Wild Bunch ' The Director's Cut (DVD)

The Wild Bunch is a Western from 1969. Although the violence is fairly tame by today’s standards (I doubt it would get an 18 certificate if it was submitted now), it still carries a faint whiff of the controversy it provoked on its original release. People had never seen anything this visceral in a Western before, and since it appeared in the same year as Bonnie and Clyde, it’s often been hailed as the start of the new, more adult approach to cinema that became prevalent in the 70s. Set in 1913, it tells the story of a gang (or bunch) of outlaws roaming the West. At the start of the film they’re lured into a trap by a railroad company they keep robbing, and ...

Pike Bishop (William Holden), Dutch Engstrom (Ernest Borgnine), Lyle Gorch (Warren Oates), Tector Gorch (Ben Johnson), Sykes (Edmond O'Brien) and Angel (Jaime Sanchez) are The Wild Bunch, a band of ruthless outlaws who'll do anything for money, even kill their own man who is too injured to ride. They're pursed by a posse of bounty hunters lead, under duress, by Deke Thornton (Robert Ryan) who used to ride with Pike. The posse ambushes The Wild Bunch as they attempt a bank robbery. This quickly turns into a bloodbath as The Wild Bunch make their escape. They ride to Mexico where they hideout at Angel's home, a small village struggling under General Mapache (Emilio ...