The Wild Bunch – Sie kannten kein Gesetz (1969)

The Wild Bunch – Sie kannten kein Gesetz: Directed by Sam Peckinpah. With William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Robert Ryan, Edmond O’Brien. An aging group of outlaws look for one last big score as the “traditional” American West is disappearing around them.

“u0026quot;The Wild Bunchu0026quot; is one of those movies people donu0026#39;t agree on, even those that agree itu0026#39;s great. Itu0026#39;s definitely complex, entertaining in a disturbing way, and manages to be at once nihilistic and moralistic, not an easy trick, especially for a cowboy film.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe first problem we have to deal with when watching this film is the fact thereu0026#39;s very quickly a gunfight going on and, against all movie convention, no one to root for. Thereu0026#39;s an all-star cast on one side, including William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Ben Johnson, and Warren Oates, but against all expectation, they turn out to be a pretty black crew. About the first thing out of Holdenu0026#39;s mouth, said about a cowed group of innocents, is u0026quot;If they move, kill u0026#39;em,u0026quot; and before the battle is over, weu0026#39;ve seen him and his team commit all sorts of savagery. About the only reason we donu0026#39;t immediately see them as evil is that the people they battle are no better.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eOver time, we are encouraged to find something of value in Holdenu0026#39;s Pike Bishop and his ruthless confederates, as they ride away, lick their wounds, and try to figure out how to get something else going, anything. The only problem is its 1913 and these outlaws are running out of time and options. u0026quot;Iu0026#39;d like to make one good score and back off,u0026quot; is how Pike says it, to which Borgnineu0026#39;s faithful buddy Dutch exclaims: u0026quot;Back off to what?!u0026quot;u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eChasing the bunch, and offering the viewer the filmu0026#39;s one sympathetic character, is Robert Ryan as Deke Thornton, a former partner of Pikeu0026#39;s who doesnu0026#39;t want to go back to jail and for whom killing the bunch is the one unpleasant means of securing his freedom. Ryan, who died in 1973, is probably not as recognizable as the other leads today, but he lends a sad, elegiac presence to his on-screen moments that give the film much of its grace and warmth.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe final star is director Sam Peckinpah, who made a truly revolutionary film that not only pushed the art of film forward but holds up today as a cinematic experience. Time has been kind to this film in a way it hasnu0026#39;t to other ground-breaking auteur moments from the same era, like u0026quot;MASHu0026quot; and u0026quot;Easy Rider.u0026quot; When u0026quot;The Wild Bunchu0026quot; came out just as the 1960s were ending, people were truly shocked by the violence and cruel characters. Today, of course, such things are so common, and so mindlessly celebrated, that we find ourselves admiring what Peckinpah does for the surprisingly subtle and restrained way he goes about presenting us with mayhem and carnage, and his refusal to glorify it, however exciting and entertaining the overall package.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSurprisingly for a director who had trouble getting work at the time, Peckinpah landed three Oscar winners in the cast, and a fourth, Ben Johnson, whou0026#39;d win his a couple of years later. Obviously, the acting is strong, each player investing his spare lines with the right degree of space and spirit, but itu0026#39;s probably worked even better that the movie game in 1969 was in the process of passing the fuddy-duddy likes of Holden, Borgnine, and Edmond Ou0026#39;Brien behind. This makes them very believable as a group of hard-nosed has-beens. In that light, itu0026#39;s kind of cool how hip this film so quickly became when it was released.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eItu0026#39;s such a good film itu0026#39;s easy to overlook minor weaknesses. Thereu0026#39;s a nice bit of symbolism in the beginning, now famous, where the gang rides past a group of children tormenting scorpions and ants, but the point, once made, is beaten into the ground. There are some bits of convenience that stick out, like when a gunned-down outlaw rises and mows down his attackers with a few too-precise shotgun blasts. The general dislikeability of just about everything and everybody does feel a bit of a weight after a couple of viewings.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBut whatu0026#39;s great is just awesome, especially that opening sequence and the final showdown at Bloody Porch. Such terrific punch-drunk ambiance, itu0026#39;s almost a shame to watch it sober. The feeling of a new era coming upon us, which we see in everything from the doughboy uniforms at the outset to the car General Mapache rides around in, is redoubled by the glorious splendor, even clarity of this picture. Is it too much to praise a movie for the quality of the film stock itself? This is a paradox film, one about obsolescence and growing old that remains startling new-looking and fresh 35 years on.”