Went to see "The Wild Bunch" tonight in Scope. It's a western film made in 1969 that conveys not only the trend of explicit violence and sex due to the change in MPAA laws, but it also subverts any western ideology and fantasy that makes up "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid." With deceptive and dispassionate thieves serving as the protagonists, the film is inherently grim. Drinking constantly, sleeping with prostitutes whenever and having the ability to suspend their morality exacerbates their destitution. In addition, the difference between the "good guy" and "bad guy" is hard to tell--you really have no choice but to side with the Wild Bunch.
What also struck me was how the aesthetics worked for the women, especially. Prostitutes didn't look really like they were from the beginning of the 21st century (the film takes place right at the beginning of WWI); in fact, their straight hair and dark eyebrows were exactly in style for the 1960's/70's. But with that aside, the rest of the characters are extremely gritty and brutal.
There were some great shoot-out scenes, especially because the film takes place a bit later on in history than you typical western (technology plays a key role). In addition, seeing it on the big screen was marvelous because these sweeping shots of Mexican villages and desert juxtaposed isolation and suffocation. I would recommend this film to anybody interested in seeing an engrossing western--it was long, but it was fascinating to become immersed in the film world, especially one so heinously anarchist.
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