La Horde sauvage

A bloody masterpiece with several powerful scenes. In my opinion, stealing the weapons from the train is slightly better than simply a destructive finale. The setting, shortly before the outbreak of the world war, gives it the necessary feeling of the end of the Wild West as we know it, and the beginning of a new era. (2019-09-02)

Plenty of dead civilians as an inevitable part of a harsh life; men who only use the word "law" when it suits them; a woman as a symbol of a man's mere distraction... Sam Peckinpah had balls like no other director before or since, and the male superiority simply oozes out of his films. Yet it is a superiority that's honest, uncompromising, and harsh at the same time. This ensures that it can only be seen as an expression of an unmistakable creative genius, one that puts an almost mystical equivalence between the words violence and art and expands the film western to indescribable greatness. (2007-02-11)

A solid ride, whose the moral values and strength of friendship inspired of some of the creators of the contemporary film industry (John Woo, Michael Mann). Sam Peckinpah's fondness for blood and violence is very evident, especially in the action scenes, which are excellently shot, unusually clear and realistic, though at times the too hectic editing can be bothersome, but otherwise, more or less satisfaction. The actors deliver exactly what is needed: rough faces, tough gestures, and decisive actions. The central duo forms a perfect example of enemies. It is hard to distinguish between good and evil, which plays only to the advantage of the film. (2006-10-21)

By western standards, a solidly brutal film whose final machine-gun massacre in Aqua Verde is one of the most memorable scenes in the history of cinema. Sam Peckinpah just likes violence, The Wild Bunch doesn't look shabby in that respect and has a very realistic edge to it. This is also true of many scenes in which the horses in particular must have had a lot of fun (I would single out the slow-motion shots rolling down a sand dune and falling from a mined bridge into a river, which take on an almost bizarrely aesthetic impression). The production design with its impressive period Mexican realism with dirty hirsute locals is downright incredible. Women have no place in Peckinpah's harsh world of rough men, they only play the minor role of cheerleaders or treacherous bitches. Last but not least, we must mention William Holden (Sunset Boulevard), his charismatic performance brought back memories of his heyday in the 1950s. (2006-08-09)

I'm afraid my expectations were too high after reading other people's reviews. One thing is clear, the movie is much grittier and rawer compared to classic Westerns; traditional gun duels cannot compete with these wild explosions of violence. However, if I put aside the opening and final scenes, all that was left in the extensive middle was a train robbery. The part where they traveled from the place of the previous massacre to the place of the future one was quite time-consuming, and there was only a limited amount of action in it. It dragged on for me, and similarly divided plots in contemporary Westerns are often the main reason for my decreased satisfaction. It's a shame because I enjoyed the movie otherwise. It's quite possible that it's just me, as the majority opinion disagrees with me. Well, I can't do much about how I perceive things, so I'll conclude by saying that if I hadn't been somewhat bored in the middle of the film, I would have given it at least four stars. / Lesson learned: A machine gun with unlimited ammunition is every shooter's dream. (2023-07-18)