The Wild Bunch

[DWalt]

Last night I ran across an article which said that Mel Gibson is producing a remake of 1969's The Wild Bunch. Apparently it has been in the works since 2018 but has been afflicted with numerous delays. The projected release date is in late 2023.

 

[jimbo728]

Watched the orig last night on TCM.
jim

 

[Old Arkansawyer]

Doubt the new one will be as good as the original.

 

[Rustyt1953]

I am anxious to see it as all good tales are worth retelling.

Remember... The Magnificent Seven was a remake.

 

[DWalt]

Some interesting information about he original version. The Wild Bunch's Gruesome Finale Was As Brutal To Film As It Is To Watch

 

[ace22]

i'm up for seeing it when it comes out.
i posted about this back in 2018 and received many of the 'it's sacrilegious' comments you'd expect from many here.


Mel Gibson to write/direct Wild Bunch remake!

i say give it a chance, if you don't want to see it then don't see it.

 

[Absalom]

What shocked audiences in 1969 and made the original "Wild Bunch" famous or notorious isn't going to work nowadays, after "Deadwood" and "Godless".

There still isn't much to be found about the new version, but apparently Gibson is producing, co-writing, and directing, and interview snippets indicate he is aware he needs to come up with his own angle. You can think of Mel Gibson what you want, but he has mastered his craft, so this could definitely be worthwhile. If it is actually happening. After an initial flurry of reports, there hasn't been much the last few years.

 

[sigp220.45]

I bet it'll be a while. Mel is working on the sequel to The Passion of the Christ.

The Passion of The Christ: Resurrection: What Should Moviegoers Expect?

 

[Tom S.]

Wait til Quentin Tarantino does a remake!

 

[Rustyt1953]

Wait til Quentin Tarantino does a remake!

I'd be down with that one, too.

 

[Onomea]

I inadvertently watched The Professionals the other night, thinking I was going to watch The Wild Bunch. Soon realized my mistake, but enjoyed my movie, none the less. (Probably made for better bedtime viewing, too!)

 

[Rustyt1953]

I have a copy of The Professionals. Great casting. Lancaster, Marvin, Palance and Ryan were exceptional.

 

[sophie]

I keep The Wild Bunch and The Professionals on my hard drive so I can watch anytime. I will look foward to the remake of The Wild Bunch that Mel Gibson is going to come out with. I like Mel Gibson but he ain't no Sam Peckinpah.

 

[6518John]

i'm up for seeing it when it comes out.
i posted about this back in 2018 and received many of the 'it's sacrilegious' comments you'd expect from many here.


Mel Gibson to write/direct Wild Bunch remake!

I just re-read that old thread—man those were some CRAZY days back then!!!

 

[Rustyt1953]

I just re-read that old thread—man those were some CRAZY days back then!!!

Understatement.

 

[DWalt]

Remakes are always iffy. A good recent example is West Side Story. The early 1960s original was a colossal blockbuster. The Spielberg 2021 remake was a colossal flop, despite having excellent reviews. The opinion was that it was a little too PC for the audience it attempted to reach and it had no big name stars, unless you count Rita Moreno. And few today are very interested in musicals. Most would rather see Spider-Man.

 

[UncleEd]

I inadvertently watched The Professionals the other night, thinking I was going to watch The Wild Bunch.

"The Professionals" is my all-time favorite
Western, yes even above "Red River, The
Searchers, Tombstone" and "The Wild Bunch."

And I'll add as my next top favorite after
The Professionals" the gruesome
"Ulzana's Raid." It brilliantly captures
how 8 Apaches (two are boys) put
an entire region into a state of terror.

 

[Rudi]

Not a big fan of any remakes.

 

[Rustyt1953]

I view the two True Grit movies as the same dish but differently plated.

They were both delicious.

 

[BigBelle]

Mel put his heart into his movies, It should be a fun watch.

 

[jag312]

Doubt the new one will be as good as the original.

West Side Story was a good example.

 

[Onomea]

Not a big fan of any remakes.

Mutiny on the Bounty with Marlon Brando.

 

[UncleEd]

Mutiny on the Bounty with Marlon Brando.

And after this version came one
that was actually pretty accurate
in the historic department. It
starred Mel Gibson as a rather
spoiled CHristian and a stuffy but
highly competent Bligh played
by Anthony Hopkins.

 

[swsig]

Mel should turn it over to Baz Luhrman. Baz seems to be able to get financing for his movies. Imagine The Wild Bunch in 3-D with garish colors (pink blood!) and a hip-hop soundtrack. And the producers would save money because they wouldn't need to hire all those stunt extras to get shot up at the end. They'd all be replaced by CGI figures. Brilliant. A cinch for Best Picture! I can't believe Mel hasn't already thought of this.

 

[31FordA]

I think the biggest problem with remaking a movie like "The Wild Bunch" is trying to come close to equaling the cast. You would have a really hard time matching the cast of the original today.

One upside to a remake, they could use actual Colt 1911's instead of Star's.

 

[S-W4EVER]

Doubt the new one will be as good as the original.

I don't know about that, Mel Gibson has made some good movies.

 

[Absalom]

Just a side note:

There is a difference between a remake and telling the same story again.

The gazillion different Dracula movies from many countries and time periods aren't remakes of each other, but new treatments of the same literary material.

So you can argue that the new True Grit was a new adaptation of the book, not a remake of the old one.

But the Wild Bunch is an original movie, so using its storyline and script as the starting point for a new movie makes it a true remake. Just like the King Kong movies, which all go back to the 1933 script.

 

[DWalt]

The ultimate remake was Psycho. The remake was an exact line by line, scene by scene duplicate of the original Hitchcock production, with the main difference being the cast. It wasn't very successful at the box office.

There were three remakes of "A Star is Born" with pretty much the exact same plot line as the 1937 original. I think that is a record. But each of the remakes was more modernized and contemporary than the preceding one. And of course with different casts. All of those remakes were successful, probably because all of them had big stars in leading roles. My personal favorite is the 1954 version with James Mason and Judy Garland. I have watched it at least five times. Mainly to see Judy Garland's singing performances, especially the "Born in a Trunk" sequence which is unforgettable.

 

[Old Arkansawyer]

First of all, find under 65 Hollywood types who can ride a horse. Plus
finding a Holden, Borgnine, Ryan, Oates and Ben Johnson,(a real Cowboy)
in todays actors. I almost forgot one of my favorites Strother Martin.
Who is going to fill their boots?

 

[Jessie]

I view the two True Grit movies as the same dish but differently plated.

They were both delicious.

When I first heard about the True Grit remake my thought was Blasphemy! You can't re-do the Duke!
I watched it, and have been rewatching it for a while now and have to admit that I was wrong.
It's not really better, just different acting. I think Jeff Bridges did an excellent job of capturing the spirit of Rooster. Some classic scenes such as the two kids poking the mule with a stick. They got " teached". And his gun handling while shooting corn dodgers was something else, indeed!
But, of course, he WAS drunk