film

Released in 1969 and set in the years leading up to the First World War, The Wild Bunch is a defining work of revisionist western – the kind that challenges the traditional myths of the American frontier. Directed by Sam Peckinpah, the film follows an ageing gang of outlaws led by Pike Bishop, played by William Holden, as they attempt one final robbery on the Texas-Mexico border. What begins as a familiar western setup gradually becomes darker and more mournful, and ends up a portrait of men who realise that the violent world they helped create no longer has any place for them.

Peckinpah’s use of slow motion and explosive editing transformed screen violence, influencing generations of filmmakers while provoking fierce controversy on its release. But beneath the bloodshed is an elegiac film about loyalty, masculinity and collapsing myths. Its dusty landscapes and doomed anti-heroes still feel stunningly modern all these years later.