Stalag 17

Based on the play by Donald Bevan and Edmund Trzcinski, Stalag 17 is the story of a group of American prisoners at a German World War II prison camp who try to find out who is working for the Germans as an informant. Directed by Billy Wilder and screenplay by Wilder and Edwin Blum, the film is a war film set in a prison camp where a group of men try to figure out who had fingered them as they would all suspect each other as it’s narrated by Gil Stratton. Starring William Holden, Don Taylor, Robert Strauss, Neville Brand, Harvey Lembeck, Peter Graves, Sig Ruman, and Otto Preminger. Stalag 17 is a rapturous and lively film from Billy Wilder.

Set entirely in a German POW prison camp where American pilots are imprisoned at the camp known as Stalag 17. The film revolves around a group of men trying to escape but a botched attempt raise questions into what went wrong as some believe there’s a mole in their camp. While it’s a film with a simple premise, it also explore life at a prison camp where many Americans live in a cabin with someone elected as security while at the other side is a camp where the Soviet Union prisoners are. Notably as the Soviet prisoners are women which does excite some of the men who hadn’t seen women in a long time but there is trouble as they’re all under the watch of the Germans led by Colonel von Scherbach (Otto Preminger). The film’s screenplay by Billy Wilder and Edwin Blum begins with a prison escape of two men who had done everything carefully until they’re caught and killed by the Germans setting the tone for the rest of the film.

Among the characters that are prominent in the film are the clowns Stanislas “Animal” Kuzawa (Robert Strauss) and Harry Shapiro (Harvey Lembeck), the toughie Duke (Neville Brand), the silent musician Joey (Robinson Stone), the no-nonsense cabin chief Hoffy (Richard Erdman), the cabin security chief Price (Peter Graves), and the cynical J.J. Sefton (William Holden) as they all try to make sense over what happened to the two prisoners who were killed though Sefton is the one who knew they wouldn’t make it. Sefton is seen as a suspect as the only person that trusts him is the film’s narrator Cookie (Gil Stratton) who helps Sefton with some of the business ventures he have with the other cabins which make him a suspect as he was seen walking back from the Soviet prison camp during the film’s second act. Yet, Sefton knows there’s a mole in the cabin as he know it isn’t him though he understands why he’s a suspect due to the things he has.

During the film’s second act when a couple of new prisoners come in as one of them is an officer in Lt. Dunbar (Don Taylor) as he is suspected of being involved in a sabotage towards a Nazi-German train as he’s being interrogated by Col. von Scherbach. It’s around this time that Sefton knows he’s been targeted as a suspect as he tries to figure out for himself who is the mole as little clues would emerge. The third act isn’t just about Sefton finding out who the mole is but also the little details into the clues as well as the level of communication given from the mole to Col. Von Scherbach through the officer Sgt. Johann Sebastian Schultz (Sig Ruman). All of which would climax during the Xmas period as well as news about Lt. Dunbar who is about to be given to SS officers.

Wilder’s direction is definitely intoxicating for the way he creates this world that is the prison camp while maintaining something that is kind of claustrophobic for the way the cabins are presented from the inside as it’s often crowded. Shot on location near the San Fernando Valley in California, the camp itself is a character in the film as it is muddy and grimy where the characters have to deal with the drab conditions though they’re given bits of comfort in their cabins under the rules of the Geneva Convention. While there’s some wide shots over the locations as well as scenes of the prisoners looking at the Soviet camp from across the border as it would include a very funny scene in which Animal and Shapiro would go across to the Soviet camp to meet the women while pretending to paint road lanes. Much of Wilder’s direction is more intimate as it play into some of the theatrical elements of the story.

Wilder’s approach to medium shots and close-ups would help play into the attention to detail into some of the things that goes on inside the cabin such as a hanging light bulb display. The sense of claustrophobia inside the cabin help play into some of the film’s humor but also the suspense such as the opening sequence as well as the visit from an official of the Geneva Convention (Erwin Kasler). When it comes to the film’s third act and Sefton’s discovery of the mole, it is presented in a very restrained manner as it help build up the tension as well as the climax of another prison escape that involves Lt. Dunbar. Wilder’s usage of the claustrophobia in the cabin as well as the camera showing all of the prisoners as they learn about the identity of the mole as it’s a moment that is just powerful but also scary. Overall, Wilder crafts a riveting yet evocative film about prisoners trying to find a mole in their cabin at a German POW camp.

Cinematographer Ernest Laszlo does brilliant work with the film’s black-and-white photography from the look of the interior/exterior scenes at night as well as some of the brightness in some of the daytime scenes. Editor George Tomasini does excellent work with the usage of rhythmic cutting to play into the humor as well as some of the suspense. Art directors Franz Bachelin and Hal Pereira, along with set decorators Sam Comer and Ray Moyer, do fantastic work with the look of the cabins as well as the cabin of the camp’s commandant as it is more spacious to play into his personality. Sound recordists Gene Garvin, Harold Lewis, and John Carmada do superb work with the sound as it play into the some of the moments inside the cabin as well as the sound of gun fires and air sirens. The film’s music by Frank Waxman is amazing for its military-inspired score with a lot of cadence drumming and percussion arrangements as well as the usage of traditional military music as well as some of the contemporary music that was around in those times.

The casting by Bill Greenwald is great as it feature some notable small roles from Peter Johnson and Michael Moore as the two prisoners escaping in the film’s beginning, Erwin Kasler as the Geneva Convention official inspecting the condition of the camps, Robert Shawley as a prisoner known as Blondie who is good with radios, William Pierson as the mailman prisoner named Marko, Robinson Stone as the mute musician Joey, and Gil Stratton as the film’s narrator and Sefton’s aide Cookie as a man that knows Sefton might not be the mole but know that Sefton has put himself into trouble with some of his activities. Sig Ruman is terrific as Sgt. Johann Sebastian Schulz as an officer who watch over one of the cabins that the prisoners are in as well as be the liaison for the secret message between Col. von Scherbach and the mole. Richard Erdman is superb as the no-nonsense prisoner Hoffy who is the cabin chief for the prisoners while Peter Graves is fantastic as the cabin security chief Price who watches over the prisoners and make sure they don’t get in trouble.

Neville Brand is excellent as the tough prisoner Duke who is very suspicious of Sefton as he is someone who cares about his fellow brothers. Harvey Lembeck and Robert Strauss are brilliant in their respective roles as Harry Shapiro and Stanislas “Animal” Kuzawa as the two comic reliefs who provide some mischief with Shapiro as the talkative of the two while Kuzawa is the man who fantasizes about being with Betty Grable. Don Taylor is amazing as Lt. Dunbar as a new prisoner who has been targeted by Nazi officers over a mission he may not have been involved in as it becomes clear that he is about to go to a worse place than the POW camps. Otto Preminger is incredible as Colonel von Scherbach as this very eccentric officer who never puts his feet in the mud as he’s this charming individual that is quite evil but is determined not to lose any prisoners. Finally, there’s William Holden in a phenomenal performance as J.J. Sefton as a very cynical prisoner who has managed to use his gambling wins and dealing to make his life in prison comfortable only to get himself in trouble as he becomes the most likely suspect as a mole where he is determined to uncover the truth.

Stalag 17 is a tremendous film from Billy Wilder. Featuring a great ensemble cast, top-notch suspense, lively humor, and claustrophobic setting. It’s a film that showcases the world of the POW camps as well as men needing to survive as well as find out who has been ratting them out to the Nazi. In the end, Stalag 17 is a spectacular film from Billy Wilder.

Billy Wilder Films: (Mauvaise Graine) – (The Major and the Minor) – (Five Graves to Cairo) – Double Indemnity - The Lost Weekend - (Death Mills) – (Emperor Waltz) – (A Foreign Affair) – Sunset Boulevard - Ace in the Hole - (Sabrina) – (The Seven Year Itch) – (The Spirit of St. Louis) – (Love in the Afternoon) – (Witness to the Prosecution) – Some Like It Hot - The Apartment - (One, Two, Three) – (Irma la Douce) – (Kiss Me, Stupid) – (The Fortune Cookie) – (The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes) – (Avanti!) – (The Front Page) – (Fedora) – (Buddy Buddy)

© thevoid99 2017

The Bridge on the River Kwai

Based on the novel by Pierre Boulle, The Bridge on the River Kwai is the story of a group of POWs in a Japanese camp who are tasked to build a bridge in Thailand during World War II as they deal with their time in the prison camp. Directed by David Lean and screenplay by Carl Foreman and Michael Wilson, the film explores the life of British POWs deal with doing work for the Japanese just as the war is heating up. Starring William Holden, Jack Hawkins, Alec Guinness, and Sessue Hayakawa. The Bridge on the River Kwai is a riveting and engaging film from David Lean.

Set in a Japanese prison camp in the middle of the jungles of Thailand, the film revolves around a group of British POWs who are tasked by the Japanese to build a bridge as their officer tries to help lead the charge to boost morale and to smooth things over with the Japanese. It’s a film that plays into a man trying to maintain a sense of honor and code among officers during the time of war as he is also trying to deal with a Japanese colonel who isn’t familiar nor is he willing to abide by the rules. At the same time, an American prisoner manages to make an escape as he is asked by the British to aid them in a mission that relates to the bridge which he reluctantly agrees to do as he is apprehensive about returning to the place which he escaped. It all plays into the complications of war as some wondered why Lt. Col. Nicholson (Alec Guinness) is willing to help the Japanese build a bridge.

The film’s screenplay starts off with Lt. Col. Nicholson’s arrival as he has been captured where the American POW Commander Shears (William Holden) watches as he’s been in the camp for some time. Under the command of Colonel Saito (Sessue Hayakawa), the prisoners are trying to build a railway bridge on the Kwai river where things aren’t going well as Saito has a deadline to catch on as he needs Nicholson’s officers to do manual labor work but Nicholson says they can’t because of rules that prevent officers from doing manual labor. Saito doesn’t care about those rules where a secret escape attempt made by Shears would have some men killed with Shears being the only one to do so successfully. The second act is about Saito and Nicholson playing a game of wit to see who can do what where the result has Nicholson take charge on the bridge’s construction so that he can look after his soldiers and contend with their morale where he would find a way to get the bridge to work and do it right.

One aspect of the script that is unique is the form of a supporting character in a medic in Major Clipton (James Donald) who is sort of the film’s conscience as he would often watch everything that occurs as he also asks Nicholson into why the bridge needs to be built. It plays into Nicholson wanting the world to know that it was British soldiers that built the bridge though he is aware that questions into treason or collaborating with the enemy might come into play. It then leads into this third act where Shears is asked by Major Warden (Jack Hawkins) to take part in a mission to blow up the bridge as Shears’ reluctance is due to the fact that he doesn’t want to go back to the jungle as it is also a place where things are just as treacherous as the camp that he escaped. The two are joined by a young Canadian officer in Lt. Joyce (Geoffrey Horne) who takes part in the mission despite his lack of actual combat experience. The mission becomes troublesome where Shears tries to comprehend exactly what is going on as its climax involves Warden’s mission in conjunction with the bridge’s completion.

David Lean’s direction is truly grand in not just his approach to create something that feels vast but also in the way it plays into a world where two different cultures and two different ideas have to work together to build this bridge. With its 2:35:1 aspect ratio for widescreen, Lean manages to create a lot of compositions that are very striking in his approach to capture the large number of British POWs with his usage of wide and medium shots. Particularly with scenes of crowd shots as well as a key scene where Japanese soldiers are waiting for Saito to give the order to shoot Nicholson and his officers on a very hot and sunny day. It’s a chilling scene that plays into this battle of wits between Saito and Nicholson where it would continue in some intimate moments where Nicholson is forced to stay inside this small little cell known as the oven for a period of time.

The direction also has Lean use some inspiring tracking shots and other stylistic shots to play into the scenes where the bridge is built as Lean takes advantage of the locations as it is shot in Sri Lanka with a few scenes shot in Britain. Notably as Lean would use the locations as characters of the film including the river where much of the film’s action, aside from the prison camp, takes place as it is showcases what Nicholson is doing as the bridge is sort of a metaphor for what he wants to do with Saito despite being in two different sides of the war. The film’s climax where many of its key characters converge play into not just the fallacy of war but also in the sense of madness as it plays into not just Shears’ own frustrations with war but also in Major Clipton’s own understanding of things. Overall, Lean creates a very engrossing yet exhilarating film about a British officer trying to create peace by helping the Japanese in creating a bridge.

Cinematographer Jack Hildyard does brilliant work with the film‘s cinematography to capture the colorful look of the jungle in the daytime as well as some very stark and low-key lighting schemes for the scenes set at night including the camp interiors. Editor Peter Taylor does excellent work with the editing as it‘s straightforward for the most part with some stylish dissolve transitions plus rhythmic cuts for some of the film‘s action scenes. Art director Donald M. Ashton does amazing work with the design of the prison camps as well as the look and design of the bridge upon its completion as it plays a key part of the story. Sound editor Winston Ryder does terrific work with the sound to play into the tense atmosphere in the camps as well as the sense of chaos in the bridge construction scenes. The film’s music by Malcolm Arnold is fantastic for its orchestral-based score that underplays the drama as well as some military-based music that includes Colonel Bogey march.

The film’s cast includes some notable small roles from Andre Morell as a British colonel who organizes the plan to destroy the bridge, Ann Sears as a nurse Shears spends time with after his escape, Peter Williams and John Boxer as a couple of Nicholson’s officers who help design the bridge, and Geoffrey Horne as the young Canadian officer Joyce who aids Shears and Warden in the mission to blow up the bridge. James Donald is excellent as Major Clipton as an army doctor who is the film’s conscience as he copes with what Nicholson is doing while being baffled about the rules of war. Sessue Hayakawa is amazing as Colonel Saito as the Japanese prison camp leader who is trying to get the bridge made as he’s under a lot of pressure to finish it on time while maintaining some honor in his battle of wits against Nicholson.

Jack Hawkins is fantastic as Major Warden as a British officer who takes charge in the mission as he is someone with an affinity to do dangerous things as he later copes with an injury that plays into the fallacy of war. William Holden is brilliant as Commander Shears as an American POW who escapes the camp as he reluctantly takes part in the mission to blow up the bridge as he copes with the dangers of war and all of its risks. Finally, there’s Alec Guinness in a remarkable performance as Lt. Col. Nicholson as a stubborn and proud officer who tries to instill a sense of honor into his situation as he would take charge in building the bridge with the hope of bringing a sense of peace during a time of war.

The Bridge on the River Kwai is a phenomenal film from David Lean. Armed with a great cast and compelling themes on war and honor in war, it’s a film that manages to explore a lot of things as well as be engaging in the way it portrays life in prison camps. Especially as it’s a film where there are no heroes and villains but rather men caught up in the middle of a war. In the end, The Bridge of the River Kwai is a sensational film from David Lean.

David Lean Films: In Which We Serve - This Happy Breed - Blithe Spirit - Brief Encounter - Great Expectations (1946 film) - Oliver Twist (1948 film) - The Passionate Friends - Madeleine (1950 film) - The Sound Barrier - Hobson’s Choice - Summertime (1955 film) - Lawrence of Arabia - Doctor Zhivago - Ryan’s Daughter - (Lost and Found: The Story of Cook’s Anchor) - A Passage to India - (The Auteurs #74: David Lean)

© thevoid99 2015

2013 Blind Spot Series: Sunset Boulevard

Directed by Billy Wilder and written by Wilder, Charles Brackett, and D.M. Marshman, Jr., Sunset Boulevard is the story of a lowly screenwriter who tries to write a script for a fading silent star actress in the hope to revive her career. The film is an exploration into the world of Hollywood and how it treats those whose time have come and gone as it’s told in a film-noir style. Starring William Holden, Gloria Swanson, Erich von Stroheim, and Nancy Olson. Sunset Boulevard is a spectacular film from Billy Wilder.

The film is the story about a debt-ridden B-movie screenwriter who finds himself at the home of a fading silent star actress who is convinced that she will return as she hires the man to help her shape her script and become her lover while her loyal butler watches closely. It’s a film that explores the world of Hollywood and how fickle it can be as times have changed as there’s a man trying to make a break as a screenwriter though he has ideas that aren’t so great. There’s an aging actress who hadn’t been in the films for years yet is convinced that she is still a movie star that gets fan letters all the time. All of it is told by the screenwriter named Joe Gillis (William Holden) who is first seen lying dead on a swimming pool as he narrates the entire story trying to figure out what he got himself into.

The film’s screenplay has this unique narrative that is told by its protagonist who is found dead at the beginning of the film as it’s a narration that is sort of reflective but told in a noir-like language to give a sense of style where Gillis definitely has some regrets over the way he handled things and as well as the mess he got himself into. It starts off as someone who is full of ideas but not a lot of them that Hollywood wants as he owes money where he tries to hide from repossession men where he finds himself in a mysterious mansion that turns out to be the home of the once great silent film star Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson). Desmond is convinced that she will make a grand return to the big screen as she has created a project that will put her back on top despite not having been in the films since the emergence of sound in films. Still, she is still convinced that she is a star as she also waits for a phone call from Cecil B. DeMille whom she had worked with.

Another person that is crucial to the story is Desmond’s loyal butler/driver Max (Erich von Stroheim) who is also Norma’s great protector as he shields her from the reality that she’s unaware of. Especially as knows a lot more than one wants to think as Gillis is suspicious about Max as he finds himself trapped in Desmond’s home yet has no choice but to be with her. Still, he finds it suffocating an encounter with a script-reader named Betty Schaefer (Nancy Olson) leads to a script collaboration between the two that makes Desmond very suspicious about Gillis’ frequent departure from the house. All of it would lead to some conflict over what is really going on around Desmond and how out of touch she is.

The direction of Billy Wilder is truly stylish from the way he opens the film that includes the shot of Gillis’ body lying face down in the swimming pool as he’s narrating the film. While some of the compositions are quite simple and to the point, there is that element of style that Wilder wants in terms of close-ups and slow zooms as well as some extravagant crane shots. Much of it is to display a world in Hollywood that is changing where a lot is happening where there are those that have no clue of the past though there are some who do recognize Desmond despite the fact that she hasn’t been around for years. There’s also some cameos that appear in the film to play up into a world that Desmond wants such as a bridge game with other silent film stars who don’t say anything yet there’s an element of meta-acting in their appearances.

There is also some satire that explores the way Hollywood is and such as Wilder showcases a place that Desmond doesn’t recognize yet is convinced that people know who she is. Even as the big scene where she arrives at Paramount studios showcases that sense of disconnect that she is unaware of where she meets Cecil B. DeMille who is surprised by her arrival as he is someone who doesn’t have the heart to disappoint her. Things do get darker in the third act when Desmond learns about Schaefer and Gillis where it all plays to something that is wild and melodramatic that would one of the most unforgettable endings in film. Overall, Wilder creates a very sensational yet dark film about the fickleness of Hollywood and a woman’s loss with reality.

Cinematographer John F. Seitz does brilliant work with the film‘s black-and-white photography from the bright look of its daytime exteriors to some of the stylish lights for the scenes at night including the scenes outside of the house to showcase a world that seems long and gone. Editors Doane Harrison and Arthur Schmidt do excellent work with the editing by going in a straightforward approach with the editing though infusing the film with some style in its transitional dissolves and montages. Art director Hans Dreier and John Meehan, along with set decorators Sam Comer and Ray Moyer, do fantastic work with the home of Norma Desmond with its old-school look and a room full of her photos to showcase the sense of disconnect in her life.

Costume designer Edith Head does wonderful work with the costumes from the suits that Max and Gillis wears to the lavish dresses that Desmond wears throughout the entirety of the film. Sound recorders John Cope and Harry Lindgren do superb work with the sound to play into the tense atmosphere of the Desmond home as well as the raucous nature of some of the party scenes and such in the film. The film’s music by Franz Waxman is amazing for its bombastic yet thrilling orchestral score to play out some of the suspense and melodrama that just adds a lot of power to the film.

The film’s cast is incredible as it features some appearances from Cecil B. DeMille as himself as well as silent film stars Buster Keaton, Anna Q. Nilsson, and H.B. Warner as bridge players, and famed gossip writer Hedda Hopper as herself in the film’s final scene. Fred Clark is terrific as Paramount producer Sheldrake while Jack Webb is excellent as Schaefer’s fiancée in assistant director Artie Green. Nancy Olson is wonderful as Betty Schaefer as script-reader who wants to write her own scripts where her strong opinions as her teaming up with Gillis where she finds herself falling for him. Erich von Stroheim is marvelous as Norma’s longtime assistant Max as a man who is her great protector as well as a man who knows more about her than anyone as there’s a lot more to him that makes von Stroheim’s performance far more entrancing.

William Holden is amazing as Joe Gillis as this lowly and unlucky screenwriter who arrives into the Desmond home by accident as he is someone that is just trying to catch a break only to become Desmond’s new companion for better or worse as he also drives the story to unveil all of the mistakes and such that he’s made. Finally, there’s Gloria Swanson in an astounding performance as Norma Desmond. Swanson brings a sense of terror and melodrama to the role as someone who believes she is bigger than life as well as someone who has lost touch with reality. It’s a truly tour-de-force performance that is really unlike anything or anyone as it’s definitely one that no one will forget.

Sunset Boulevard is a magnificent film from Billy Wilder that features phenomenal performances from Gloria Swanson, William Holden, and Erich von Stroheim. It’s a film that explores the dark side of Hollywood and how one so desperately craves to be in the spotlight again no matter how much things have changed. It’s also one of Wilder’s most entrancing films for its striking visuals and witty satire on Hollywood’s fickleness. In the end, Sunset Boulevard is a triumphant film from Billy Wilder.

Billy Wilder Films: (Mauvaise Graine) - (The Major and the Minor) - (Five Graves to Cairo) - Double Indemnity - The Lost Weekend - (The Emperor Waltz) - (A Foreign Affair) - Ace in the Hole - Stalag 17 - (Sabrina) - (The Seven Year Itch) - (The Spirit of St. Louis) - (Love in the Afternoon) - (Witness for the Prosecution) - Some Like It Hot - The Apartment - (One, Two, Three) - (Irma La Douce) - (Kiss Me, Stupid) - (The Fortune Cookie) - (The Private Lives of Sherlock Holmes) - (Avanti!) - (The Front Page) - (Fedora) - (Buddy Buddy)

© thevoid99 2013

The Wild Bunch

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 7/16/06 w/ Additional Edits.

Throughout the history of the Western genre, the formula of a Western film is often filled with a duel between a sheriff and a cowboy, whether either one is good or bad. Before the 1960s, the genre was dominated by the likes of John Ford and the films he made with John Wayne. Other Western directors like Anthony Mann, Howard Hawks, and Budd Boetticher were giving the genre some great visual scope and storylines that harkened to the traditional style. When the American Western started to decline in the early 60s thanks to the advent of television, the genre was being reinvented in Europe thanks to Italian directors, notably Sergio Leone. Around that same time, an American film director whose love for the Western was also trying to keep the genre alive. His name was Sam Peckinpah where by 1965, he had already created three films within the genre, 1961's The Deadly Companions, 1962's Ride the High Country, and 1965's Major Dundee. Then in 1969, Peckinpah released a film that not only reinvigorated the genre but also marked the beginning of the end of the West with his violent epic film, The Wild Bunch.

Story by Walon Green and Roy N. Sickner with a script by Green and Peckinpah, The Wild Bunch is a story of pride, honor, and ageism about two ageing thieves with three young men in the early 1900s hoping to make one last score before retirement in Mexico. Trying to capture them is one of their former comrades as the gang make way for Mexico where an offer to make more money is upon them leaving way for betrayal and loss. Taking the Western to newer and bloodier heights, Sam Peckinpah strays away from the myths and ideology by going into a world where the West is dying in its surroundings but not to its major characters. Starring William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Robert Ryan, Edmond O'Brien, Warren Oates, Jaime Sanchez, Ben Johnson, and Alfonso Arau. Sam Peckinpah's The Wild Bunch is a bloody, uncompromising, no-holds-barred violent film that kicks the Western with a bang.

It's a nice day in a little quaint town where a funeral is held while children are watching ants kill a scorpion. Then comes a group of men wearing calvary uniform who are there for one reason once they arrive in a bank, to score some big money for their last heist. Leading the pack is the aging Pike (William Holden) with his longtime friend Dutch (Ernest Borgnine) along with some younger recruits in the brothers Lyle (Warren Oates) and Tector Gorch (Ben Johnson), Mexican friend Angel (Jaime Sanchez), and a crazy newcomer in Clarence Lee (Bo Hopkins). Taking hostages in the bank, Pike proclaims "If they move, kill 'em" while outside of the bank, a group of bounty hunters led by Pike's former comrade Deke Thornton (Robert Ryan) looks on to capture Pike and his men. Realizing they're trapped and by Thornton of all people, Pike and his bunch leave the bank to a wild, bloody battle that claims the life of some towns people and Clarence as they flee to Mexico.

Thornton's plan failed thanks to a couple of guncrazy hunters in Coffer (Strother Martin) and T.C. (L.Q. Jones) as they're all working for a railroad baron named Harrigan (Albert Dekker). Thornton is more conflicted since he wishes he could join Pike's bunch for one more wild ride. After nearing the border in an empty town to meet with their old friend Freddie Sykes (Edmond O'Brien), the bunch realizes the money they stole wasn't there at all as they've been set up to steal washers. Despite the disappointment, Pike hopes to go to Mexico while he and Dutch reminisce the old days as Pike flashes back about Thornton's capture that he felt is a reason for his betrayal. Going further into Mexico, they stop at the village where Angel once lived as they meet an old man named Don Jose (Chano Urueta) who is trying to protect his village from General Mapache (Emilio Fernandez) who is currently at war with anyone in league with Pancho Villa during the Mexican Revolution. Angel wants to lead the fight as he learns that his old love Teresa (Sonia Amelio) is with Mapache as Pike figures that they go to Mapache for something.

The bunch goes to the town to meet Mapache and his men including Major Zamorra (Jorge Russek), Lieutenant Herrera (Alfonso Arau), and a German advisor named Mohr (Fernando Wagner). Angel nearly gets them in trouble when he violently confronts Teresa as Pike makes a deal with Mapache to go back to the U.S. to steal guns and ammunition for Mapache's army. The bunch gets a break as the Gorch brothers go into debauchery with some Mexican women while Angel makes a deal with Pike to get a case of guns for his village in exchange for the share of gold the bunch will get. Thornton, meanwhile plans to capture the bunch in the U.S. by trying to protect the latest shipment of guns for Harrigan.

The bunch returns to the U.S. where they manage to succeed in their mission as Thornton and his gang try to chase them in Mexico along with a U.S. calvary. The bunch almost get into trouble when they meet Mexican Indians only to get protection since they know Angel. After hiding from Thornton, the bunch meets with Herrera as they show them the guns and a lot more including a machine gun. They make a deal with Herrera to give them the shipments through a few meetings so the individual members of the bunch can get their share of the gold. When Dutch and Angel deliver the last shipment to Mapache, it all goes wrong when Angel is taken prisoner as Dutch is forced to leave him. Things get worse when Sykes is wounded on his way back from Mapache's fort when he's spotted by Thornton's men. Pike is forced to make some decisions as they hope to retrieve Angel as the four men make way for a violent, bloody showdown.

Westerns have always lived by a code of honor, especially when it comes to loyalty. In the case for The Wild Bunch, Peckinpah takes that code right to heart. Especially at a time when honor has been in question during the late 1960s at the Vietnam War. In Peckinpah's world, the West starts to die in this film as things like cars and airplanes start to arrive. That becomes real hard for men like Pike, Dutch, Sykes, and even Thornton as the world changes, even in a more loose world like Mexico where there's a car for the General. The car reveals Pike's hatred for the new, modern world as he even reminisces the old days of the West when he wanted everything, even a family with a woman named Aurora (Aurora Clavel). In many ways, the characters and Peckinpah share that sentiment of the old world and its order as the film really represents about a group of men wanting one last taste of the old ways before they die.

Still, despite all the bloodshed and style that Peckinpah presents. He is still a storyteller since the film is really about old men wanting one last chance of excitement by robbing things and stuff yet don't want to kill people unless they have to. While the action does keep the film exciting in every way whether it's against the Mexicans or Thornton's men, Peckinpah balances his love of bloodshed for moments of regret and joy. The script by Peckinpah and Walon Green reveal the kind of camaraderie the men have despite their own individual flaws. Plus, the dialogue between the men range from mean-spirited to just pure hilarity when in one scene just as the bunch are about to cross the border, Angel says "Mexico lindo" and Lyle says "I don't see anything so lindo about it". Even the sense of debauchery when the Gorch brothers swim in a pool of wine with Mexico women is all in good fun to reveal Peckinpah's sense of comedy.

That balance of violence, humor, drama, and sentimentality presents a complex, endearing vision of Peckinpah's perspective of the West. In a genre that is dying from its old model, Peckinpah, like Sergio Leone and the Italian Spaghetti Westerns before him, chose to reinvent the genre. Even to the point that they have to kill it in what became known as the Revisionist Western. For Peckinpah, the Western becomes a brutal allegory of sorts to what was going on in the late 1960s in the age of Vietnam as he decides to let it all out with the film's violence. The violence in the film is very brutal and today, it's still is but not by much in today's violence. Peckinpah's vision of violence is very uncompromising and not for the faint of heart.

Helping Peckinpah in this take of violence are two of his best collaborators in cinematographer Lucien Ballard and editor Lou Lombardo. Ballard's photography captures the tense atmosphere of the West from its sunny, hot deserts to the quaint, blue-green colors of Angel's village with only the moon and fires as the source of light. For some of the action scenes, Ballard's camera work goes from wonderful pans to excellent zooming and close-up shots that reveal his brilliance as a camera man and photographer. His work in the film's final shootout is even great. Lombardo's editing is also genius for its slow-motion editing of bodies falling down, men getting shot, and everything to give the film a sense of style. Lombardo's cutting from sequence to sequence with the use of dissolves, jump-cuts, and perspective cutting gives the film a wonderful rhythm where it moves very leisurely and not too fast as his work is filled with brilliance.

Art director Edward Carrere and wardrobe supervisor Gordon T. Dawson go great work in giving out the film's look from the decaying world of the Mexican fort to the modernization of the cars and guns as well as the look from cowboy gears to the business suit that the German men wear. The sound work of Robert J. Miller is also great for its sense of chaos in the film's violent sequences where the layers of screams, gunplay, bullets hitting bodies, and everything else brings the film to a world that is just crashing down. Jerry Fielding gives a great film score that is filled with amazing orchestral arrangements to play to the film's intensity of its violence and sentimentality while he creates a great drum cadence piece to build momentum for some of the film's violent sequences. The soundtrack is a mix of Fielding's score and Mexican folk music that plays well to the atmosphere that is Mexico.

The film's cast couldn't have been assembled any better as Peckinpah assembled a great cast filled with actors he loved along with great character actors. While actresses Aurora Clavel and Sonia Amelio didn't get much to do, they both bring in a different presence to their film as Clavel is great as Pike's love and Amelio as Angel's indifferent lover. Fernando Wagner as German advisor Mohr and Jorge Russek as Major Zamorra are great in their small roles as the villains while noted Mexican actor/director Alfonso Arau is very memorable as the charming Lt. Herrera. Chano Urueta is great as the aging Don Jose who shares the same ideals of the aging Pike and Dutch as his wiseness brings a great, memorable performance.

Notable Western character actors L.Q. Jones and Strother Martin bring the film's funniest performance as Thornton’s guncrazy, wild bounty hunters who both manage to steal every moment whenever they're on screen. Albert Dekker is great as the greedy Harrigan whose desire is to have money while Bo Hopkins is memorable as the crazy Clarence whose antics and naivete of the world of heist leads to his demise. Emilio Fernandez is great as the power-hungry, funny General Mapache whose love for the battlefield and great weapons, including torture, reveal a fun villain that everyone can remember as Fernandez brings all kinds of fun and sleaziness to a great role.

Jaime Sanchez is great as the lone Mexican of the bunch as Angel who serves not just as the conscience of the group but the one who is as less greedy of them. Sanchez is great in his role for standing among his American actors though in reality, he's Puerto Rican. Ben Johnson is excellent as Tector Gorch with his love for debauchery while equally as good is the late, great character actor Warren Oates who plays the more crazed brother of the bunch. Edmond O'Brien is also excellent as the old yet comical Sykes whose ideology and pride is shared among the older members of the bunch as he stands out for his comical presence.

Robert Ryan is brilliant as Deke Thornton, a man of conflict in his role as a hunter working for a railroad while wishing he could join the bunch as his character is really one of the more complex individuals of the film. Ernest Borgnine is amazing in the role of Dutch as the man who keeps the bunch together whenever they’re fragmented or wanting to break apart. Borgnine is really the group's moral reminder of the code of honor as he stands out for his knowledge and sentimentality for the old ways. William Holden gives probably one of his best performances of his career that ranged to many genres including the Western. Holden is just exhilarating as a man who is starting to feel his age while trying not to be humiliated by the younger members of the bunch. Holden brings a lot of depth to a man filled with pride and honor but also guilt and regret as Holden's face, notably his eyes tells the story of a man with a lot of history. Yet when Holden holds a gun and goes for the kill, he immediately transform into a cool badass.

The Region 1 2006 2-disc Special Edition of the Original Director's Cut of The Wild Bunch from Warner Brothers is truly a DVD that fans of the film will enjoy. The first disc presents the film with a new digital transfer where the entire film, in its director's cut print gives the film the same look when it was originally presented back in 1969. The film is shown on the widescreen, letterbox format of 16x9, 2:4:1 theatrical aspect ratio, which is the only way to see this film in all of its glory to enhance Lucien Ballard's wondrous cinematography. The first disc of the DVD also the 5.1 Dolby Digital audio format while its special features includes several trailers including a film collection of the work of James Dean and trailers to the films of Sam Peckinpah including Ride the High Country, The Ballad of Cable Hogue, The Getaway, and Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid.

The audio commentary feature of the director's cut is by several of Peckinpah biographers, documentarians, and scholars of his work like Nick Redman, Paul Seydor, Garner Simmons, and David Weddle. The commentary from the four men are wonderful to hear since they're having a lot of fun watching the film as they also recall the way Peckinpah worked and his collaboration with screenwriter Walon Green. They also go into detail on the technical aspects as well as many of the interpretations of the scenes in the film. A lot of Peckinpah trivia is there while they reveal what got cut from Peckinpah's original cut which included several flashback sequences and a very important scene involving Mapache fighting against Pancho Villa's men which were all cut for length reasons to Peckinpah's dismay. Overall, it's one of the more enjoyable commentaries of a Western film.

The second disc of the 2-DVD disc set features more special features starting with a nine-minute feature of outtakes of scenes from the film like extended takes and alternate angles of scenes like the desert scene, river border scene, the bridge scene, and the train robbery sequence. Three documentaries are the big features for this 2-DVD disc set starting with the 1996 Oscar nominated documentary short, The Wild Bunch: An Album in Montage. The 33-minute doc short by Paul Seydor reveals black-and-white footage of the film behind the scenes as its being made with producer Nick Redman serving as narrator. The footage reveals the making of the film as well as two important sequences like the final battle and the bridge scene with several people including screenwriter Walon Green and the late Edmond O'Brien commenting on the making of the film through their voices as well as Peckinpah's daughter Sharon.

Actors do the voices of the other actors through interview excerpts with Ed Harris playing the role of Peckinpah reading his interviews and excerpts from his journal. The documentary overall is brilliant for its sheer look into Peckinpah's personality and work ethics while showing some great footage including a short of Ernest Borgnine doing extra work as a safety man helping out the stunt man for the bridge scene.

The second documentary feature is an excerpt of Nick Redman’s documentary A Simple Adventure Story: Sam Peckinpah, Mexico, and The Wild Bunch. The 24-minute doc is really a locations doc as Redman plus Paul Seydor, Garner Simmons, and David Weddle join Peckinpah family friend Jesse Graham and Peckinpah's Mexican daughter Lupita on a journey through the film's locations where most of it was shot in a little town in the middle of Mexico. The doc covers the journey as they reach the little town and explore the abandoned, aging ruins that was the hacienda for General Mapache and see all of its areas in its desolated yet beautiful glory. A few miles away from that location is the camp where the bunch reunite with Sykes while nearby is the location of the town in the opening scene.

With the film's wardrobe supervisor Gordon T. Dawson interviewed about the locations and look of the film, the people in the doc realize that not much has changed except that some places are either looked a bit newer while others are just on the brink of extinction. It's an excellent documentary that reveals the locations from the men who loved Peckinpah's work and the daughter who never really knew her father.

The final documentary is from Starz/Encore movie channels called Sam Peckinpah's West: Legacy of a Hollywood Renegade. Featuring interviews with Peckinpah’s people like his biographers, family members, collaborators, actors including Kris Kristofferson, Stella Stevens, L.Q. Jones, and the late James Coburn. Also interviewed are several admirers like actors Billy Bob Thornton and Benicio del Toro plus film director Paul Schrader and critics like Elvis Mitchell, David Thomson, and Roger Ebert. Directed and produced by Tom Thurman with narration by Kris Kristofferson, the one-hour, 23-minute doc revealed the difficulties and excess of Peckinpah on and off the set which pertains to his legend.

The doc reveals his work in the Westerns which he loved since he was a kid as he started his career as a director working on Western TV shows before helming his feature, 1961's Western The Deadly Companions. Then in 1962, Peckinpah scored his first hit with Ride the High Country which revealed Peckinpah's love for heterosexual male bonding and old Western morals that starred aging Western actors Joel McCrea and Randolph Scott. 1965's Major Dundee proved to be difficult due to fight with studio people and producers and got into squabbles over the final cut as he was dissatisfied with the final result of the film. Then in 1969, he hit pay dirt with The Wild Bunch where once it was first screened during a press screening for new films by Warner Brothers, the film received a lot of controversy.

Roger Ebert recalled that screening and the press conference where Peckinpah and William Holden came to the conference hung over as a woman from The Reader's Digest asked why this film was made. Ebert was there and defended the film by proclaiming it to be a masterpiece while the film divided critics and audiences over its violent content. The film made Peckinpah a big time director while he had certain expectations on what to expect from him. 1970's Western drama The Ballad of Cable Hogue starring Jason Robards, Stella Stevens, and David Warner was well-received and is considered to be Peckinpah's favorite film that he did though it was criticized for its lack of violence. 1972's Junior Bonner also suffered the same criticism in a family drama starring Steve McQueen in a contemporary setting of the West where Peckinpah felt that whenever he brings violence to his films, he gets criticized and when he doesn't put violence, no one will see them.

The doc had brief mentions of the films Peckinpah made between 1969-1974 like Straw Dogs and The Getaway which weren't Westerns but had all of the elements of a Peckinpah film. 1973's Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid in what some say to many of Peckinpah's biographers and collaborators to be the beginning of the end for him. Peckinpah was notorious for his drinking at the time. Thornton and del Toro talked about some favorite scenes as del Toro thought it was cool seeing Bob Dylan throw a knife while Kris Kristofferson talked about his fond memories of making that film. 1974's Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia was another contemporary Western set in the present where Elvis Mitchell said the film was really called Bring Me the Diseased Soul of Sam Peckinpah with longtime character actor Warren Oates playing the lead role. The film was panned by critics as Roger Ebert recalled who gave the film a four-star review and put in his best films list. The documentary winds down to Peckinpah's decline as his own children don't have anything bad to say about him even though he wasn't around them all the time yet he was there for them. Overall, it's a great doc.

More than 35 years since its release, Sam Peckinpah's The Wild Bunch is a quintessential, no-holds-barred, bloody, in-your-face film. Thanks to Peckinpah's wielding, uncompromising vision, and a superb cast, this film is no doubt one of the best movies ever as well as one of the great Westerns. Anyone who isn't into violent imagery or crass language and behaviors should stay away from this because they don't have the guts or cajones to watch this masterpiece. In many ways, this is a guy's movie since it has everything a guy wants. Lots of violence, sexy ladies, great codes of honor, some laughs, and realistic heterosexual male bonding. So in the end, if there's a film that delivers all of those things and gets an audience all riled up, it's The Wild Bunch by the legendary Sam Peckinpah.

Sam Peckinpah Films: The Deadly Companions - Ride the High Country - Major Dundee - Noon Wine - The Ballad of Cable Hogue - Straw Dogs - Junior Bonner - The Getaway - Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid - Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia - The Killer Elite - Cross of Iron - Convoy - The Osterman Weekend - The Auteurs #62: Sam Peckinpah

© thevoid99 2011