1964 - Western/Drammatico - 1h 39m
Regia: Sergio Leone
Cast: Clint Eastwood, Marianne Koch, Gian Maria Volontè, Wolfgang Lukschy, Sieghardt Rupp, Joseph Egger, Antonio Prieto, José Calvo, Margarita Lozano, Benito Stefanelli, Mario Brega, Daniel Martìn, Bruno Carotenuto, Aldo Sambrell
In the Wild West, a mysterious gunman arrives galloping a mule in the small town of San Miguel, between the US-Mexico border. The small town is divided between two powerful families such as The Baxters and the Rojo, who have for years divided the monopoly on trade by fighting. The mysterious man in trying to settle, will decide to sell himself to the two families for" a handful of dollars " by playing double, to make them clash with each other.
The film is the first chapter of the famous dollar Trilogy, which gave birth to the so-called spaghetti-western strand, so much so that it is the first film of the genre to be successful also in the United States of America, and thus being renamed the Italian western. Let's say that it was the birth of a new film genre that before then had only been sketched, and that no one thought it could be so successful even abroad, especially by us Italians.
A success that is still remembered today for a semi-unknown cast, an unforgettable soundtrack and a stage design to applause. Setting the story in the Wild West, where the fighting between Indians and Cowboys was memorable is a wonderful thing. I felt like I was in a video game like Red Dead Redemption, where the gunman runs into a new town in search of money and women, while fighting against the villain on duty in the sun and vultures ready to eat the eventual corpse of the loser. First of all, the recognition is the more to Sergio Leone, who before then, it was known only as the assistant director of famous directors such as Luchino Visconti among others, and that he already had his debut as director, but this film has created a classic that is unparalleled, thanks to a genius to create something unique, and that was a starting point of many other directors in the future, such as Robert Rodriguez and company.
Sergio Leone shooting duration
The Roman director who said he was based on the Japanese film The challenge of the samurai directed by The Master Akira Kurosawa, made it a work of all respect by combining elements effective results to everything. Speaking just of the elements, the beauty of the film was also ribatezzare the same cast with the names of the americans to follow in the success over the ocean, he is credited for the films like Bob Robertson (in honor of father Roberto Roberti), all to show americans how they can be good italians in a genre not typically our, then they will use often in the following years. I think even the director himself did not think about the success he would have with this film, even if he had all the skills to create something new.
The imaginary town of San Miguel
The town itself is a hymn to the Wild West, where the famous taverns gathered the various bandits and Cowboys to drink and gamble to recharge their forces and get back on the road. But the most beautiful thing was the duels that were made in the middle of the city (as evidenced by the first scene), at gunpoint. You do not even see an Indian and yet they are mentioned several times, this was a mistake in my opinion, the lack of Redskins or American Indians, in the place where their habitat was at least someone could show it, I was curious to see the famous duels between Cowboys and Indians, while they ran on horseback. This lack has been replaced to make room for war between families. It is precisely the war between families for control of the city that is a fundamental element in the film, which fills most of the plot to make the underlying element of the story understood.
Gian Maria Volontè is Ramòn Rojo
One family must be superior to the other in power, wealth and market power. On the one hand, the Rojo, more like the Mexicans, smuggle alcohol with the Indians. On the other hand The Baxters, probably Americans and who smuggle weapons to both countries (USA-Messco). They are so strong that no one can prevail over the other and this will be the main mission of the protagonist who will try to get rid of both but not at his own hand. Starting from that I admired the skill of the strongest of the family that is Ramón, a cruel man who wants nothing more than to prevail by all the necessary means, also commanding his brothers, much less awake than him. A figure that only an actor like The Great Gian Maria Volontè could do and that will give him the notoriety he deserved. The Turin actor has created a character who uses his arrogance and kindness to stand above others, although he seemed to me less a man who if he does what he does is only to get accepted by his family, who at some times would like to find another way to defeat The Baxters, and not only by force. The evil expressions of will have given a cue for all those future villains that to get the better of their family will also put themselves against, and it will be this part that nominates him for the silver ribbons as best actor but without victory.
A stranger Clint Eastwood reached
fame with this film
But the actor who first of all has achieved a certain fame is a young and unknown Clint Eastwood, the mysterious gunslinger who we discover to be called Joe (call it so, but we don't know if it's true), who has created a character of great importance, which will be his career that we know, then, the great actor and director who has become. We don't know anything about him and that's the question everyone is asking who this character really is, very good at shooting and with a great heart. His ability to play a double game to make the two families clash and liberate the city is worthy of great ingenuity. He plays the anti-hero who arrives riding a mule, without money and with only one gun as a firearm, ready to change life in the city. I think the director wanted to create the kind of hero out of the ordinary, with a mysterious past, and really nothing about him that will never come to light, a hero that does not scambiaresti ever for the knight without stain and without fear, but that addresses the obstacles, even in difficulty, such as towards the end of the film.
There is certainly the maiden to be saved, Marisol (Marianne Koch), forced to be Ramón's wife despite having a husband she loves and a son, another element that the protagonist will have to remedy. Of course, the German actress appears in a few parts but that are at least effective in the film, although I would have expected the woman that the protagonist saves to woo. How not to mention the funny Piripero (Joseph Egger), an undertaker who will give a big hand to the protagonist, although at first he seems the typical non-prominent character, who then pulls the rabbit out of the hat and is essential for the welfare of the film; and the bartender Silvanito (José Calvo) who will immediately become friends with Joe, becoming a kind of shoulder.
About the Baxter family there is little to talk about, the director did not want to give him so much importance and focus on the Rojo family, while involving them as the typical family of good manners with the head of the family to act as sheriff of the city, and with the desire only to do their trade unrivaled, while giving a big I did not find any big reliefs to analyze, Of course the bad end they make is a main stage of the film, and it seems more like a clash between mafias than gunmen. What I loved is the clashes, sometimes they seem fake, and to see the men fall to the ground dead when they hear the shots as if they were throwing themselves to the ground but without being hit I was very amused, on the other side it is nice to see these gunmen kill each other and it seems to be in the middle of Just the final rivalry between Joe and Ramon will create a phrase in addition to the formidable scotro (when a man with a gun meets a man with a gun, the man with the gun is a dead man).
A young Ennio Morricone is the author of the wonderful soundtrack
What about the soundtrack signed by Maestro Ennio Morricone, who will begin with Leone a great friendship and work; his melodies are unforgettable, the music that accompanies the gunman who enters this new unknown adventure, and the clashes he will face are unique. Music that will make the great Italian master a colossus of cinema, and if for the film he will win the Silver Ribbon, I do not understand how he could not win something more. Simply put, a film that made history, and that has remained in the memory of all those who love cinema.
by Giacomo Fantini rating: 3,85 of 5
8 July 2021
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