The violence in R-rated movies just keeps getting bloodier and more realistic, film buffs can agree.
Such grittiness on-screen isn't exactly new, however. Back in the late '60s, renowned director Sam Peckinpah helmed a groundbreaking bloodbath of a Western that's now celebrating 57 years since its release.
On June 18, 1969, The Wild Bunch hit the masses and sparked widespread debates due to its controversial depiction of extreme violence. These days, the Oscar-nominated epic holds an impressive 91% average critics' rating on Rotten Tomatoes, which offers the following synopsis:
"In this gritty Western classic, aging outlaw Pike Bishop (William Holden) prepares to retire after one final robbery. Joined by his gang, which includes Dutch Engstrom (Ernest Borgnine) and brothers Lyle (Warren Oates) and Tector Gorch (Ben Johnson), Bishop discovers the heist is a setup orchestrated in part by his old partner, Deke Thornton (Robert Ryan). As the remaining gang takes refuge in Mexican territory, Thornton trails them, resulting in fierce gunfights with plenty of casualties."
The late, great film critic Roger Ebert gave the film an impressive four out of four stars. While praising the film in his thoughtful review, he also took time to acknowledge how the wildly graphic violence throughout The Wild Bunch was hotly debated from the get-go.
"It has become this year’s controversial film about violence, the successor to The Dirty Dozen, Bonnie and Clyde and the Italian Westerns. It is also, many critics agree, an extraordinary film," he wrote in his August 3, 1969 piece. "I suppose The Wild Bunch is the most violent movie ever made."
He continues, "Thanks to recent advances in special effects, the blood actually spurts when somebody gets shot; there are geysers of blood everywhere... I am aware that the shootings in “The Wild Bunch” are the most realistic ever filmed."
Decades later, an article published by The Guardian goes on to say, "Two orgies of bullets bookend the adventure of an outlaw gang on the Mexican border, setting a new standard for the depiction of violence in its day that persists as dizzyingly intense now."
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