Editing William Holden (section)

===''The Wild Bunch''===
[[File:William Holden - 1970s.jpg|thumb|left|Holden in ''[[The Revengers (film)|The Revengers]]'' (1972)]]
In 1969, Holden made a comeback when he starred in director [[Sam Peckinpah]]'s graphically violent Western ''[[The Wild Bunch]]'',<ref name=obit /> winning much acclaim. Also in 1969, Holden starred in director [[Terence Young (director)|Terence Young]]'s family film ''[[The Christmas Tree (1969 film)|L'Arbre de Noël]]'', co-starring Italian actress [[Virna Lisi]] and French actor [[Bourvil]], based on the novel of the same name by Michel Bataille. This film was originally released in the United States as ''The Christmas Tree'' and on home video as ''When Wolves Cry.''<ref>Capua 2010, pp. 135–36, 141.</ref> Holden made a Western with [[Ryan O'Neal]] and [[Blake Edwards]], ''[[Wild Rovers]]'' (1971). It was not particularly successful. Neither was ''[[The Revengers (film)|The Revengers]]'' (1972), another Western.

For television roles in 1974, Holden won a [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie]] for his portrayal of a cynical, tough veteran [[LAPD]] street cop in the television film ''[[The Blue Knight (film)|The Blue Knight]]'', based upon the bestselling [[Joseph Wambaugh]] novel of the same name.<ref>{{cite web| title=Nominations Search| url=http://www.emmys.com/awards/nominations/award-search?search_api_views_fulltext=William+Holden&submit=Search&field_celebrity_details_field_display_name=&field_show_details_field_nominee_show_nr_title=&field_show_details_field_network=All&field_show_details_field_production_company=All&field_nominations_year=1949-01-01+00%3A00%3A00&field_nominations_year_1=2017-01-01+00%3A00%3A00&field_award_category=All| website=Television Academy| access-date=January 3, 2017| archive-date=January 4, 2017| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170104090903/http://www.emmys.com/awards/nominations/award-search?search_api_views_fulltext=William+Holden&submit=Search&field_celebrity_details_field_display_name=&field_show_details_field_nominee_show_nr_title=&field_show_details_field_network=All&field_show_details_field_production_company=All&field_nominations_year=1949-01-01+00%3A00%3A00&field_nominations_year_1=2017-01-01+00%3A00%3A00&field_award_category=All| url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=obit />

In 1973, Holden starred with [[Kay Lenz]] in a movie directed by [[Clint Eastwood]] called ''[[Breezy]]'', which was considered a box-office flop.<ref>{{cite web|title='Breezy' (1973): Clint Eastwood's little-known romance|url=http://www.thesamecinemaeverynight.net/breezy-1973-clint-eastwoods-little-known-romance/|website=The Same Cinema Every Night|access-date=January 3, 2017|date=May 24, 2012}}</ref> Also in 1974, Holden starred with [[Paul Newman]] and [[Steve McQueen]] in the critically acclaimed disaster film ''[[The Towering Inferno]]'',<ref>{{cite web |last1=Ebert |first1=Roger |title=The Towering Inferno Movie Review (1974) |url=http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-towering-inferno-1974 |website=www.rogerebert.com |access-date=January 3, 2017}}</ref> which became a box-office smash and one of the highest-grossing films of Holden's career.

Two years later, he was praised for his Oscar-nominated leading performance in [[Sidney Lumet]]'s classic ''[[Network (1976 film)|Network]]'' (1976),<ref>{{cite web |last1=Ebert |first1=Roger |title=Network Movie Review & Film Summary (1976) |url=http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-network-1976|website=www.rogerebert.com |access-date= January 3, 2017}}</ref> an examination of the media written by [[Paddy Chayefsky]], playing an older version of the character type for which he had become iconic in the 1950s, only now more jaded and aware of his own mortality. Around this time he also appeared in ''[[21 Hours at Munich]]'' (1976).