The Wild Bunch, Directed by Sam Peckinpah, Starring William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Robert Ryan, 1969, 145 min, R

From floor sweeper on Liberace’s TV show to renowned outsider film director, Peckinpah’s high-body-count eulogy to the mythologized Old West christened him with the nickname that forever defined his films and reputation: "Bloody Sam."