The Wild Bunch

I don’t think I grasped the true meaning of the phrase “Wild West” until I saw the film The Wild Bunch a few weeks ago.

This film holds the 80th place on AFI’s top 100 list. AFI also deemed it the sixth-best Western of all time.

When a slew of innocent bystanders were riddled with bullets within the first 10 minutes of the film, I knew it was going to be a violent ride. The Wild Bunch is a group of outlaws, some of them retirement age, who are ready to retire after one last robbery in Texas. Unfortunately they’re duped and they head to Mexico for refuge. They make a deal with a corrupt Mexican general to steal a shipment of U.S. guns for him in exchange for money. To make a long story short, it doesn’t end well at all.

I would bet money that Quentin Tarantino was inspired by this film…