The Wild Bunch

In the dusty Texan landscape of 1913, Pike Bishop, a grizzled outlaw and leader of a gang of aging miscreants, sets his sights on retirement after one final heist - a daring robbery of silver from a railroad payroll office. However, corrupt railroad agent Pat Harrigan has other plans, hiring a posse of ruthless bounty hunters led by Pike's former partner Deke Thornton to bring the outlaw down. The ensuing shootout is a bloodbath, claiming the lives of more than half of Bishop's gang and innocent bystanders alike, as Pike uses a fortuitous temperance union parade as cover for their escape.

As Pike rides off with the sole survivors - his trusted friend Dutch Engstrom, brothers Lyle and Tector Gorch, the novice Angel, and a fifth man crippled by buckshot wounds who meets a swift demise at Bishop's hands - the gang discovers that the loot from the robbery is nothing more than worthless steel washers planted by Harrigan. With their pockets empty and their pride wounded, they set their sights on Mexico, accompanied by the cantankerous Freddie Sykes, and cross the Rio Grande into the rural village where Angel was born.

In this remote outpost, Pike's gang encounters a wise elder who warns them of General Mapache, a brutal Huertista officer in the Mexican Federal Army who has been pillaging local villages to support his campaign against Pancho Villa's forces. Seeking redemption and riches, Bishop's gang asks Mapache for work at his headquarters in Agua Verde, only to be met with suspicion and hostility when Angel spots his former lover Teresa in the general's arms, prompting a deadly shootout that nearly costs them their lives.

Mapache offers Pike's gang a golden opportunity - to rob a U.S. Army train and provide him with much-needed supplies of ammunition and American weapons for his German military adviser Commander Mohr. In exchange for their services, Mapache promises a bounty of gold, which Angel uses to further his own agenda by sending one crate of rifles and ammunition to a band of peasant rebels opposed to Mapache's brutal regime.

The heist goes off largely without a hitch until Thornton's relentless posse appears on the train, prompting a high-stakes chase across the Mexican border. In desperation, Pike's gang blows up a treacherous trestle bridge spanning the Rio Grande, sending the entire posse tumbling into the river below. But undeterred, the posse continues their pursuit, driven by their unyielding desire for vengeance against Pike and his gang.

As tensions simmer between Pike (character) and Mapache, Pike takes preventative measures to safeguard his goods by secreting them away and having his men sell them to Mapache in separate, inconspicuous transactions. However, Mapache's sharp instincts prove true when he discovers that Angel has pilfered some of the weapons, a revelation he shares with Dutch as they deliver the remaining arms. Desperate to escape, Angel is captured and brutally beaten before being dragged through town by Mapache's soldiers. Dutch's ire is piqued by Thornton's decision to ally himself with the railroad, but Pike counsels that Thornton has given his word and must see it through to its conclusion. The gang leader's words fall on deaf ears, as Dutch passionately argues that "it's not what you give that counts, but who you give it to."

Meanwhile, Sykes finds himself gravely injured while securing spare horses from Thornton's posse. As he struggles for his life, Dutch berates Thornton for collaborating with the railroad, a move Pike defends as necessary given Thornton's prior commitments. The gang leader's wisdom is overshadowed by the chaos that unfolds when Angel is captured and brutalized, his fate sealed by Mapache's cruel whims.

Pike and his men spend countless hours burying their treasure before returning to Agua Verde, where the townspeople and soldiers alike are indulging in a raucous celebration of the successful arms sale. However, Mapache's true intentions are revealed when he drags Angel through town, a gruesome display that serves as a stark reminder of the treachery that has unfolded.

As Pike ponders his next move, he becomes increasingly despondent and isolated, ultimately deciding to stage a daring rescue mission for his friend by force. The gang leader's determination is met with fierce resistance from Mapache, who initially agrees to release Angel before turning on him at the last possible moment.

The sudden betrayal sparks a brutal firefight that claims the lives of nearly everyone in sight, including Pike and most of his loyal companions. As the dust settles, Thornton arrives to find Pike already deceased, a grim discovery that prompts him to accept the inevitable decline of men like himself. Feeling outdated and exhausted, Thornton allows the remaining bounty hunters to strip Pike's corpse of its valuables before leading them away.

In the aftermath, Sykes returns with the elder from Angel's village and a contingent of rebels, bearing news of their victory over the bounty hunters who had sought to claim Pike and his men. With Pike finally at rest, Sykes invites Thornton to join him in the ongoing struggle against the Mexican government, an offer that resonates deeply with the weary outlaw as he rides off into the sunset.