directed by Sam
Peckinpah
USA 1969
Violence comes in many shapes, sizes, and forms. Twenty-six years ago, when Sam Peckinpah's The Wild Bunch was first released, it caused a stir because of its gritty, uncompromising style. The deaths in this film are neither sterile nor heroic. When a gun is fired, the result is inevitably messy. In many ways, especially in its determination not to glorify bloodshed, The Wild Bunch shares key themes with Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven -- only this film came twenty-three years earlier. A classic in its original theatrical cut, The Wild Bunch is nevertheless improved with eleven minutes of footage restored.
The movie opens during 1913 in the small south Texas town of San Rafael. The Wild Bunch -- a gang of six -- has moved in to pull off a robbery. What they don't know is that it's a setup -- the sacks of money are filled with washers and there are dozens of gun-toting bounty hunters hidden in ambush. Things turn bloody and numerous innocent citizens are caught in the crossfire. The gang escapes with the bounty hunters hot on their trail.
Leading the Wild Bunch is Pike (William Holden), an aging outlaw who enjoys planning his capers as much as carrying them out. He's beginning to feel his age, however -- an old wound makes it nearly impossible for him to mount his horse and he wonders how many more jobs he'll be good for. Pike's right-hand man is Dutch (Ernest Borgnine), another grizzled veteran of the robbery circuit. The gang is rounded out by Sykes (Edmond O'Brien), Angel (Jaime Sanchez), and the Gorch Brothers (Warren Oates and Ben Johnson). One member of the Bunch is missing, however. Thornton (Robert Ryan), once Pike's closest friend, was arrested as a result of a past screw-up, and now commands the mercenaries hunting his old buddies. |
Posters
Theatrical Release: June 18th, 1969 - Los Angeles, USA
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
Recommended Reading for Western Genre Fans (CLICK COVERS or TITLES for more information)
The Crowded Prairie: American National Identity in
the Hollywood Western (Cinema and Society) by Michael Coyne |
The Invention of the Western Film : A Cultural
History of the Genre's First Half Century (Genres in American Cinema S.) by Scott Simmon |
The Searchers (Bfi Film Classics) by Edward Buscombe |
The Western Genre by John Saunders |
Westerns: Films through History (AFI
Film Readers) by Janet Walker |
The Encyclopedia of Westerns (The Facts on File
Film Reference Library) by Herb Fagen, Tom Selleck |
Gunfighter Nation: The Myth of the Frontier in
Twentieth-Century America by Richard Slotkin |
The Western (Inside Film) by David Lusted |
Red River (Bfi Film Classics) by Suzanne Liandrat-Guigues |
Check out more in "The Library"
DVD Comparison:
Warner - The Original Director's Cut - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Warner - The Original Director's Cut (Two-Disc Special Edition) - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC vs. Warner REGION FREE Blu-ray |
1) Warner - The Original Director's Cut - Region 1 - NTSC LEFT 2) Warner - The Original Director's Cut (Two-Disc Special Edition) - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC- MIDDLE 3) Warner REGION FREE Blu-ray - RIGHT |
DVD Box Cover |
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The SE is included with Sam
Peckinpah's Legendary Westerns Collection (The Wild Bunch / Pat Garrett
and Billy the Kid / Ride the High Country / The Ballad of Cable Hogue)
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Distribution | Warner Home Video - Region 1 - NTSC | Warner Home Video - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC | Warner Home Video - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC |
Runtime | 1:36:30 + 47:56 (side 2) = 2:23:26 | 2:24:30 | 2:24:30 |
Video |
2.29:1
Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 5.97 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s |
2.39:1
Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 5.35 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s |
2.42:1
Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 18-26 mb/s 1080p Hi-def 16X9 2.4:1 |
NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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Bitrate: Old |
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Bitrate: SE |
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Bitrate: Blu-ray |
NO BITRATE FOR Blu-ray yet... |
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Audio | English (Dolby Digital 5.1) | English (Dolby Digital 5.1) , DUB French (Dolby Digital 5.1) | English Dolby 5.1, DUBs: French and Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0) |
Subtitles | English, French, Spanish, None | English, French, Spanish, None | English, English (Hearing impaired), French, Spanish, none |
Features |
Release Information: Edition Details: • Production
Notes (text)
Side 2 • Documentary
('The Wild Bunch An Album in Montage') - 33:35 |
Release Information:
Edition Details:
• Commentary by Peckinpah biographers/documentarians Nick Redman, Paul
Seydor, Garner Simmons and David Weddle |
Release Information: 1080p Hi-def 16X9 2.4:1 Dual-layered (50 Gig) Edition Details:
• Commentary by Peckinpah biographers/documentarians Nick Redman, Paul
Seydor, Garner Simmons and David Weddle |
Comments: |
ADDITION - Warner - Region free Blu-ray - July 08':
NOTE:
The
below
Blu-ray
captures were ripped directly from the
Blu-ray disc.
As we noted below, the previous SE had some strong deficiencies which
seem even more prominent by comparison to this new
Blu-ray. Although the
Blu-ray is tending to the warmer end of
the color pallet, this is exemplified by the greenish bias of the SE -
where it notably made hats and clothes look very 'hunter green' (see
Strother Martin's hat, Borgnine's hat and the 'through the window'
screen captures below of the SD SE). The
Blu-ray
appears to be a huge 'correction' in this area. Whether it is more
accurate to the director's intention or original theatrical - I'll leave
for experts to bicker about. While skin tones are, possibly, overly red
(appropriate considering the film locale(s) ) in the
Blu-ray - it becomes less of an issue
as the detail is so much more visually striking. The
Blu-ray also carries further
information within the frame on all four sides. I toggled back and forth
on my DVD players, between the SD and
Blu-ray, and the color discrepancies
are certainly visible but you tend to notice the vastly improved detail
of the 1080P much more. It is quite a jump forward in sharpness.
Audio, subtitles and extras are all the same between the
Blu-ray and the SE SD. From our
Blu-ray review
HERE - "we have a commentary by Peckinpah biographers/documentarians
Nick Redman, Paul Seydor, Garner Simmons and David Weddle, some
additional scenes, a Peckinpah movie trailer gallery and 3
Documentaries: Sam Peckinpah's West: Legacy of a Hollywood Renegade
A feature-length biography of the legendary director, 1996 Oscar Nominee
The Wild Bunch: An Album in Montage and only an excerpt from A
Simple Adventure Story: Sam Peckinpah, Mexico and the Wild Bunch
- a documentary film by Nick Redman."
On the audio; '
Bottom line is that I'm no expert on colors but I personally,
preferred the realistic, and more vibrant, colors to the brownish/green
hues of the original SDs. The big issue is detail and the
Blu-ray
***
ADDITION: Special Edition - January 06' : This is a situation that we
have become used to seeing - the anamorphicity of the image has created
some moulding (softening) of some items within the frame. Many might
consider 'too soft'. The old
edition which has had some contrast elevation and some more prominent edge enhancements.
The new SE , like other recent Warner
products, has a strong green bias (this is a sign of a failing telecine
machine) that is tends to homogenize the brighter
colors to even further brown.
The size
discrepancy of the image can be a factor depending on the system viewed (the old release was down to 660 wide vs. 960
tight). The errors become more prevalent when viewed on a larger
superior system. On the positive, the new SE is cleaner with less damage marks
and less digital noise (note the blue sky's in each edition). One
interesting point is how the frame has shifted to the left in the new
edition with the new SE closer to the proper aspect ratio of 2.35:1. I
suspect there was some problems with obtaining the best possible
transfer and hence fans may be left a bit disappointed. The extras and
commentary are stupendous on the new SE - but overall I would say the
image quality is very underwhelming.
****
NOTES on the 1st
release: This is a very
poor DVD. It is one of Warner's worst. The single layered - 2 sided
DVD's non-anamorphic image looks incredibly thin and has ghastly frame
transitions (see last capture). The image has a large black border
around and hence is no where near maximizing its horizontal resolution.
There is excessive grain (I don't often say that as I love grain) and
skin tones are even redder than one might expect from the sun-drenched
characters. There are moire effects prevalent and poor frame edges (jaggies).
It is a quite old DVD (2000), and definitely time for a 'Special
Edition'. Audio has been bumped to 5.1 with no option for the original
(bad error). Awful DVD Menus offering text listings of mostly
uninteresting minutia and restoration - as well as a documentary on side
B. Come on Warner - clean up the presentation on this highly regarded
film! REDO REDO REDO !
out of
NOTE: This labeled the Original Directors Cut (the 1995
reissue at 145 minutes,)there is no "directors cut" listed on IMdb
at almost 3 hours. |
DVD Menus
1) Warner - The Original Director's Cut - Region 1 - NTSC
LEFT
2) Warner - The Original Director's Cut (Two-Disc Special Edition) - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC - RIGHT
Side 2 of the Special Edition
|
Blu-ray Menus (taken with Digi-cam)
CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
1) Warner - The Original Director's Cut - Region 1 - NTSC TOP 2) Warner - The Original Director's Cut (Two-Disc Special Edition) - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC - MIDDLE 3) Warner REGION FREE Blu-ray - BOTTOM |
Subtitle Sample
NOTE: Not exact frame! - we can't get sub capture with Blu-ray yet.
|
Screen Captures
1) Warner - The Original Director's Cut - Region 1 - NTSC TOP 2) Warner - The Original Director's Cut (Two-Disc Special Edition) - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC- MIDDLE 3) Warner REGION FREE Blu-ray - BOTTOM |
|
1) Warner - The Original Director's Cut - Region 1 - NTSC TOP 2) Warner - The Original Director's Cut (Two-Disc Special Edition) - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC- MIDDLE 3) Warner REGION FREE Blu-ray - BOTTOM |
|
1) Warner - The Original Director's Cut - Region 1 - NTSC TOP 2) Warner - The Original Director's Cut (Two-Disc Special Edition) - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC- MIDDLE 3) Warner REGION FREE Blu-ray - BOTTOM |
|
1) Warner - The Original Director's Cut - Region 1 - NTSC TOP 2) Warner - The Original Director's Cut (Two-Disc Special Edition) - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC- MIDDLE 3) Warner REGION FREE Blu-ray - BOTTOM |
|
1) Warner - The Original Director's Cut - Region 1 - NTSC TOP 2) Warner - The Original Director's Cut (Two-Disc Special Edition) - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC- MIDDLE 3) Warner REGION FREE Blu-ray - BOTTOM |
|
1) Warner - The Original Director's Cut - Region 1 - NTSC TOP 2) Warner - The Original Director's Cut (Two-Disc Special Edition) - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC- MIDDLE 3) Warner REGION FREE Blu-ray - BOTTOM |
|
More captures from the Blu-ray
CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
Report Card:
Image: |
Blu-ray |
Sound: |
- |
Extras: | SE / Blu-ray |
Menu: | - |
DVD Box Cover |
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|
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The SE is included with
Sam
Peckinpah's Legendary Westerns Collection (The Wild Bunch / Pat Garrett
and Billy the Kid / Ride the High Country / The Ballad of Cable Hogue)
|
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