“If they move, kill ‘em!”
The Wild Bunch (1969)
In one of the most violent westerns in history, The Wild Bunch (1969) by Sam Peckinpah, the notion of friendship is illustrated through outlaws living in a ruthless land. It’s interesting to see how the concept of friendship is portrayed in a dichotomous way. In one way, friendship only leads to problems and unneeded responsibilities. On the other hand, it ends up to be all you have in the end and proves itself to be worth more than any gold.
Wavering Loyalty: As many westerns have showed in the past, a lone traveler is a common character on the frontier. One has to do what is necessary to survive and sometimes that is at the expense of maintaining relationships. This can be seen in A Fistful of Dollars, as a single gunfighter relies on his wit and perseverance to survive in a ruthless world. One can only trust themselves and see everyone else as a threat.
In The Wild Bunch, we learn that Pike (William Holden) abandoned his partner in crime, Thornton (Robert Ryan), in order to escape the law after a job. This sense of merciless selfishness was sometimes what was needed to survive, especially in a time where outlaws and thieves ruled like pirates. While everyone had their own agenda, one can never guess how far another person will go to get what they want. Therefore, friendship can be seen as a weakness and a fault in The Wild Bunch as friends backstab each other and no one is really ‘good’ rather than ‘less evil.’
However, the film also portrays the benefits of having a trusted group of friends who are there for you when you need them.
Friendship as Gold: Pike is such an interesting character due to his arc when it comes to loyalty. From being a callous outlaw, Pike transforms into a key member of his posse and fights to the death for his companions.
The group searches for wealth and prosperity in a dusty, ruthless world. They hustle and break the law in order to get what they want. One can notice the difference within Pike between what he wants and what he needs. His goal on the surface is to pull off one last score to conclude his criminal career. This comes in the form of material wealth through negotiations and business with Mexican players. However, as things escalate, one can see how alliances shift, deteriorate and ultimately test one’s word.
Pike begins to show more of his sub-surface need to have trusting companions. In a pivotal moment, Pike and the group have to decide what to do with their captured comrade. They are offered wealth and women if they leave their friend to the merciless Mapache’s desire. Ultimately, Pike and the gang decide to fight to the death to ensure justice and solidify their most important wealth: their friendship.
In an epic final battle, the remaining four gang members unleash hell in the form of lead against the Mexican force.
Bullets ripple through the air, bodies fall, blood spurts, as an unbreakable bond keeps the gang fighting together.
In what seems like a miracle at the time, the gang manages to stand their ground against an army of Mexican fighters. They watch each other’s backs and fight furiously, not for gold, but for each other.
[Whore shoots Pike in the back] “Bitch!” [Pike shoots whore]
The gang begins to fall, one by one. In tragic moments, the only people left are Pike and Dutch (Ernest Borgnine) as they struggle to stay standing. Those last few moments show what this film is all about.
The arc that Pike undergoes is illuminating, as he goes from abandoning a partner just to save himself, to taking bullets in the chest and giving his life for one of his gang members. Friendship is the real currency, and that’s what is worth fighting for. In a lawless land, having someone to trust and rely on is worth more than any gold.
In the end, friendship will be all that you have.
My favorite moment in the whole film is when Pike and Dutch exchange their last breaths together. When Dutch falls, he uses the last of his energy just to get closer to Pike. Just that action says so much. They know they won’t make it out alive, and instead of using their last moments to fight off a few more soldiers, they try their best to die together.
Notes on the style of the film: The way violence was used as a release absolutely fascinated me. The opening scene is so tense due to its use of dramatic irony. The audience knows blood will be shed, they just don’t know when. Rifles glisten in the sun, and unknowing victims go about their day. While in some films the tension will come from the battle itself, The Wild Bunch plays upon the stress and suspense before the first shot is fired. The battle is fast and over in a short period of time and serves more as a release for the audience rather than a pleasurable view.
I’ve seen this similar technique in other westerns such as A Fistful of Dollars as the final battle ends with just a rapid exchange of bullets after a dense stare-down. It really makes me think about which is better, suspense or surprise? In one of the first narrative films ever made, The Great Train Robbery (1903), robbers hold all passengers at gunpoint beside the train. While all the passengers are lined up, suddenly, a man runs from the robbers but ends up with a bullet in his back. At that time, surprise must have been paramount in getting a reaction from the audience, but as the audience becomes accustomed throughout time, I love seeing films such as The Wild Bunch utilize suspense over surprise to fuel an action scene.
It’s certainly something I want to improve on as a writer and filmmaker and I find myself becoming more and more interested in how westerns affect modern filmmaking techniques.
In an article written by the New York Times in 1969, one can see how people reacted to this glorification of violence through Peckinpah’s direction. The writer, Vincent Canby, addresses the use of slow motion and describing the deaths as graceful choreography.
“Bodies, struck by bullets, make graceful arcs through the air before falling onto the dusty street, where they seem to bounce, as if on a trampoline.”
I was interested to see this reaction as the Hays Production Code was terminated just a year earlier in 1968. Films were now allowed to evoke empathy for criminals and shock the audience with blood and violence towards law officials. Canby praises the film’s ingenuity and his honest reaction to the change in cinema inspires me to elicit the same awe in my films as I hope to progress cinema in my own way.
