MOVIEMAKER.COM SUMMER 2019 XX
(1984) to Lethal Weapon (1987). On a higher
plane, Thelma and Louise (1991) clearly
owes a debt to Hill’s film, as does, of course,
Redford’s Sundance Film Festival.The Wild Bunch
(Sam Peckinpah)If Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid put
a comedic patina over the realties of the
Old West, Peckinpah’s goal in The Wild Bunch
was to drill down—deep into the abyss. From
the scene of children torturing scorpions
to the final orgy of death, this is a meticulous-
ly edited film that takes its carnage seriously.
The impact of bullets on flesh had been miss-
ing from mainstream cinema. Violence was
sanitized in traditional American westerns,
while the violence of spaghetti westerns was
cartoonish. Peckinpah changed all that. With
the explosion of countless squibs and an
arsenal of blank cartridges, The Wild Bunch
shockingly opened the doors for explicit,
wanton violence. Featuring a hardened,
world-weary cast that included
William Holden, Ernest Borgnine,
Robert Ryan, and Warren Oates, the film
paints a ghastly, blood-soaked canvas that
challenged traditional western myths.The violence, which still manages to shock
in 2019, is over the top, while seeming to
be inevitable, rather than gratuitous. Pike’s
(Holden) order “If they move, kill ‘em!” chill-
ingly captures the grim spirit of the film.LEGACY: It’s impossible to imagine the work
of Quentin Tarantino without looking
to The Wild Bunch.Kes
(Ken Loach)A quiet film that captures the soul-
crushing realties that a diminutive
Yorkshire boy faces as he prepares to leave
school to enter the workforce. Billy Casper
(David Bradley) finds solace and purpose< BIRD’S EYE VIEW: KEN LOACH’S KES ATTUNED MOVIEMAKERS’ EYES
TO WORKING-CLASS CONCERNS AND KITCHEN SINK REALISMCOMING DOWN
THE PIKE: OUTLAW
PIKE BISHOP’S
(WILLIAM HOLDEN)
GRISLY GUNFIGHTS
IN SAM PECKINPAH’S
THE WILD BUNCH
SHAPED FUTURE
MOVIEMAKERS’
ATTITUDE TOWARD
ON-SCREEN
VIOLENCE