Celebrating its 55th anniversary in June 2024, Sam Peckinpah’s iconic, genre-twisting Western The Wild Bunch withstands the test of time more than most. Although the film drew controversy at the time for its unsettling graphic depiction of violence and unglamorous portrayal of the American frontier, it has endured as one of the most influential Westerns ever made and one of Peckinpah’s crowning achievements.