The Wild Bunch
Movie, 1969, The '60s, Set in The Mexican border, 1913
The Wild Bunch is #14 of 34 in release order and #11 of 34 in chronological order in the Westerns.
The story
An aging group of outlaws look for one last big score as the "traditional" American West is disappearing around them.
The Wild Bunch recap
The Wild Bunch (1969) follows aging outlaws on the Texas border in 1913 who take one last job for a Mexican general. Sam Peckinpah directs. Pike Bishop (William Holden) leads Dutch Engstrom (Ernest Borgnine), the brothers Lyle and Tector Gorch (Warren Oates and Ben Johnson), the young Mexican Angel (Jaime Sánchez) and the old Freddie Sykes (Edmond O'Brien). A railroad office robbery turns into a massacre when bounty hunters fire from the rooftops, and the loot turns out to be steel washers. The posse is led by Deke Thornton (Robert Ryan), Pike's former partner, paroled from prison to hunt him. In Mexico, General Mapache (Emilio Fernández), a brutal Federal officer, hires the gang to rob a U.S. Army train of rifles. Angel gives a crate to rebels from his village; Mapache finds out, seizes him and drags him through the town of Agua Verde behind a car. The film stands alone.
The Wild Bunch ending explained
The Wild Bunch ends with Pike, Dutch and the Gorches walking into Mapache's camp to take Angel back and dying in a massacre. When Mapache cuts Angel's throat, Pike shoots him, and the four use a machine gun on the soldiers until they are killed. Deke arrives afterward, lets the bounty hunters take the bodies, and stays behind. Sykes rides up with Angel's villagers, who have dealt with the bounty hunters, and Deke joins them.
Post-credits scenes
No. There is no post-credits scene.
Where to watch The Wild Bunch
The Wild Bunch isn't on a US streaming service right now. You can rent or buy it on Amazon, Apple TV, and Google Play.
Ratings
IMDb 7.9/10, Rotten Tomatoes 91%
Where it fits
- Release order: after Once Upon a Time in the West, before Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
- Chronological order: after Once Upon a Time in the West, before Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
Cast
- William Holden as Pike Bishop
- Ernest Borgnine as Dutch Engstrom
- Robert Ryan as Deke Thornton
- Jaime Sánchez as Angel
- Warren Oates as Lyle Gorch
- Edmond O'Brien as Freddie Sykes
- Ben Johnson as Tector Gorch
- Albert Dekker as Pat Harrigan
- Strother Martin as Coffer
- Emilio Fernández as Gen. Mapache
- Fernando Wagner as Mohr
- Alfonso Arau as Herrera
Directed by Sam Peckinpah.