Our Opinion.

When we started to do this assignment we thought that the movie Wild - Bunch was hackneyed compared to movies given to some of our classmates but it actually came out to be a gripping film that has memorable scenes of violence.
One of the things we liked the most was that this was a different type of western movie, the plot was not as vague as other western movies in which we find cowboys fighting against Native Americans or Other Cowboys, Bandits with out much more transcendence. However, Wild Bunch has more elements that make this movie much more interesting. For Example, the characters are not just cold blood killers they also show some humanity because they try to do things for others. There is a deep content in the movie the characters have a mission that must be accomplished.

We also enjoyed the mise – en – scene we think that even though the movie is made rather old, it has very good special effects, wardrobe, stunt mans and places chosen for every shot.

History and Background.

The movie takes us to the year 1913, during the height of the Mexican Revolution. In the fictional town of San Rafael, Texas Mexico Border. Although it actually began to be filmed in the year 1967 in a place called Hacienda Cienega del Carmen located in a town at the West of Monterrey Mexico, In the state of coahuila called Parras de la Fuente.


The Mexican Revolution:

Porfirio Diaz was elected president from 1876 to 1910. While he ruled, Mexico improved its technology and economy. Diaz eventually became a dictator, giving the upper class unfair advantages. It was nearly impossible for an average citizen to be in involved in the government. This helped start the Mexican Revolution in 1910.
In 1908, Diaz told an American journalist that the 1910 elections will be free elections. That meant everyone could vote for president, even if they were not upper class. A rich landowner named Francisco I. Madero was interested in running for president. Madero's campaign slogan was "Effective suffrage and no re-election." Madero had many supporters and was bound to win the elections. Diaz knew this, so he rigged the elections and arrested Madero. After Madero got out of jail, he went to San Antonio, Texas it was for this reason that on November 20, 1910 Madero began a call of arms. It is estimated that the war killed more than 1 million of the 1910 population on 15 millions.

Extract from : http://austin.episd.org/ephistory/quadmexrev.htm


Hacienda Cienega del Carmen is the physical place where one of the most important sequence of the movie was filmed, the scene was called ‘’ The Bloody Porch battle ‘’ one of the most powerful shoot – out ever filmed in cinematographic history.

Movie Scene :












Real Place:

Sam Peckinpah

He was born in Fresno, EE UU, in 1925 and died in Inglewood, in 1984.He was an American director who started his career working on television where he wrote and directed many programs related to the western world. For example, Gunsmoke and The Westerner. Peckinpah served in the navy during the WW2.
He got married in Las Vegas with Marie Selland and on the following year he graduated as a Theatre student in the University of California. He worked with the director Don Siegel in the movies Invasion of the Body Snatchers and Dirty Harry and in 1961 directed his first film, The Deadly Companions followed by Major Dundee and The Wild Bunch.
The protagonist of his movies usually responded to the figure of anti-hero which the American culture likes. This firmly defended the ethic code based on the honor and a cynical and materialistic society.
After directing movies related to the thriller genre such as the getaway and his last movie The Osterman Weekend. He started drinking and doing drugs.
Sam Peckinpah died of a heart attack at the age of 59.


Source taken from : http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Peckinpah

Movie Genre

This movie is classified as Epic Western which is a sub - genre of the '' Western Movie ''.Some examples are: Once upon a time in the west, The searchers, The Wild Bunch, The Good, the bad and the Ugly.

Some Characteristis of the Westerns movies are: They often show how primative humans used to be when they had to confront social changes, it mostly shows conflicts between native americans and US cavalary, this type of movies often tries to show the values of honor and sacrifice, sometimes glorifying the '' anti - hero ''.The characters are often cowboys, indians, gunfighters and bounty hunters who carry rifles and revolvers.
This type of movies emphasize brutality and out of control shooting of two diferent groups.

Sources from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western

Sam Peckinpah’s “The Wild Bunch”