TITLE: The Wild Bunch
YEAR OF MOVIE RELEASE: 1969
PRODUCTION: A Phil Feldman Production
DISTRIBUTOR: Warner Bros.
AUSTRALIAN RELEASE: Roadshow
TAGLINE: “Out of step, out of place and their time was running out... FAST!”
DIRECTOR: Sam Peckinpah
CAST: William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Robert Ryan, Edmond O’Brien, Warren Oates, Jaime Sánchez and Ben Johnson
ALSO STARRING: Emilio Fernández, Strother Martin and L. Q. Jones
PRODUCER: Phil Feldman
CINEMATOGRAPHY: Lucien Ballard
SCREENPLAY: Walon Green and Sam Peckinpah
STORY: Walon Green and Roy N. Sickner
MUSIC: Jerry Fielding
POSTER PRINTER: M.A.P.S. Litho Pty. Ltd.
FORMAT: Australian One Sheet
POSTER RELEASE: 1970s theatrical re-release; exact printing year unconfirmed
GENRE: Western
COLLECTOR’S NOTE
Set in 1913, The Wild Bunch follows ageing outlaws facing a world that is rapidly leaving them behind. Its tagline captures that theme directly, presenting the characters as men whose way of life is approaching its end.
Sam Peckinpah’s film received Academy Award nominations for its screenplay and Jerry Fielding’s original score. This Australian re-release design takes a restrained approach to the ensemble, reducing the figures to a distant line of silhouettes and allowing their long shadows to dominate. The result emphasises the group’s collective identity and the film’s sense of approaching finality.
POSTER DESIGN FEATURES
Eight dark figures stand across the upper portion of a heavily textured monochrome image. Their elongated shadows stretch towards the foreground, filling most of the poster and creating a dramatic contrast between the pale background and dark lower field.
A bright yellow border encloses the composition. The same colour forms the upper tagline strip and lower cast panel, while the yellow THE WILD BUNCH title sits low across the dark image beside the Phil Feldman production credit.
Condensed cast lettering runs along the bottom above the Warner Bros. and Roadshow release details. The diamond-shaped Australian R classification and M.A.P.S. printer’s credit complete this stark, atmospheric Western poster.