The Wild Bunch Special Edition

Until now available only as a barebones and muddy Director’s Cut DVD (one that you had to flip the disc halfway through to watch the movie), Warner Home Video finally delivers with a special two-disc version that definitely does director Sam Peckinpah’s epic western The Wild Bunch justice. A sprawling epic detailing the last days of a gang of outlaws running guns across the Mexican border, the movie itself can be viewed as the death blow to the until-then uniquely American genre (with a blood-bath climax that along with Bonnie and Clyde, pretty much killed the censorious Hayes Code). For better or worse, Hollywood rode off from here into a decidedly different-colored sunset. With the colors more vibrant while maintaining the gritty essence of the film stock, this special edition demands a revisit from not only western buffs, but from anyone who loves film. As a stand-alone this comes with a second disc containing outtakes, a gallery of trailers from Peckinpah’s oeuvre, and three documentaries on the maverick filmmaker.