Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    The Wild Bunch: Sam Peckinpah, a Revolution in Hollywood, and the Making of a Legendary Film
    The Wild Bunch: Sam Peckinpah, a Revolution in Hollywood, and the Making of a Legendary Film
    The Wild Bunch: Sam Peckinpah, a Revolution in Hollywood, and the Making of a Legendary Film
    Ebook547 pages9 hours

    The Wild Bunch: Sam Peckinpah, a Revolution in Hollywood, and the Making of a Legendary Film

    By W. K. Stratton

    4/5

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    For the fiftieth anniversary of the film, W.K. Stratton's definitive history of the making of The Wild Bunch, named one of the greatest Westerns of all time by the American Film Institute.

    Sam Peckinpah's film The Wild Bunch is the story of a gang of outlaws who are one big steal from retirement. When their attempted train robbery goes awry, the gang flees to Mexico and falls in with a brutal general of the Mexican Revolution, who offers them the job of a lifetime. Conceived by a stuntman, directed by a blacklisted director, and shot in the sand and heat of the Mexican desert, the movie seemed doomed. Instead, it became an instant classic with a dark, violent take on the Western movie tradition.

    In The Wild Bunch, W.K. Stratton tells the fascinating history of the making of the movie and documents for the first time the extraordinary contribution of Mexican and Mexican-American actors and crew members to the movie's success. Shaped by infamous director Sam Peckinpah, and starring such visionary actors as William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Edmond O'Brien, and Robert Ryan, the movie was also the product of an industry and a nation in transition. By 1968, when the movie was filmed, the studio system that had perpetuated the myth of the valiant cowboy in movies like The Searchers had collapsed, and America was riled by Vietnam, race riots, and assassinations. The Wild Bunch spoke to America in its moment, when war and senseless violence seemed to define both domestic and international life.

    The Wild Bunch is an authoritative history of the making of a movie and the era behind it.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBloomsbury Publishing
    Release dateFeb 12, 2019
    ISBN9781632862143
    The Wild Bunch: Sam Peckinpah, a Revolution in Hollywood, and the Making of a Legendary Film
    Author

    W. K. Stratton

    W.K. (Kip) Stratton is the author of four books, including Backyard Brawl, Chasing the Rodeo, and Boxing Shadows. He has written for GQ, Sports Illustrated, Outside, Texas Observer, the Dallas Morning News, and others.  He lives near Austin, Texas.

    Related to The Wild Bunch

    Related ebooks

    United States History For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Literary Agents

      Feb 29, 2020

      Information in this section is provided to The Writer by the individual markets and events; for more information, contact those entities directly. F = Fiction N = Nonfiction P = Poetry C = Children’s Y = Young adult O = Other F N C Y 3 SEAS LITERARY

      14 min read

    • Article

      Roger Deakins

      Oct 18, 2019

      Roger Deakins
      2 min read

    • Article

      The Other Side of Orson Welles

      Aug 1, 2018

      The Other Side of Orson Welles
      7 min read

    • Article

      The Genius of Terry Southern

      Mar 18, 2019

      The Genius of Terry Southern
      5 min read

    • Article

      Van Halen

      May 28, 2019

      Van Halen
      2 min read

    • Article

      Return Of The Pilgrim

      Mar 30, 2020

      Return Of The Pilgrim
      10 min read

    • Article

      Once Upon A Time In Hollywood

      Oct 6, 2019

      Once Upon A Time In Hollywood
      6 min read

    • Article

      Between the Lines

      Jun 22, 2021

      Between the Lines
      9 min read

    • Article

      Bold As Can Be

      Mar 16, 2021

      Bold As Can Be
      1 min read

    • Article

      When Films Were Kings

      Sep 29, 2020

      When Films Were Kings
      7 min read

    • Article

      Return Of Furay

      Apr 26, 2021

      Return Of Furay
      13 min read

    • Article

      Bob Dylan’s Exquisite Bullshit

      Jul 22, 2019

      Martin Scorcese's new film about Dylan's 1975 Rolling Thunder Revue is very much in the spirit of its subject: vital, wild, and highly fictional. The post Bob Dylan’s Exquisite Bullshit appeared first on The Millions.

      8 min read

    • Article

      Paul Thomas Anderson

      Sep 16, 2018

      Paul Thomas Anderson
      23 min read

    • Article

      Q&A

      Feb 18, 2022

      Q&A
      3 min read

    • Article

      Will There Ever Be Another Writer Like Philip Roth?

      May 23, 2018

      I first discovered Philip Roth at age fifteen. My parents, bless them, placed Goodbye, Columbus in my hands. Having grown up in the suburbs of Detroit—the rock-ribbed WASP enclave of Grosse Pointe—I found him exotic, thrilling. His audacity staggered

      2 min read

    • Article

      Next Big Thing

      Aug 17, 2023

      Next Big Thing
      1 min read

    • Article

      Noir Is All About Bad Decisions: The Millions Interviews William Boyle

      Oct 12, 2018

      The novels of the Oxford-based, Brooklyn-born author William Boyle are replete with dire circumstances, gallows humor and instantly iconic characters. An unapologetic disciple of the noir masters of the past, his work invokes both the mind-bending mo

      6 min read

    • Article

      Perfect Days

      Sep 15, 2023

      Perfect Days
      4 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for The Wild Bunch

    4/5

    16 ratings1 review

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      Right up front, I have to say that I am a massive fan of THE WILD BUNCH, a movie I consider to be in the same league as CITIZEN KANE, REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE, and THE GODFATHER as among the finest American films ever made. W.K. Stratton, the author of THE WILD BUNCH: SAM PECKINPAH, A REVOLUTION IN HOLLYWOOD, & THE MAKING OF A LEGENDARY FILM is a huge fan as well. And Stratton’s book is certainly written for other fans like me, but I think those unfamiliar with the details of how this classic western came to be, and why it has endured, will learn a lot. Upon its release in the summer of 1969, THE WILD BUNCH caused an uproar with its depiction of violence, both in its opening scene, where a group of aging outlaws attempt to rob a railroad office in 1913 Texas, to its finale, where the surviving members of the gang try to redeem themselves by saving a fellow outlaw from a sadistic Mexican general, taking on a small army in the process. The use of squibs to replicate bullet wounds, a new technological advance, took movie carnage to new level, and not everyone was pleased. The film was savaged by many critics, embraced by others (including a young Roger Ebert) and hotly debated in a way very few movies are anymore. THE WILD BUNCH was controversial, it made an impact, and its legacy has been enormous.Stratton’s book does cover some familiar ground for anyone who has read the works of Paul Seydor, along with David Weddle’s in-depth biography of Sam Peckinpah. What Stratton does is give us a deep dive into how THE WILD BUNCH went from a movie stuntman’s idea in the early ‘60s, to a written screenplay shopped around to studios, to how it landed in the hands of Sam Peckinpah, a director who had endured several years of being on a Hollywood blacklist because he couldn’t get along with producers, to a full-fledged production on location in northern Mexico with the enthusiastic backing of the head of Warner Brothers. The star of the book, of course, is Peckinpah, a director with demons, not to mention a drinking problem. Already middle-aged, Peckinpah knew this film was his last chance to be someone of consequence in Hollywood. Like many great directors, Peckinpah led his crew and actors like a general leading an army into battle. He could be tough to get along with, but he knew how to get the best out of everyone, and possessed a clear vision of what he wanted up on the screen; if he didn’t know how to achieve it, he would figure out a way. But Stratton makes it more than just the story of the colorful director. The contributions of Roy Sickner and Walon Green to the original script are documented, especially how Green worked the Mexican Revolution of 1910 into the story. Cliff Coleman, Chalo Gonzales, Gordon Dawson, Phil Feldman, and Kenneth Heyman, not well known names, but they each played pivotal roles in the making of the film, and this book gives them their due. Stratton offers up thumbnail sketches of actors William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Robert Ryan, and Edmond O’Brien, who, like the characters they played, were considered past their prime, but would give, under Peckinpah’s direction, the best performances of their careers. We get insights into Warren Oates and Ben Johnson, both of whom are revered today by western fans, not to mention Strother Martin and L.Q. Jones. They would become known as the “Peckinpah stock company.” Stratton also gives space to the members of the Mexican film-making industry who played a vital part in the production, not the least of them being legendary director Emilio Fernandez, the fearsome “El Indio” himself. And I do commend Stratton for spotlighting the various Mexican actresses who played small (this really wasn’t a woman’s picture), but still necessary roles in the story. More than anything, I enjoyed reading about the creative process, and how it worked during the production, which seems to have included the improvising of key lines of dialogue on the set. The “Battle of the Bloody Porch,” along with the heist of the guns from the train, and blowing of the bridge across the Rio Grande, are among the most memorable scenes in movie history, and how they came about is the story of creative people and seasoned professionals meshing their talents in a way that is almost pure magic. So too are the ways Peckinpah worked various themes into the film, not the least of which is man’s seemingly bottomless capacity for violence and cruelty, along with the dehumanization brought on by modern technology, and the clinging to of a sense of honor, even among ruthless killers. At just over 300 pages, Stratton’s book is concise; he packs a lot into each page. The chapters are short, most of them vignettes centering on some particular aspect of, or player in, the production. I especially liked the story of how a Mexican-American family from the Mid-West, who were stranded in Mexico after running out of money while visiting relatives, were given jobs by Peckinpah on the movie set to earn enough to get back home. One criticism I can make is that this book could have used a stronger narrative, and woven its story in a more seamless style. The book is both history and commentary, which might confuse some readers when it switches from one to the other. Some of the facts asserted are clearly nothing more than gossip, and at times Stratton does leave himself open to being accusations of being a fan boy. And in the end, I think he does justice to a movie that, in the years since its release, has become beloved by cinephiles born long after 1969. Its impact on other film-makers has been considerable. In many ways Peckinpah’s THE WILD BUNCH is to American film what Kurosawa’s THE SEVEN SAMURAI is to Japan. And after reading this book, I’ve come to the conclusion that the story of the making of THE WILD BUNCH would make a great script, and a film, in its own right, working perfectly as a companion to Tarantino’s ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD.

    Book preview

    The Wild Bunch - W. K. Stratton

    U^book_preview_excerpt.html}˒WݯD,4|4ǀ( 0jB\̸yYH# 7h6ZʴLFRv/DU83c6M q~ݏ>]?=xZ|O?g>Moa\ه>HusߟwSTÛO}Lq ?8nHP*횏:e?e᏿gͮzIˮ=fc*hk⿡싇[?΋Gu۪L11cq}tvO]Y\6 ݩxOx:V)cY mumIq(.Z k˙)8t1 E{ bM+VͰ:;/M[ס)3>8T%=E׶Cю&US__Usee-};bX|.ӪbؔŎ8ch8Ӣ /u)/Z I5*Ow)C@Cp$jа'I8&|sRS%߄Ck`6ռW!L`r;3a>XO 4<[C P%~h% q @KIwvLs?6O1}#f ],;PVEml@"FÑ EqO7.-%qƣ;XS&ZxO!4-5[(l Of=t4ar6gk-5.|dbf!P^vqdk+ 4ՄЋUbXA4֝`%i~|AFnw=N`j kY#Nvr_mpdSod- /y4T-W`<Ѹl(׫ jjLјDSj]XԿɦjZt*ƛ 椷Oҏ85OMPѮ =O\OۖHUgFn3P&I=p1jG1f+SbnOyЛDb @m ءykg&|%i]&8eaTJ(ˆA$+fSq;T{7ۉ}emȯ_q 4 anei ,MÌV-P~;)S|x,3YCQ'Yh=-=dNYg._(`M;Bv6Ń)>}GUx{(;F "PB!ځ<?ѲqqB:f_!M5D󏣭=q|!Uq +=ym#8f}þÑ$xQq9(XUlqx5:Z-zX-Q72\p!2y=wYaB ,R2)¼0EQ# *8Ւpa8e\P&gV#?Ǽ_[88ǟA-_׌EVt*@mòi7r3aÃ* dVZB3/6g}5$fP8u4DBpO^T!p#BQ6tXP9&6,)rO^h\⟿^l̈́\ -!;1V/!2gЋ٪ŀ: hִm.3 hGx38U& 8yϤZs漴`lZE-"U#:xuo1NN'vya0uXMj}Mkפ֗hu \x߅޴UwQa1`7 0%](H' =̋/ :_>0Or1Vk+PiM3\9J<(0eo? # A(^N>`ʆ{V)Mz L@W6ƛ޼c |[(F9M]rR,<Nyϰy ao$npv!Ur)mܳ>(2AB""NY-]\1HE??0g c?{LXb@]iM;(\bK-_PFfݿKs@pl;]8@[9"t8"ڹCmiq;Em1n~ G!ܚJws߲JV娰\<ǶxV?AssE!'-c:N Ā2yfĘpRS>xNuG2KP@: kd#[EwLqwjM#!`^ב N{sWkt;I4ۂF=@I$jxGT9L6]i5?,N~"l=qpBHka_C4{J Odf)R8k G~Fc;jLaT_jlR  !ӒgKAQں6$ SFbq<{ sRyK *i30X͍c[_^"SLr^z|` 0}Z+`jJ|uVC% Î-S8*) L .`R-G2@ !9(jFUո 1*^f&*kwL\)#6aH[w,3/ 0>:W Ƅ* *N)cb 6 kq0jTRƳ_pZZT>Ntl 4֎k|-Z˧?gCk/5eV}6 :Y\1 H{8asQa#_ l^౏™a>΅{`pygӚ xCmW3\Z.//*NmkkBojEsuh1b@{7υ3_CJo424Xfïϋ]Qޞp|\E'z8{HPO .Pĉ,FdHuh\[nL6L:'):fq)p2JocUq[ y4*ѿH(W>fBϮճt'w!np矀&(+RbU5ea׹΀7l,p>Wߝ_@zc('6(#8sUAS!5_Jxr"\Z;.]2s\smUx,R[|.Z ˙xkCr R7)~o{ն+BWX?n׬,d1ȓKV Z1AMS g?O@6?9Y5K57Lz80(eK $ύhE6Mdy+JH. 6+J2mDZoC[\4W5/'I/|_ $N_pm2' ƪ/U/kN4 md .3CmNKUW\)%?-:=4f$,&:d my/#@#]\]#pnd^Jƺ16tOy4*{hzgբ^â$ݍq*I\X8v4^ɤs?r`1hd_1Y5kvi9L$QAzR$<2tàN GuIk2oƈ_(e>ĢΊkIaI$ K|glmo\fvmXs; J7Vi@UsSޟSu%8_pU8A3 O=i~ZI4gS9(wjC%V$E*!R䆈=t2Sc@@y_}#is,S ڷMkQ_-CrX?n6b[|Ctg f.vS]K"x&cuI.e^^ǙmM4t-MUOpV 2osSgZ CX~Q/F͔2V68V$sӚ(˰W 4`禆:<yi%40Rs9SJ*m?3[8˽'t8-KNÁYhF+zjF/ + E|J;$yZ7etY/ eFϔIn~:B<?Wm]c>kU,_ὯH/@. Our,p hN5iKpY3_"|6Q|*83;=Jm#dF_H6bneQOg~s4뾭! d,jeܚ;1 +X_x7SQy /Ґ_&nR/} h~!coZƪcV4w C BW? NS~ 8pr)TUg2ѵ ENP oCv2`yXUGqZ[1w"V͵R&݋h/^8^ϾD+rjIf76JAȞȯ\^ë?5sqd S]-~;D]bWVS%mbt4w[s+61-cy{ ܂7 ?\@7'p ~;V bʞ.=jĻ,d6ô_`N$ZeFE`TQnOC _Cm +s_b򐰥䡛=='˿O.-p=ތ,V̓hJB?E~Jb`JZژ&V$_ޓ^5ѐT6'-sMCV[;欑\;4GfMӟcO.9_kEpۜ*wnNfӓD"rmr}/rBNt%pfo6]RFvV&u.tURSx%ó Uog`4"CC=dݣ[b`Y^Y5tH40ӂͤ;yQھh;P $ce<;+gm1uNt\3uVk\XHdetLdU|A?"ե]V-CS3L#kjaXŇZ"o{CF 1vDz7q`;}ڢ-e_KP%hwe9Ffĭ̼+X[8̞^l( 9B7{wɹ6B=9{'so^.Di {L,ɒgh 5A[q .3f|r*d5)"yee{ؖ%iZ:6E q80ӽ e/x:`*zhJNhN\1wfŽ ީogHV}>,%3$[R {+LvIz!i- mex2;02vm1WW+-6 |\cn,:!8u3O킦Ru$`5حn3 <&X]rښtS+P$ܝ"JQ-nDkc( EP*AWp=:u)r $9yjZٿ0xtpGlUHF)$ FYms:LTPcm"szj!!7$1gŽE?T*b*[0|K#l%Y`3cWV10PEXZj{ͦĤcnn`޲'u_,-DU;VVal%/y ]AfSobD$Qx|,^a) kwo֊CeUVƥRn;Ine"}u}> ն {`D0xSV:ۯ wu;)cjT!)Hpyͷ*ɏ/ [By[k-yl"SPj2$W+?AT+?Zizmd\F(#sxCូ.9—{k^}w-v ܔpZz&bߏqѯ#pC/0~Άk0]j?+oX\eQB=*Wў87q - ݐ]UB'brK-CZ2Vh[r/Lciޒ5vB|k? ]*wȓ mZȸFR*v$O: @)ԐY j'S<=Īf Vҭ@CT0Y5΂/P$ѫsζ)/U+֠*6^dMMTU%4J4 ;o'>f5U >;CBxpR蚟eiPoN/ b yՃ꟩xĝ0捝o)i~ m&|HկsC8fMGDWs7c6XT\v^ 9;G".M* ̡ܕ3z2eDo¥5EdtlL&XYz▩a]RR'Zs#wX2U(kY_3ZXͱ|[Vܻ7s'ߗ]T5"0eɝ#Vi[9DÈ;U[m>% gB]a{gRǨ Er ueoCd퉉;ؤ[nuwlDܾ\ψ5ɍemr/x:DrOcY@}ALخ1l &w*#) E%nwzk,gȸr+K18 ŲBQSK-r Jzŏx21)r=W.|VjhNUhe.B>O."Uh5՘J/2)itJՍbH/hPAşF $a?0 ^E,lb7;\OklF wc4MA:Jmt`Ja$66QFx %,JIa/@N p;{ MUwBoYqC};{w!Vb$bwGDaldŧnUL6m  nѹYoQ@w^)%coDbƶxr88]XDǛZ42A0'! @G)& ZFh渕Vik; r7wO`SbR#2#WX=_䄳ybyѾW̫*Nz-N۾{ӵT#B|O#9T/CХ4;K'>a{Vj]bp=_-U]>^"#,ęme+^O wm$9O~֫x$-3GTZDMnW|.U~tgQOxRSyq!hi<9Ji ?Ύ𢣨! cs]'f˲eZ4 uy(zS|uWߤmLS6V[ ME춦qieAe ^9TYgLB7V$?S=^s{'"%ÞطU jQ7K>o9`j'5lf*txL_<҂I9wLޮgZNӡ9|.zanÃCNJ쬳:12,WW&aŪLlJg$Q}}cu!J;kUgf'ߐ/q!v\o\fV3' oR0'&`\hXY~ۄZӯƍ?4F򝉭g5Qo81KigmrsX綝"|I ?;#ܒ!?ěb:k?[ |.h3j :-69 U/)l>+iicxKI |KljNY³!G[7lmԯM7igI4z0LZ$s d;Nz/gRjd5fkq^L5s՞ qsSYw2eFľ#[Nqϼ_Vvb1Bmb\~oa>\G]X\y.6NgzVfY]ޞ2f5/+g`:!jR4>4_BRWٷ8ě/Ҕanohr 'ElV|xfR[;T$N/QKxJ,g 7ԉ,`'s.Y; fMݙM{gMkR]Y|vdr "ӝDR`#-^Խqwc$Zb!ap\dMVZ[~"(kf?/4S[ru'g:9-^z,vUnCm;:4F5 K*Re>ۏOڶJbOwR є96?gف!?o.B'b3 qؙxľaWM7NSDŽb̋?z;uPmr`?+qӛQAF {4ϭY57KVD{OJQ&5J#:E6sGjPi@'.6e˫KJmb1}|TsCkeGg~ن%+a [p0܈T(ʿ. wPG/<>:g@kN԰W vu:x"@A 7s\vS xc|Xr u6J}].nm'C7zrHuӾ9!ܣ/UEwG3u\`^]枕zY&5Btu!=f*4345%^_ЩlQu?5\rnKfspXH.Ix*|qK-/49݀kM:FX%AIӦW _x}b @SNr ke9Q/DzSu˗FQ
    Enjoying the preview?
    Page 1 of 1