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The Wild Bunch - Restored Director's CutRating:
Release Date: 21 May, 1997 Retail Price: $14.98 Sorry, this product is not currently available. Cast: Complete Cast (22 total) |
The Wild Bunch - Restored Director's Cut Reviews
The Master of Violence
Nearly as good as Sam Peckinpah's masterpiece that is the star of this deluxe package is Paul Seydor's documentary on the making of the film, "The Wild Bunch: An Album in Montage." The other extras also make this DVD worth buying, but perhaps best of all is being able to see a pristine print of the film in widescreen format. Peckinpah was a master of poetic violence and his work laid the foundation for later directors like Woo and Tarantino. This was arguably (and not even all that arguably) his finest film, and one of the great westerns. It is not to be missed.
"If they move, Kill 'em."
Peckinpah has a rep and this is the film which provided most of it. I had the privilege of actually seeing this on the big screen once, in the late seventies. As the beginning credits end, Pike (Holden) tells his bunch "If they move, Kill 'em!" Then Peckinpah's credit appears. A woman seated behind me gasped, whispering "oh, no..." Oh, my. It sounded like the lady didn't know she'd wandered into a Peckinpah film and she knew what she was in for. When you enter Peckinpah-land, you need to be prepared. There are no punches pulled, no sidestepping the unpleasant aspects of life. Peckinpah's characters are tough men; I mean, really tough, not phony-Hollywood tough. In this case, they are coarsened by what seems to be years on the trail, blasted by the sun, snapped at by rattlesnakes, and harassed by bandits. And at this point, they've pretty much had it.
Not that they're complaining, mind you. They've lived their lives how they saw fit, this bunch, and they make no apologies for any of it. I believe the actual year is around 1913, just before World War I begins. Most of the action takes place in Mexico, where the Bunch becomes involved with a local general (Fernandez) with the usual delusions of grandeur. If you go by the name of the character Angel, the general can be viewed as a version of the devil. That would make the Bunch avenging angels at the end. But heroes? No, not at all. They have their own code, they know instinctively they're stronger together than on each own, but they reason this concept out also - Peckinpah wants to make sure it's clear these are not unthinking savages. They're just men, who've reached a point in history where they must make a crucial turn. History, it seems, has no real use for them anymore. It's quite simple - they either fade slowly or go out quickly. In a film such as this, with its now insurmountable rep, you tend to wait for those big set pieces, especially the climactic battle. Wait for it, wait for it... here it is. Bam! - you're in Peckinpah territory. You're a part of history.
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