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.
“One of these days I’m gonna’ take that little gray cap and knock it right off’n your head.”
William Holden in ESCAPE FROM FORT BRAVO (1953) will be available on Blu-ray May 8th From Warner Archive.
Any Johnny Reb who tries to escape the Union prison outpost of Fort Bravo faces the unforgiving Arizona Territory desert stretching before him…and the even more unforgiving pursuit of Bravo’s resolute Captain Roper. Yet there’s a common foe that may unite the Civil War rivals: the fierce Mescalero horsemen waging guerilla war against Blue and Gray alike. William Holden portrays tough-minded Roper in a Western acclaimed for its scenic vistas (shot in Death Valley) and for sequences that showed a major action filmmaker was on the rise. John Sturges directs, setting the taut, rugged tone for The Great Escape, The Magnificent Seven and more hits to come. 16X9 Widescreen
Loretta Young and Robert Mitchum in RACHEL AND THE STRANGER is now available on Blu-ray From Warner Archive. Ordering info can be found HERE
William Holden, Loretta Young and Robert Mitchum are the powerhouse performers in this great Western classic that The New York Times hailed as “excellent moviemaking.”
Splendidly depicting the untamed frontier of the 1820s, the film tells the impassioned story of Big Davey Harvey (Holden), a stoic backwoodsman who “buys” and marries a bondswoman, Rachel (Young), to care for and educate his motherless son. Neither the father nor son find much to appreciate in Rachel until Jim Fairways (Mitchum), a guitar-strumming hunter, shows a romantic interest in her. Violent jealousy erupts between the two men, settled only after a spectacular raid on the Harveys’ homestead by unmerciful Shawnee Indians. But which man will win Rachel’s heart?
Two of the Golden Age’s most iconic – and laconic! – leading men vie for the attentions of one of its loveliest – and strongest – leading ladies in this Western romance directed by Norman Foster. Straight arrow Christian frontiersman widower “Big Davey” Harvey (Holden) purchases bondservant Rachel (Loretta Young) for 18 dollars to act as his wife and a mother to his young son Davey (Gary Gray). It’s a marriage in name only until family friend, the mountain man Jim Fairways (Robert Mitchum) comes calling. Equal parts drama and Western, Rachel and The Stranger gives it’s leads time to inhabit their roles and layer on nuance before exploding in a riveting Western climax. And it’s never looked better than it does on this brand-new presentation sourced from original nitrate! Also, did we mention Mitchum sings? This new presentation restores nearly 15 minutes of footage cut from the film over 65 years ago. Also restored is the screen credit for its blacklisted writer Waldo Salt, which was removed from the film by RKO for its 1954 theatrical re-release.
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
Great news for fans of offbeat 70s westerns! William Holden in WILD ROVERS will soon be available on Blu-ray From Warner Archives. Pre-order information can be found HERE.
Lifelong ranch hand Ross Bodine decides cowpunching is no kind of life. So he and a raw cowboy half his age rob a bank to get the cash each needs to improve his lot. An indignant posse is soon in pursuit. Filmmaker Blake Edwards made his name with The Pink Panther and other comedies, but he also showed great skill in other genres with the thriller Experiment in Terror, the drama Days of Wine and Roses and this nuanced paean to the West. In performances perfectly matching Edwards’ balance of rowdy comedy and hardscrabble period realism, William Holden and Ryan O’Neal play the fugitive saddlebums, with Holden drawing special praise. “As he grows older, he grows better like a great old wine. All the reverberations from the previous roles are beginning to sound” (Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times).
Blake Edwards directs William Holden and Ryan O’Neal in this anti-Western about two cowboys who quit cattle-ranching and take up bank-robbing. Karl Malden plays the offended cattle rancher who sends his two sons (Tom Skerritt and Joe Don Baker) out to bring the two cowboys to justice. Heavily edited by the studio in its initial release, this edition brings you the reconstructed ‘roadshow’ version of the film, with original overture and exit music intact, as Edwards intended the film to be seen. Edwards’ use of wide-open widescreen along with Philip Lathrop’s scintillating cinematography are rendered as never before in this new 1080p presentation that truly brings Edward’s epic roadshow and Holden’s masterful performance home. SPECIAL FEATURES: “The Movie Makers” Featurette; Theatrical Trailer (HD). 16×9 Letterbox
Cast aside by an industry that no longer sees her as youthful or desirable, a once-glamorous movie star plots an unlikely comeback in Billy Wilder’s darkly mesmerizing Sunset Boulevard – a movie that remains as mysterious, compelling and surprisingly relevant today as when it was released nearly 70 years ago.
On Sunday, May 13, and Wednesday, May 16, the TCM Big Screen Classics series from Fathom Events presents this haunting look at the dark side of fame, starring Gloria Swanson, William Holden, Erich von Stroheim and Nancy Olson. Named one of the greatest American films ever made by the American Film Institute, Sunset Boulevard will be presented with newly produced commentary by TCM Primetime Host Ben Mankiewicz, which will play before and after each screening.
Fearless, innovative and unafraid to indict the very industry that made it, Sunset Boulevard is presented in a digitally restored version for this rare big-screen return.
WHO: Fathom Events, Turner Classic Movies and Paramount Pictures
WHEN: Sunday, May 13 – 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. (local time) AND Wednesday, May 18 – 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. (local time)
WHERE: Tickets for Sunset Boulevardcan be purchased online by visiting www.FathomEvents.com or at participating theater box offices. Fans throughout the U.S. will be able to enjoy the event in more than 600 select movie theaters through Fathom’s Digital Broadcast Network (DBN). For a complete list of theater locations visit the Fathom Events website (theaters and participants are subject to change).
“They took the idols and smashed them, the Fairbankses, the Gilberts, the Valentinos! And who’ve we got now? Some nobodies!”
SUNSET BOULEVARD screens Wednesday April 26th at The Tivoli Theater (6350 Delmar in ‘The Loop’) as part of their new ‘Classics in the Loop’ Crime & Noir film series. The movie starts at 7pm and admission is $7. It will be on The Tivoli’s big screen.
Billy Wilder is widely considered as one of the most decorated directors of the golden black and white era with movies such as SOME LIKE IT HOT, THE APARTMENT, DOUBLE INDEMNITY, etc., but SUNSET BOULEVARD may be his darkest. The movie starts with a man lying dead in a swimming pool of a huge villa located in Sunset Boulevard, a prime location in Hollywood where movie stars dwell. The viewers are then taken into flashback explaining the events that led to his death. The flashback takes the viewer into a roller-coaster ride into the insides of Hollywood and the sad condition of yesteryear’s silent actors who have been long forgotten and live the life of a recluse. The movie ends in such a manner that the viewer is forced to have sympathy on the person who killed that man.
William Holden as a struggling writer portrays the ‘Will do anything for success’ part excellently. Erich Stroheim as the Butler cum Yesteryear Director Cum First Husband of a Matinée Idol lives his part. But Gloria Swanson takes the cake as far as the performance is concerned. Her portrayal as a yesteryear silent movie super-star who fans have forgotten makes us feel for her. Her struggle to convince herself that she is still (At 50) the biggest superstar around with millions of fans wanting her to comeback leads her to live the life of a recluse which finally makes her mentally unstable. Overall, a classic not to be missed and you’ll have the opportunity to see it again on the big screen this Wednesday, April 26th at The Tivoli!
Here’s the rest of the line-up for the ‘CLASSICS IN THE LOOP’ film series:
May 3rd – THE THIRD MAN – 1949 May 10th – TOUCH OF EVIL – 1958 May 17th – CHINATOWN – 1974 May 24th – BLOOD SIMPLE – 1984
Look for continued coverage of the ‘CLASSICS IN THE LOOP’ film series here atWe Are movie Geeks.
