Editing The Wild Bunch (section)

==Production==
===Development===
In April 1965, producer Reno Carrell optioned an original story and screenplay by Walon Green and Roy Sickner, called ''The Wild Bunch''.<ref>{{cite news|title=MOVIE CALL SHEET: Star Sought for Bond Role|author=Martin, Betty|work= Los Angeles Times |date=April 14, 1965|page= D18}}</ref>

In 1967, [[Warner Bros.-Seven Arts]] producers Kenneth Hyman and Phil Feldman were interested in having Sam Peckinpah rewrite and direct an adventure film called ''The Diamond Story''. A professional outcast due to the production difficulties of his previous film, ''[[Major Dundee]]'' (1965), and his firing from the set of ''[[The Cincinnati Kid]]'' (1965), Peckinpah's stock had improved following his critically acclaimed work on the television film ''[[Noon Wine#1966 version|Noon Wine]]'' (1966).

At the time, [[William Goldman]]'s screenplay for ''[[Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid]]'' had recently been purchased by [[20th Century Fox]]. An alternative screenplay available at the studio was ''The Wild Bunch''. It was quickly decided that ''The Wild Bunch'', which had several similarities to Goldman's work, would be produced to beat ''Butch Cassidy'' to the theaters.<ref>{{Cite news
  | last =Carroll | first =E. Jean
  | title =Last of the Desperadoes: Dueling with Sam Peckinpah
  | newspaper =Rocky Mountain Magazine
  | date =March 1982
  }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=David |last=Weddle|author-link= David Weddle| title=If They Move...Kill 'Em!| publisher=Grove Press |year = 1994|pages=257–263 | isbn= 0-8021-3776-8 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Garner |last=Simmons | title=Peckinpah, A Portrait in Montage| publisher=University of Texas Press |year = 1982|pages=73–81 | isbn= 0-292-76493-6 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=David |last=Weddle|author-link= David Weddle| title=If They Move...Kill 'Em!| publisher=Grove Press |year = 1994|pages=307–309 | isbn= 0-8021-3776-8 }}</ref>

===Writing===
By the fall of 1967, Peckinpah was rewriting the screenplay and preparing for production. The principal photography was shot entirely on location in Mexico, most notably at the Hacienda Ciénega del Carmen (deep in the desert between [[Torreón]] and [[Saltillo]], [[Coahuila]]) and on the [[Nazas River]].<ref>{{cite book |first=David |last=Weddle|author-link= David Weddle| title=If They Move...Kill 'Em!| publisher=Grove Press |year = 1994|page=323 | isbn= 0-8021-3776-8 }}</ref> Peckinpah's epic work was inspired by his hunger to return to films, the violence seen in [[Arthur Penn]]'s ''[[Bonnie and Clyde (film)|Bonnie and Clyde]]'' (1967), America's growing frustration with the [[Vietnam War]], and what he perceived to be the utter lack of reality seen in Westerns up to that time.<ref name="Weddle 1994 310–331">{{cite book |first=David |last=Weddle|author-link= David Weddle| title=If They Move...Kill 'Em!| publisher=Grove Press |year = 1994|pages=310–331 | isbn= 0-8021-3776-8 }}</ref><ref name="Hoberman">{{cite news|last=Hoberman|first=J.|title=The Charge of the Peckinpah Brigade|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/03/movies/03hobe.html|access-date=May 21, 2013|newspaper=The New York Times|date=April 3, 2005|quote=To see the extended "Major Dundee" is to see the smoking ruin from which Peckinpah's masterpiece arose.}}</ref>

He set out to make a film which portrayed not only the vicious violence of the period, but also the crude men attempting to survive the era. Multiple scenes attempted in ''Major Dundee'', including slow motion action sequences (inspired by [[Akira Kurosawa]]'s work in ''[[Seven Samurai]]'' (1954), characters leaving a village as if in a funeral procession, and the use of inexperienced locals as extras, would become fully realized in ''The Wild Bunch''.<ref name="Weddle 1994 310–331"/><ref name="Hoberman"/>

===Casting===
[[File:Wild Bunch Peckinpah & Holden.jpg|thumb|Peckinpah's conception of Pike Bishop was strongly influenced by actor William Holden]]
Peckinpah considered many actors for the Pike Bishop role before casting [[William Holden]], including [[Richard Boone]], [[Sterling Hayden]], [[Charlton Heston]], [[Burt Lancaster]], [[Lee Marvin]], [[Robert Mitchum]], [[Gregory Peck]], and [[James Stewart]]. Marvin actually accepted the role but pulled out after he was offered more money to star in ''[[Paint Your Wagon (film)|Paint Your Wagon]]'' (1969).<ref>{{cite book |first=David |last=Weddle|author-link= David Weddle| title=If They Move...Kill 'Em!| publisher=Grove Press |year = 1994|pages=319 | isbn= 0-8021-3776-8 }}</ref>

Peckinpah's first two choices for the role of Deke Thornton were [[Richard Harris]] (who had co-starred in ''[[Major Dundee]]'') and [[Brian Keith]] (who had worked with Peckinpah on ''[[The Westerner (TV series)|The Westerner]]'' (1960) and ''[[The Deadly Companions]]'' (1961)). Harris was never formally approached; Keith was asked, but he turned it down. Robert Ryan was ultimately cast in the part after Peckinpah saw him in the [[World War II]] action movie ''[[The Dirty Dozen]]'' (1967). Other actors considered for the role were [[Henry Fonda]], [[Glenn Ford]], [[Van Heflin]], Ben Johnson (later cast as Tector Gorch), and [[Arthur Kennedy (actor)|Arthur Kennedy]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Crawley|first1=Tony|title=The Wild Bunch|url=http://crawleyscastingcalls.com/index.php?option=com_movies&Itemid=60&id=100&lettre=SPEC|website=Crawley's CastingCalls|access-date=October 6, 2014}}</ref>

Among those considered to play Dutch Engstrom were [[Charles Bronson]], [[Jim Brown]], [[Alex Cord]], [[Robert Culp]], [[Sammy Davis Jr.]], [[Richard Jaeckel]], [[Steve McQueen (actor)|Steve McQueen]], and [[George Peppard]]. [[Ernest Borgnine]] was cast based on his performance in ''[[The Dirty Dozen]]'' (1967).<ref>{{cite book |first=David |last=Weddle| author-link= David Weddle| title=If They Move...Kill 'Em!| publisher=Grove Press |year = 1994|pages=320 | isbn= 0-8021-3776-8 }}</ref> [[Robert Blake (actor)|Robert Blake]] was the original choice to play Angel, but he asked for too much money. Peckinpah was impressed with Jaime Sánchez in [[Sidney Lumet]]'s film adaptation of ''[[The Pawnbroker (film)|The Pawnbroker]]'' and demanded that he be cast as Angel.<ref>{{cite book |first=David |last=Weddle|author-link= David Weddle| title=If They Move...Kill 'Em!| publisher=Grove Press |year = 1994|pages=321 | isbn= 0-8021-3776-8 }}</ref>

The role of Mapache went to Emilio Fernández, the Mexican film director, writer, actor, and friend of Peckinpah. Peckinpah first offered the part to German actor [[Mario Adorf]], who had appeared in [[Major Dundee|''Major Dundee'']], but he turned it down due to his discomfort playing such a violent character, a decision he regretted after seeing the finished film.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mario Adorf |url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/988%7C106656/Mario-Adorf |access-date=2025-03-14 |website=Turner Classic Movies |language=en}}</ref>

Stage actor [[Albert Dekker]] was cast as Harrigan the railroad detective. ''The Wild Bunch'' was his last film, as he died just months after its final scenes were completed.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Jarlett|first1=Franklin|title=Robert Ryan: A Biography and Critical Filmography|date=November 1, 1997|publisher=Performing Arts|isbn=0-7864-0476-0|page=148|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NbJfHbQXJVsC&q=Albert+Dekker+death+after+the+wild+bunch&pg=PA148|access-date=October 6, 2014}}</ref> [[Bo Hopkins]] had only a few television credits on his resume when he played the part of Clarence "Crazy" Lee. [[Warren Oates]] played Lyle Gorch, having previously worked with Peckinpah on the TV series ''[[The Rifleman]]'' and his previous films ''[[Ride the High Country]]'' (1962) and ''[[Major Dundee]]'' (1965).

===Filming===
[[File:Wild Bunch still opening scene.jpg|thumb|Peckinpah (far right) directs the opening scene as the Bunch ride into Starbuck.]]
The film was shot with the [[Anamorphic format|anamorphic]] process. Peckinpah and his cinematographer, [[Lucien Ballard]], also made use of telephoto lenses, that allowed for objects and people in both the background and foreground to be compressed in perspective. The effect is best seen in the shots where the Bunch makes the walk to Mapache's headquarters to free Angel. As they walk forward, a constant flow of people passes between them and the camera; most of the people in the foreground are as sharply focused as the Bunch.

By the time filming wrapped, Peckinpah had shot {{convert|333000|ft|m}} of film with 1,288 camera setups. Lombardo and Peckinpah remained in Mexico for six months editing the picture. After initial cuts, the opening gunfight sequence ran 21 minutes. By cutting frames from specific scenes and intercutting others, they were able to fine-cut the opening robbery down to five minutes. The creative montage became the model for the rest of the film and would "forever change the way movies would be made".<ref>{{cite book |first=David |last=Weddle|author-link= David Weddle| title=If They Move...Kill 'Em!| publisher=Grove Press |year = 1994|pages=356 | isbn= 0-8021-3776-8 }}</ref>

Peckinpah stated that one of his goals for the movie was to give the audience "some idea of what it is to be gunned down". A memorable incident occurred, to that end, as Peckinpah's crew were consulting him on the "gunfire" effects to be used in the film. Not satisfied with the results from the [[bullet hit squib|squib]]s his crew had brought for him, Peckinpah became exasperated and finally hollered: "That's not what I want! ''That's not what I want!''" He then grabbed a real revolver and fired it into a nearby wall. The gun empty, Peckinpah barked at his stunned crew: "THAT'S the effect I want!!"

He also had the gunfire sound effects changed for the film. Before, all gunshots in Warner Bros. movies sounded identical, regardless of the type of weapon being fired. Peckinpah insisted that each different type of firearm have its own specific sound effect when fired.<ref>{{cite book |first=Garner |last=Simmons | title=Peckinpah, A Portrait in Montage| publisher=University of Texas Press |year = 1982|pages=103 | isbn= 0-292-76493-6}}</ref>

===Editing===
The editing of the film is notable in that shots from multiple angles were spliced together in rapid succession, often at different speeds, placing greater emphasis on the chaotic nature of the action and the gunfights.<ref>{{cite book|last=Dancyger|first=Ken|title=The Technique of Film and Video Editing|year=2010|publisher=Focal Press|location=New York|isbn=978-0-240-81397-4|page=144|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m20GrX-ZmmoC&q=peckinpah+the+wild+bunch+editing&pg=PA144}}</ref>

Lou Lombardo, having previously worked with Peckinpah on ''Noon Wine'', was personally hired by the director to edit ''The Wild Bunch''. Peckinpah had wanted an editor who would be loyal to him. Lombardo's youth was also a plus, as he was not bound by traditional conventions.

One of Lombardo's first contributions was to show Peckinpah an episode of the TV series ''[[Felony Squad]]'' he had edited in 1967. The episode, entitled "My Mommy Got Lost", included a slow motion sequence where [[Joe Don Baker]] is shot by the police. The scene mixed slow motion with normal speed, having been filmed at 24 frames per second, but triple printed optically at 72 frames per second.<ref name="david a. cook">{{cite book |last=Cook |first=David A. |chapter=Ballistic Balletics: Styles of Violent Representation in The Wild Bunch and After |title=Sam Peckinpah's The Wild Bunch |url=https://archive.org/details/sampeckinpahswil00prin |url-access=limited |editor1-first=Stephen |editor1-last=Prince |year=1999|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=New York|isbn=0521586062|page=[https://archive.org/details/sampeckinpahswil00prin/page/n157 145]}}</ref> Peckinpah was reportedly thrilled and told Lombardo: "Let's try some of that when we get down to Mexico!" The director would film the major shootouts with six cameras, operating at various film rates, including 24 frames per second, 30 frames per second, 60 frames per second, 90 frames per second, and 120 frames per second. When the scenes were eventually cut together, the action would shift from slow to fast to slower still, giving time an elastic quality never before seen in motion pictures up to that time.<ref>{{cite book |first=David |last=Weddle|author-link= David Weddle| title=If They Move...Kill 'Em!| publisher=Grove Press |year = 1994|pages=333–334 | isbn= 0-8021-3776-8 }}</ref>

Further editing was done to secure a favorable rating from the [[MPAA]], which was in the process of establishing a [[Motion Picture Association of America film rating system#Replacement of Hays Code|new set of codes]]. Peckinpah and his editors cut the film to satisfy the new, expansive R-rating parameters which, for the first time, designated a film as being unsuitable for children. Without this new system in place, the film could not have been released with its explicit images of bloodshed.<ref>{{cite book |last=Prince |first=Stephen |author-link=Stephen Prince |title=Sam Peckinpah's The Wild Bunch |url=https://archive.org/details/sampeckinpahswil00prin |url-access=limited |year=1999 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge, UK |isbn=0-521-58433-7 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/sampeckinpahswil00prin/page/n27 15]–16 |editor1-first=Stephen |editor1-last=Prince |chapter=Savage Poet of American Cinema}}</ref>