Major Zamorra
L.Q. Jones	T.C
Bo Hopkins	Clarence 'Crazy' Lee
Dub Taylor	Reverend Wainscoat
Paul Harper	Ross
Bill Hart	Jess
Rayford Barnes	Buck
Stephen Ferry	Sergeant McHale
Sonia Amelio	Teresa
Chalo Gonzalez	Gonzalez
Elsa Cárdenas	Elsa
Aurora Clavel	Aurora
Enrique Lucero	Ignacio
Elizabeth Dupeyrón	Rocio,Juan
José Chávez	Juan Jose
Pedro Galván	Benson
Graciela Doring	Emma
Ivan Jorge Rado	Ernst
Margarito De Luna	Luna
Lilia Castillo	Lilia
Yolanda Ponce	Yolis
Ivan Scott	Paymaster
Archie Butler	Jabalai
Tap Canutt	Burt
Gordon T. Dawson	Pinkerton Man
Mickey Gilbert	Frank
Buck Holland	Thornton Posse Rider
Walt LaRue	Abe
Matthew Peckinpah	Boy Watching Robber Scoop Up Moneybag
Joe Yrigoyen	Simkins
Dennis Falt	Townie
Dennis Feldman	Townsperson
'Chico' Hernandez	Boy in Town
Emilio Fernandez	Actor
Erwin Neal	Fray
Bill Shannon	Bounty Hunter
Jim Sheppard	Bounty Hunter
Sheb Wooley	Buck's Scream
Jerry Fielding	Composer

Technical Credits

Sam Peckinpah

Walon Green

Sam Peckinpah	Director,Screenwriter
Walon Green	Screenwriter
Phil Feldman	Producer
John O. Young	Sound Effects
Billy Mauch	Sound Effects
Stanley Martin	Sound Effects
Jack Williams	Stunts