Nothing’s more fun than The Wildey’s Tuesday Night Film Series. Sam Peckinpah’s THE WILD BUNCH (1968) will be on the big screenwhen it plays at The Wildey Theater in Edwardsville, IL (252 N Main St, Edwardsville, IL 62025) at 7:00pm Tuesday February 15th. Tickets are only $3 Tickets available starting at 3pm day of movie at Wildey Theatre ticket office. Cash or check only. (cash, credit cards accepted for concessions) Lobby opens at 6pm.
THE WILD BUNCH was a ground-breaking, revisionist western from director Sam Peckinpah, Although violence existed in the cinema before this film, it was Peckinpah’s treatment of violence that opened the gates for every subsequent film-maker to show graphic gunshot wounds, throat-slashing, and the like, with shocking realism. THE WILD BUNCH was beautifully shot by Lucien Ballard and featured memorable performances from William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Warren Oates, and many others.
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.
Golden Anniversaries: Films of 1969 features 6 classic films celebrating their 50th anniversaries. This second edition focuses on 1969 and features a half-dozen films, all screening for free at the St. Louis Public Library (1301 Olive Street St. Louis) over 3 weekends in late summer. (This series kicked off August 31st at 1:30pm with MIDNIGHT COWBOY). On Saturday September 14th at 1:30pm the ’69 film will beTHE WILD BUNCHdirected by Sam Peckinpah. There will be an intro and post-film Q&A with W.K. Stratton, author of The Wild Bunch: Sam Peckinpah, a Revolution in Hollywood, and the Making of a Legendary Film. W.K. Strattonwill be selling and signing copies of his book at the event. Admission is FREE. A Facebook invite can be found HERE
THE WILD BUNCH was a ground-breaking, revisionist western from director Sam Peckinpah, Although violence existed in the cinema before this film, it was Peckinpah’s treatment of violence that opened the gates for every subsequent film-maker to show graphic gunshot wounds, throat-slashing, and the like, with shocking realism. THE WILD BUNCH was beautifully shot by Lucien Ballard and featured memorable performances from William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Warren Oates, and many others.
For the fiftieth anniversary of the film, W.K. Stratton wrote The Wild Bunch: Sam Peckinpah, a Revolution in Hollywood, and the Making of a Legendary Film , thedefinitive 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 his book, 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: Sam Peckinpah, a Revolution in Hollywood, and the Making of a Legendary Filmis an authoritative history of the making of a movie and the era behind it.
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TheGolden Anniversaries: Films of 1969concludes withWomen in Love Sunday, Sep. 15 at 1:30pm
The guys at Destroy The Brain.com have dusted off a 1979 obscurity for their monthly Late Night Grindhousemidnight series this weekend (December 6th and 7th). THE VISITOR is a film I’m completely unfamiliar with. I do have a vague recollection of seeing the VHS box on video store shelves decades ago but I know I never watched it. Apparently, like MIAMI CONNECTION and SAMURAI COP, two other recent Late Night Grindhouseentries, THE VISITOR has developed a cult following in recent years and someone somewhere thinks it is worthy of big-screen reassessment. Its slumming cast includes Oscar winners Mel Ferrer, John Huston and St. Louis’ own Shelley Winters, as well as Glenn Ford, director Sam Peckinpah and Lance Henriksen, so I’m game.
THE VISITOR was an Italian-American co-production, a mixture of horror and mysticism that ripped off several of the horror/sci-fi cycles of the ’70s (OMEN/EXORCIST/ALIEN). The plot is something about John Huston trying to save the world from a creepy little devil-child who likes to make things explode…and apparently there’s a flock of evil birds and Franco Nero who makes an appearance as Jesus! I’m so there!
A couple of quotes from IMDB regarding THE VISITOR:
“Possibly the worst film I have ever seen”
“the VERY bottom of the barrel”
St. Louis filmgoers will have a chance to judge for themselves when THE VISITOR screens in all of its big-screen glory this weekend as part of the Destroy the Brain monthly Late Night Grindhouse film series. It will be shown at St. Louis’ fabulous Hi-Pointe Theater (1005 McCausland Avenue) this Friday and Saturday (December 6th and 7th). The pre-show begins at 11:30 and admission is $7.
I wonder if this scene was shot at The Magic House in Kirkwood !?!
The Friday night Facebook Invite can be found HERE
Netflix has revolutionized the home movie experience for fans of film with its instant streaming technology. Netflix Nuggets is my way of spreading the word about independent, classic and foreign films made available by Netflix for instant streaming. Continue reading Netflix Nuggets: Naked Whites Enter the Dogtooth Ballad
‘Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia’
Written & Directed by Sam Peckinpah
Few modern directors have been able to master the art of action and gratuitous violence like the legendary Sam Peckinpah. Best known for his honest, bloodier-than-most westerns (The Wild Bunch) and war films (Cross of Iron), Peckinpah also made some great action movies including The Getaway and The Killer Elite. This is probably one of Peckinpah’s least familiar titles, but it carries just as much Peckinpah punch as the rest.
Bennie (Warren Oates) is a bartender. A couple guys wearing high-dollar suits roll into town and offer Bennie a few G’s to track down Alfredo Garcia. As it turns out, Alfredo impregnated the daughter of a very wealthy Mexican cartel lord and now daddy wants revenge on the man who broke his little girl’s heart … he’s put a million dollar bounty on the head of Alfredo Garcia. Continue reading That 70’s Movie: ‘Bring Me the Head…’ (1974)
