Josh Murray’s review published on Letterboxd:
"I'll drink to that sentiment. And to love. But most of all, I'll drink to gold!"
Hot damn, this movie. I'd love to have seen the reaction to this final act in theatres.
The Wild Bunch is about a bunch of outlaws, but also moral debates. Every grudge and denouncement here involves a man disrespecting another for betraying some unwritten code or sneaking some amoral alliance a step too far. Sometimes the jaded and sedate Pike (William Holden) and the unflappable Dutch (Ernest Borgnine) agree on these, sometimes they challenge each other.
But the experience is more visceral than a cautionary tale. Per his goal, Sam Peckinpah shoots fight scenes in a way that wears you down too, assisted by the aging status of his stars. Even the notorious troubled production manages to enhance this as the cast and crew exhaustion shines through in the tragedy-tinted perfection.
Peckinpah oversees great-looking work on every aspect of the movie, from the fades to the landscapes, but what stands out most is how his action effects can compete with anything from later in the 20th Century. If there's truth to this movie's reputation for killing the western's prominence in many ways, then it was a fair enough trade for so many of the tropes of big-budget action, adventure, and even fantasy that wouldn't be the same without its strides.
Either way, it's fitting how this group is everything The Magnificent Seven is not. There aren't noble heroes to spot, for starters, but also far fewer clear-cut arcs and monologues to explain them. They're not fit or young or (as) hot or too stacked against the villains. It's about the fight response, the physicality, and serves as a dance movie as you see how far Borgnine's use of his body is from Warren Oates'.
#3 of 1969.
' ].join(''); if ( adsScript && adsScript === 'bandsintown' && adsPlatforms && ((window.isIOS && adsPlatforms.indexOf("iOS") >= 0) || (window.isAndroid && adsPlatforms.indexOf("Android") >= 0)) && adsLocations && adsMode && ( (adsMode === 'include' && adsLocations.indexOf(window.adsLocation) >= 0) || (adsMode === 'exclude' && adsLocations.indexOf(window.adsLocation) == -1) ) ) { var opts = { artist: "", song: "", adunit_id: 100005950, div_id: "cf_async_53a05c93-0200-4287-a8f4-61d14baa476f" }; adUnit.id = opts.div_id; if (target) { target.insertAdjacentElement('beforeend', adUnit); } else { tag.insertAdjacentElement('afterend', adUnit); } var c=function(){cf.showAsyncAd(opts)};if(typeof window.cf !== 'undefined')c();else{cf_async=!0;var r=document.createElement("script"),s=document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0];r.async=!0;r.src="//srv.tunefindforfans.com/fruits/apricots.js";r.readyState?r.onreadystatechange=function(){if("loaded"==r.readyState||"complete"==r.readyState)r.onreadystatechange=null,c()}:r.onload=c;s.parentNode.insertBefore(r,s)}; } else { adUnit.id = 'pw-53a05c93-0200-4287-a8f4-61d14baa476f'; adUnit.className = 'pw-div -tile300x250 -alignleft -bottommargin'; adUnit.setAttribute('data-pw-' + (renderMobile ? 'mobi' : 'desk'), 'med_rect_btf'); if (target) { target.insertAdjacentElement('beforeend', adUnit); } else { tag.insertAdjacentElement('afterend', adUnit); } window.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', (event) => { adUnit.insertAdjacentHTML('afterend', kicker); window.ramp.que.push(function () { window.ramp.addTag('pw-53a05c93-0200-4287-a8f4-61d14baa476f'); }); }, { once: true }); } } tag.remove(); })(document.getElementById('script-53a05c93-0200-4287-a8f4-61d14baa476f'));
' ].join(''); if ( adsScript && adsScript === 'bandsintown' && adsPlatforms && ((window.isIOS && adsPlatforms.indexOf("iOS") >= 0) || (window.isAndroid && adsPlatforms.indexOf("Android") >= 0)) && adsLocations && adsMode && ( (adsMode === 'include' && adsLocations.indexOf(window.adsLocation) >= 0) || (adsMode === 'exclude' && adsLocations.indexOf(window.adsLocation) == -1) ) ) { var opts = { artist: "", song: "", adunit_id: 100005950, div_id: "cf_async_468e80f5-45e7-4d14-afae-9bcf260b312b" }; adUnit.id = opts.div_id; if (target) { target.insertAdjacentElement('beforeend', adUnit); } else { tag.insertAdjacentElement('afterend', adUnit); } var c=function(){cf.showAsyncAd(opts)};if(typeof window.cf !== 'undefined')c();else{cf_async=!0;var r=document.createElement("script"),s=document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0];r.async=!0;r.src="//srv.tunefindforfans.com/fruits/apricots.js";r.readyState?r.onreadystatechange=function(){if("loaded"==r.readyState||"complete"==r.readyState)r.onreadystatechange=null,c()}:r.onload=c;s.parentNode.insertBefore(r,s)}; } else { adUnit.id = 'pw-468e80f5-45e7-4d14-afae-9bcf260b312b'; adUnit.className = 'pw-div'; adUnit.setAttribute('data-pw-' + (renderMobile ? 'mobi' : 'desk'), 'sky_btf'); if (target) { target.insertAdjacentElement('beforeend', adUnit); } else { tag.insertAdjacentElement('afterend', adUnit); } window.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', (event) => { adUnit.insertAdjacentHTML('afterend', kicker); window.ramp.que.push(function () { window.ramp.addTag('pw-468e80f5-45e7-4d14-afae-9bcf260b312b'); }); }, { once: true }); } } tag.remove(); })(document.getElementById('script-468e80f5-45e7-4d14-afae-9bcf260b312b'));
