Anecdote time: i just remembered the first time i saw "the wild bunch" on italian cable tv (in a shoddy hotel room, many years ago) - and the italian translation was really an adaption, including new and cheesy music, slow motion and brand new, sappy dialogues. I remember thinking "that was the worst western i ever watched".

Some time later i watched the original and was, just like you, blown away! Some simple changes and the end of an otherwise great work was awful!