The Wild Bunch (HD-DVD)
Picture:
B+ Sound: B- Extras: B+ Film: B+
Sam
Peckinpah created many great films, some of which were tampered with by the
studios he made them for, but despite Warner cutting the film, The Wild Bunch became his biggest hit,
his most influential film (Hong Kong action cinema is built on its innovations)
and is generally sited as one of the key films that began the last golden age
of Hollywood filmmaking in the late 1960s with innovative, realistic films that
were mature and about something. Also
known for their graphic violence and language, both were in context to great
points of narrative and realism than just being thrown together for no good
reason.
Warner
has another winner in the HD-DVD format, issuing this classic (in Blu-ray as
well) and stay in the lead as the company issuing the most back catalog gems of
all the studios, especially key classics in great HD versions showing off their
amazing holdings.
As
written by Walton Green, Roy N. Sickner and Peckinpah, this is the peak of the
Professional Western where like-minded cowboys for hire are strictly in it for
the money and go all out for a “bountiful or bust” opportunity that ranks as
one of the most memorable in cinema history.
William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Robert Ryan, Warren Oates, Edmond
O’Brien, Jamie Sanchez, Ben Johnson, Strother Martin and L.Q. Jones make up the
classic cast as a robbery for silver goes wrong, but leads to a crazier
proposition the greedy gang decides to go for.
The use
of advanced editing (by Lou Lombardo, who later edited Robert Altman classics
like Brewster McCloud, McCabe & Mrs. Miller, The Long Goodbye, Thieves Like Us and California
Split), shocking-at-the-time violence and language for impact that still
holds up remarkably well nearly 40 years later, Peckinpah and company deiced to
go for broke in a symbolically rich story that also took advantage of all the
great innovation Sergio Leone’s Man With No Name “Spaghetti Westerns”
achieved. The result is a classic that
helped change filmmaking forever and in many ways, is the final peak of the
Hollywood Western. Dubbed “The Original
Director’s Cut” for the 1995 reissue, there is some controversy surrounding
that, but it is far superior to other versions and is the one to see. Fortunately, it is the one on HD-DVD and that
is all that matters.
The 1080p
2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image was originally shot in anamorphic
Panavision by the great Lucien Ballard, A.S.C., whose previous work was strong
in Westerns, Gangster films and Film Noirs.
So beautiful a job was this that Warner issued 70mm blow-ups when it
arrived and 35mm prints were issued in dye-transfer three-strip Technicolor
prints, which you can see in many of the shots here. This is a restored print from 1995 and it
shows with good color, depth and detail with few problems throughout. It also surpasses all previous DVD
versions. Ballard would work with
Peckinpah again on The Getaway,
reviewed on HD-DVD elsewhere on this site.
The film
originally offers 6-track magnetic stereo sound in its 1969 release in the 70mm
blow-up prints, with five of the speakers behind the screen. The 1995 reissue and reconstruction remixed
those tracks and Jerry Fielding’s classic score in a Dolby Digital 5.1 mix that
is good, but shows its age and much has changed in 12 years in restoring and
upgrading classic soundtracks. As a
result, there is more noticeable ups and downs in the Dolby Digital Plus 5.1
mix her eon this disc. Dolby 2.0 French
and Spanish Stereo mixes are also offered, but are poorer in comparison. Maybe an upgrade in Dolby TrueHD could be
considered down the line when Warner revisits the title, but this is still good
for now.
Extras
include additional scenes, a Peckinpah movie trailer gallery, excerpts from
Nick Redman’s A Simple Adventure Story
documentary on Peckinpah, The Wild
Bunch: An Album In Montage 1996 documentary, Sam Peckinpah’s West: Legacy Of A Hollywood Renegade documentary
and terrific audio commentary by Redman, Paul Seydor, Garner Simmons and David
Weddle. All are great extras and fans
will expect more in the future, though some know that an earlier video version
even had the soundtrack on CD. Too bad
Warner did not include that on the HD-DVD in Dolby TrueHD of some sort or as a
bonus CD or DVD-Audio. Maybe next time,
but this is more than enough material to enjoy in the meantime, serving the
classic well.
- Nicholas Sheffo
