Forty years ago, Quentin Tarantino was just a young boy; the future great director was taken to a showing of Sam Peckinpah’s “The Wild Bunch. Set in 1913, the neo-western classic tells the story of a band of misogynistic and violent outlaws riding around the US-Mexican border looking for one final score. The aging gang is held together by a crude code of honor that is starting to unravel in the face of modern technology.
Even in the rebellious rock-n-roll period of the 1960s, “The Wild Bunch was deemed disturbingly violent. Nervous executives decided to hold no red-carpet premiere for the film. The film’s body count was an astronomical 195. While given an R-rating at the time, a restored 1993 version was given an NC-17, even though the restored version contained no new violent footage.
Tarantino later stated that the movie “changed my perception of cinema, though it should be noted that Tarantino was only six-years-old when “The Wild Bunch premiered. Still there is no denying the power of the film even today. The film’s graphic portrayal of violence had a profound effect on filmmakers from all over the world.
The latest example is Taratino’s most recent film, “Inglourious Bastards, which contained several references to “The Wild Bunch. Other seminal directors like Martin Scorsese and Oliver Stone have paid homage to the film. The film received two Oscar nominations and won a host of other awards. In Asia, great action directors John Woo, Kar Wai Wong and Johnnie To were influenced by his slow-mo action sequences and stylized violence.
Given its wide influence on Hollywood, the international Jules Verne Film Festival decided to round up the old gang for one final score: A 40th anniversary of the film was marked with a high definition screening in Los Angeles this month. The event took place in the historic Million Dollar Theater, built in 1917. It was the grand red carpet premiere the film never received.
Many of the cast members who are still alive were on hand for the event, the most famous of whom was Hollywood legend Earnest Borgnine. As the last living member of the “Wild Bunch, he accepted the Légendaire award for his achievements.
Always one of Hollywood’s most energetic actors, Borgnine showed little signs of slowing down at age 92. Borgnine described Sam Peckinpah as one of the greatest directors he ever worked with. Borgnine also proved that the Spanish his character speaks in the movie is no act; Borgnine spoke a few sentences in Spanish telling the audience “Mexico es Todo (Mexico is everything) after joking about the wild times the actors enjoyed on set. Following the awards ceremony, a restored director’s cut of the film was shown.
Earnest Borgnine, whose portly size would’ve probably casted him out of present action movies, was cast in 1969 as Dutch Ingstrom, the lieu tent in a gang of outlaws.
Sam Peckinpah’s film explores many universal themes such as aging, loyalty and the end of the frontier. In one scene, Hollywood legend William Holden, playing the gangs leader, tells Earnest Borgnine’s character, “We ve got to start thinking beyond our guns. Those days are closing fast.
Upon its release in the Middle East, the film was titled “Pipe Dream and it is indeed a “pipe dream to assume that we can avoid changing with the times. The film’s final gunfight is a pitiful attempt by the outlaws to avoid changing with the times.
Next year, an Israeli film studio plans the first full-length CGI Animated film also to be called “The Wild Bunch. There is only one real Wild Bunch however, and while the actors involved with it may fade into the past, this will be a film which resonates for years to come.
