The Wild Bunch

The Wild Bunch is a 1969 American epic Revisionist Western film directed by Sam Peckinpah. The film was controversial for it's graphic violence and it's portrayal of crude men.

Plot
In 1913, in the dying days of the American Old West, a violent group of outlaws travel to Mexico and enlist themselves in the service of a general for one last big score as the American law enforcement sends one of their own after them.

Why it is Truly Wild

 * 1) It breaks a ton of genre conventions that had been known throughout western movies, especially around the time. There's no gentlemen or even noble cowboys, in fact, they're all violent, careless sociopaths who cause lots of carnage in their wake and do a lot of terrible things. Even law enforcement can often be apathetic to the carnage they cause, intentionally or not.
 * 2) To get the elephant out of the room, the amount of violence, there is a ridiculous amount of blood in the film to support a more brutal version of the old west that's still a lot to this day and is highly entertaining because of it despite the darker storytelling.
 * 3) Great musical score throughout that sounds like a 60s western but with plenty of disturbing and unique tracks as well.
 * 4) Lots of interesting characters who are motivated almost solely by their own ambitions and often lack comraderie despite all the things they go through.
 * 5) Gunfights in the movie, unlike most westerns, are prolonged, intense, brutal, and of course, very, very bloody, especially as there's often a lot of collateral damage with plenty of people not involved getting in harms way.
 * 6) The movie isn't afraid to touch on a lot of taboo subjects like the evil that the characters do plenty of times, innocents being killed, apathetic leaders, betrayal and cruelty, greed, violence against people of all kinds, and plenty of others, yet avoids being mean-spirited at any point as it's not trying to glamorize it's main character's actions, serving as a cautionary tale instead.
 * 7) Great acting all around, especially from William Holden as Pike and Ernest Borgnine as Dutch among many others.
 * 8) A very well-written story with plenty of politics around the time adapted faithfully, characters are often selfish and cruel as opposed to being noble in any way and their actions have plenty of consequences to them and others. It also feels very much like a western movie, but still takes plenty of parts seriously, making them disturbing rather than glorious or funny.
 * 9) Plenty of relatable themes are explored, like what drives people to become like the Wild Bunch, past regrets, the desire for a normal, quiet life, and the bounds of loyalty, especially with a group like the bunch.
 * 10) Plenty of slow-motion used throughout, which was especially rare for it's time, and is used to pretty good effect here without being overused.
 * 11) Lots of iconic lines, like the one Sam Peckinpah used to title his biography, "If they move, kill 'em."
 * 12) A downright insane and iconic final act where the bunch pretty much declare war on the soldiers in town and raise hell, using a stolen machine gun to kill droves of enemies and causing lots of destruction and death before being killed off themselves, leaving the town now mostly devoid of life as their pursuers finally catch up to them.
 * 13) An ending scene where Sykes invites Thornton to join the Mexican Revolution while it shows previous clips of the bunch individually laughing giddily while they were alive.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) While the level of violence might not be much by todays standards, some of the dark and grimy morals represented might be too much for some, especially for those expecting more of a western.
 * 2) The characters sometimes go too far, like how Angel shot his ex just for breaking up with him.