Yankee

Yankee

Genre: Spaghetti Western

Director: Tinto Brass

Year: 1966

A man referred to only as "Yankee" rides into a dying, desolate town in frontier New Mexico which is completely controlled by a man called the "Grande Concho." Almost immediately, a battle for dominance ensues.

This, like many other Spaghetti Westerns released in 1966, owes a great deal to Sergio Leone's first two spaghetti's, A Fistful Of Dollars & For A Few Dollars More. From its simple plot to its anti-hero, Yankee never strays far from what was then a successful formula.

Here the notorious Italian director Tinto Brass delivered his one & only Spaghetti Western which unfortunately is a very much floored attempt. As far as direction goes Tinto's use of visuals are pretty impressive with his quick flashy edits, unusual camera angles & close ups. He certainly showed he had the eye to present a visually enjoyable western.

Despite Tinto's noble attempt, where Yankee fails most is its cast. French actor Philippe Leroy plays the part of our anti-hero. His character, which is clearly in the style of Clint Eastwood's Man With No Name simply doesn't work. Leroy is unfortunately miscast & lacks the charisma needed to pull off this type of character, he's also not helped by the clunky dialogue he has to unconvincingly deliver throughout. 

The rest of the cast is also very forgettable except for Adolfo Celi, best known to the world as the villain, Largo, from the mid 60s Bond flick, Thunderball. Celi is also recognisable to fans of Italian cult cinema from films such as Danger: Diabolik & The Italian Connection. Here he plays the films villain, Grande Concho, a man who has taken over a small town in New Mexico & is obsessed with fire. Yankee kills a bunch of Concho's bandits & abducts his girl to which Concho responds by setting the town on alight & murdering the sheriff, telling the townspeople that they will die one by one unless they deliver yankee to him. It's the films best performance & Celi handles this larger than life, hellbent bandit with a huge ego to boot, perfectly.

The film plays out in a mildly entertaining way but unfortunately remains largely forgettable. Nothing stands out here from the other bucket load of early Leone inspired westerns. Tinto Brass disowned the film due to outside interference from the producers so you have to wonder how much of the films mediocrity came from the producers wanting another Dollars inspired picture. For that reason It is a real shame that Brass never made another western as I feel with his creative visual flair, a decent script, and a strong cast he'd of been more than capable of delivering a great Spaghetti. Unfortunately, this remains his one and only attempt at the genre & is one which is probably better best forgotten. 

Rating: ★★½

The great Silence

The Great Silence

Genre: Spaghetti Western

Original title: Il grande silenzio

Director: Sergio Corbucci

Year: 1968

A mute gunslinger faces off against a gang of bounty hunters in the great blizzard of 1899, and a grim, tense struggle unfolds.

In 1968 Sergio Corbucci, best known for the cult classic Django, gave us an unforgettable western that was like no other.  It stars the well respected French actor Jean-Louis Trintignant as the character of Silence. Silence is an appropriate name given that his character cannot speak after having his throat savagely cut as a child, this coming moments after witnessing his parents being murdered at their home. Silence seeks revenge but abides to the rules of the west by never shooting unless somebody draws first, this also prevents him from being arrested. Klaus Kinksi delivers his most iconic performance in a Spaghetti as Loco the bounty hunter. He is ruthless in his pursuit for financial gain & has no problem with shooting a defenseless person to collect the bounty on their head. Elsewhere you have Frank Wolff as the sheriff, Luigi Pistilli & Vonetta McGee. 

The cast are all wonderful but it's the setting that Corbucci decides to use as a backdrop that is the real star of this picture. Having already used an unusual and visually striking backdrop for Django (with the filthy muddy sets), Corbucci sets The Great Silence in the blizzard of 1899 meaning that the entire set & surroundings are covered in snow. This creates the doomed setting for these characters to live in. Even the superb Ennio Morricone score composed by Bruno Nicolai remains restrained when in comparison to most of Morricone's other Spaghetti's. Instead of a score that runs throughout, most of the film is soundtracked only by the sound of the harsh wind as the snow becomes as big of a part of the film as any of the characters.  The characters constantly struggle against their harsh surroundings with guns that have frozen up & they even resort to eating a horse to stay alive. Also any bloodshed inevitably falls onto the snow which for some reason the combination of the two creates such a brutally striking visual.

"They call him silence because wherever he goes, the silence of death follows"

The film is less political than some of Corbucci's other westerns, though there were some obvious themes that appear to be against capitalism, against what is seen as 'good' in the name of the law & even boasts an interracial relationship which I can't imagine had been done in a Western prior to this. As for the cinematography, Corbucci's usual close ups and use of shaky cam are all present but it's the unpleasant stench of inevitable doom that The Great Silence is soaked in that really makes this film so special.

There are some unforgettable scenes spread throughout. Of course there is the classic trait of the genre seeing our hero show off his accurate gun skills & my personal favourite where Kinksi's character is being transported after being arrested by the sheriff. Kinksi asks to stop to go to the toilet, squats over & the second the sheriff turns his back he pulls out a gun from under the snow that he'd planted their previously. 

The film builds up and we expect a showdown with Silence vs Loco. It is made clear throughout that Silence will not draw first, Loco also abides to these rules though it appears to be more through pride than to honour the "rules" of the west as he has no problem murdering defenseless people throughout the film.

However what really sets The Great Silence apart from other westerns is its unforgettable ending. If you've never seen the film I'd highly recommend that you stop reading now.

The film builds up to its climax with Silence being terribly injured with the majority films sympathetic being held at gunpoint by Loco & the other bounty hunters. Its made clear that they will all be executed unless Silence comes & faces Loco so of course our badly wounded hero enters the scene & we expect him, against all the odds, to save the day. However the doom & gloom of the surroundings throughout the film does not ever let up & we are treated to an unexpected & devastating ending where Silence is shot to death by the bounty hunters followed by a massacre of every single one of the films sympathetic characters. It is the kind of ending that will make your draw hit the ground & the type that will remain with you long after the picture has finished. 

The Great Silence saw Sergio Corbucci deliver not only his own masterpiece, but one of the great Spaghetti Westerns of all-time & one of the all-time great pieces of Italian cinema history. It remains about as essential as they come.

Rating: ★★★★½

Klaus Kinksi, unforgettable as Loco

Once Upon A Time In The West

One Upon A Time In The West

Genre: Spaghetti Western

Original title: C'era una volta il West

Director: Sergio Leone

Year: 1968

The epic story of a mysterious stranger with a harmonica who joins forces with a notorious desperado to protect a beautiful widow from a ruthless assassin working for the railroad. The epic story of a mysterious stranger with a harmonica who joins forces with a notorious desperado to protect a beautiful widow from a ruthless assassin working for the railroad.

Released in 1968 Once Upon A Time In The West was the 4th Spaghetti Western by the now legendary director Sergio Leone. Leone had been responsible for the Dollars trilogy starring Clint Eastwood which started the Spaghetti Western craze in Italy. Leone was a big fan of Charles Bronson & had tried to get him for all three of his previous Westerns. Bronson turned down Leone the first time around for 'A Fistful Of Dollars' after reading the script which he described as the worst script he'd ever read. Bronson would later regret this decision & stated that 'What I didn't realise was the script didn't make any difference - It was the way that Leone was going to Direct it that would make the difference'. This is completely true, the dollars trilogy all sport very simple (to the point of being paper thin) plots. However it's Leone's style-over-substance approach which made those films so powerful with each film having a number of iconic scenes & characters throughout backed against unique cinematography & unbelievable scores by Ennio Morricone.

In my humble opinion the dollars trilogy got better and better with each release. 'A fistful..' set the tone & showed off the then unseen style. 'Few A Few dollars More' combined this with a better script & improved on everything that A fistful had delivered. Then there was 'The Good, The Bad & The Ugly' which took everything which made the first two so great but had a great (yet still simple) plot to boot with three amazing characters running the show & some of the most iconic scenes to ever grace a cinema screen.

You'd think that it could get no better than 'The Good, The Bad..' but somehow Leone made his greatest masterpiece just two years later with 'Once Upon A Time In The West'

Harmonia, Bronson's most iconic character

'The Good, The Bad & The Ugly' ends with one of the greatest scenes ever put on film with all three lead characters facing off in a shoot out. The tension built through the close ups of eyes, the score & the cinematography is something which you'd think Leone could never come close to again. Well guess what? Leone manages it with the opening 12 minutes of Once Upon A Time In The West with what I consider the greatest intro to a movie ever.

A classic example of Leone's wide style of shooting

The film opens with three nasty looking gunmen approaching a run down train station. They scare off the old employee and wait around anxiously for a train. This scene lasts a good ten minutes. What happens in this ten minutes? Hardly anything, Now you may ask yourself how on earth can this be part of the greatest intro to a movie ever but these 10 or so minutes are some of the most thoughtful & planned out scenes I've ever seen. The three gunmen (Jack Elam, Woody Strode, Al Mulock) are waiting for someone. You can feel the tension surrounding them as they wait for the train. The use of sound design in these scenes is nothing short of genius. There is no traditional score. Instead the soundtrack we hear is constructed of their surroundings and their surroundings only.

First there is the monotonous squeak of a nearby windmill which comes once every 5 or 6 seconds. Then there is the constant sound of wind passing the outdoor setting. Drops of water fall through the roof onto Woody Strodes hat, the splash of each drop hitting his hat is so carefully thought out. Then there is a fly buzzing around Jack Elam as he tries to rest. The fly buzzes around Elam's face to the point where it even becomes irritating to the viewer.

Jack Elam, not an Insect lover.

Each of these little episodes add up create a certain level of tension which gradually reaches boiling point when the train finally begins to roll into the station. Barely a word has yet been spoken & already as a viewer the tension is almost unbearable.

The train comes to a standstill & there is barely anyone departing. The 3 gunmen look on wondering where the man they are waiting for could be. The train takes off & behind the track is the lonely figure dressed in a white coat with eyes of a devil playing a Harmonica. Words cannot describe the power of this scene, it is a scene that you would find in most scripts for this type of movie however never will you find it executed with such perfection as it is here by Leone.

Woody Strode, uses his hat for a cup

The lonesome character is in fact Charles Bronson playing a man simply known as 'Harmonica' throughout the film. Bronson's first lines are classic with him asking where is Frank (Hendry Fonda) and asking if the gunmen had brought him a horse too which they reply 'looks like we're shy one horse' to which Bronson replies 'You brought two too many'. There's a standstill for a few seconds as the gunmen and Bronson gaze back at one another & then the guns go off.

This 12 minute sequence could be a short movie in it's own right. The film could end here & you would be more than satisfied. For me it is the most obvious example I'd use to demonstrate what complete cinema is. It really does not get any better than this.

Charles 'One Tune' Bronson

Rumour has it that Leone wanted the leads from The Good, The Bad & The Ugly to play the three gun-men in this opening scene though I can't imagine Clint Eastwood who had become an enormous star through the Dollars films being happy with being blasted away within 12 minutes of the picture. Still as much as this sounds great on paper I can't imagine anybody else playing the three bandits, their faces & expressions in those opening minutes are unforgettable.

The good news is the 138 minutes which follow these iconic scenes are also fantastic. This time round Leone has a story which has much more depth than anything he had dealt with for the Dollars trilogy.

So we've been introduced to Harmonica. Next we are taken to a run down farm named Sweetwater where Brett McBain & his children are preparing a wedding feast as McBain has been away & married a former prostitute called Jill played by the puppy eyed Claudia Cardinale. Suddenly gunshots in the distance are heard & McBain and his daughter are shot dead. five gunmen in duster overcoats appear from a distance & the camera pans around to reveal the character of Frank played by Henry Fonda. Fonda was known for playing clean-cut good guys in the Westerns of yesteryear so when it was revealed he was the evil man who shows know mercy at shooting at defenceless child it would of been an enormous shock. So enormous that for years when being shown on American T.V they would edit out the final moments of the scene.

Fonda, as you've never seen him before

Jason Robards is fantastic as the escaped outlaw named 'Cheyenne'. His character is an interesting one as we as the viewer are presented with a man who is on the run & we assume he is mean spirited just like the character of Frank. Though, as the film progresses we begin to warm to Cheyenne as he becomes a more sympathetic character especially towards that of Jill.

Claudia Cardinale is the final part of the jigsaw. Her character really is the centre of the picture & ties together the three male leads. It would be the first time Leone had included an important female lead in one of his spaghetti westerns & he makes the character of Jill just as memorable as any of his iconic characters from past movies.

The plot which ensues works perfectly with each characters actions consequently affecting the other three in some degree. This is made even more clearer by the unbelievable score by Ennio Morricone. The opening scenes may of been sound tracked by natural sounds but the rest of the picture has possibly the greatest score of all time with each of the four characters having their own theme music. When characters paths cross the score would blend these themes in and out & almost mirror what was going on between the actors. 

The richness to detail continues with each and every shot planned to perfection. Little things like Cheyenne walking into a bar and asking for a drink is given so much more impact by not showing his hands until he picks up the bottle to reveal that he is in fact shackled by the hands.

 Dialogue is kept to a mininum throughout favouring watching peoples facial expressions yet of the little dialogue there are so many memorable quotes from this film.

Harmonica: I saw three of these dusters a short time ago, they were waiting for a train. Inside the dusters, there were three men. Cheyenne: So? Harmonica: Inside the men, there were three bullets. This exchange though sweet and simple gives the characters of Harmonica & Cheyenne and us the viewer an understanding of their then new relationship

 This exchange though sweet and simple sets up the relationship between these two characters in an instant. Jason Robards has many memorable lines, this one in particular where he is talking to Jill is another favourite

You know, Jill, you remind me of my mother. She was the biggest whore in Alameda and the finest woman that ever lived. Whoever my father was, for an hour or for a month - he must have been a happy man.

This is Charles Bronson's most iconic & for my money, greatest performance he would ever put on screen. This set the standard for the Bronson that most people would grow to know and love. It's as if that everything before this film was Bronson searching for his character, his calling card, his special trait that was Bronson & Bronson only. Through Harmonica the Bronson persona was born. Here was the quiet character who only spoke when he had to but when he opened his mouth everybody listened. A man who's stare could say more than any piece of written dialogue. A man who would fight for justice & of course.. a man of vengeance. Bronson had now gained that almost X factor which would soon make him the worlds highest paid star. From now on people casting Charles Bronson were casting this persona. Bronson was Harmonica & Harmonica was Bronson.

Even Leone himself has been quoted calling Bronson 'the greatest actor I ever worked with' & for somebody who has worked with some of the all-time great actors to make that statement & after seeing Bronson's performance here, you really can't argue with that logic.

It really does get no better than Once Upon A Time In The West. Film students should be forced to sit down and watch this film, this is film-making at it's purest form. The direction, performances, score, cinematography, script & dialogue all come together to make what I can only describe as.. perfection. Throw Bronson into the mix & you have the greatest film of all time.

Rating: ★★★★★

A Reason To Live, A Reason To Die

A Reason to Live, a Reason to Die

Genre: Spaghetti Western

Original title: Una ragione per vivere e una per morire

Director: Tonino Valerii

Year: 1972

Branded a coward for surrendering his New Mexico fort to the Confederates without firing a shot, a Union colonel attempts to redeem himself by leading a band of condemned prisoners on a suicide mission to recapture it.

A Reason To Live, A reason To Die is a wonderful War-Western which is sadly overlooked by most. The story is completely lifted from the Dirty Dozen but thats alright with me, men on a mission films are my kind of movies! 

James Coburn is great as always & Bud Spencer plays a right deviant git who talks himself out of almost every situation & then there's Telly Savalas as the confederate major. There's humour thrown in (mostly via Bud Spencer) but there's always a sense of doom that looms over the characters, it's never played for cheap laughs. 

Reading up about this picture it seems I love it way more than most people. Though I do wonder if the people who weren't keen had seen the much shorter version where Coburn is dubbed by another actor. The version I saw ran at nearly two hours & I can't imagine a single second of it being removed. In my view, an underrated gem.

Rating: ★★★★

The Dirty Dozen go West

The Stranger and the Gunfighter

The Stranger and the Gunfighter

Original Title: El kárate, el Colt y el impostor

AKA: Blood Money 

Genre: Kung fu / Spaghetti Western

Director: Antonio Margheriti

Year: 1974

A martial artist joins a hard-hitting gunfighter in the search for treasure while bandits step into their way.

Despite its drop in popularity by '74, the Spaghetti Western was still bringing in good money & with the Shaw Brothers having so much success in Hong Kong with their martial-arts pictures it was no surprise that the two worlds would be brought together. This had already happened a few years previously with Red Sun starring Charlie Bronson, but this picture saw the Shaw Brothers & the Italians work together to produce this predictable, yet entertaining flick. 

The Stranger And The Gunfighter (sometimes called Blood Money) sees the unlikely pairing of Lo Lieh & Lee Van Cleef as they go around trying to find four women who have each had a small tattoo placed on their back sides which together reveal the whereabouts of a huge amount of treasure. Lo Lieh's martial arts are pretty much non existant in the first half with a couple of predictable fight scenes but he really comes to life in the back end of the film. It is also strange seeing Lee Van Cleef play a character who is so animated after seeing him in so many westerns play the type of character that only speaks when he has to.

Director Antonio Margheriti did a good job at keeping the film playful, it has comedic moments but they never feel too obvious & tonally feels just about right with a nice blend of action & adventure. There is a dip around the hour mark where things slow down and the pacing feels off but for the most part it remains engaging. Had this been made six years before it'd of been a completely different picture with a much tougher edge but it remains an enjoyable flick, the kind you'll enjoy at the time but forget about by the next day.

Rating: ★★★

The Good, The Bad & The Kung-Fu

They Call Me Hallelujah

They Call Me Hallelujah

Original Title: Testa t'ammazzo, croce... sei morto! Mi chiamano Alleluja

AKA: Heads You Die... Tails I Kill You / Deep West

Genre: Spaghetti Western

Director: Giuliano Carnimeo
Year: 1971

A Yankee gunman, Hallelujah, is hired by Mexican Juarista, General Ramirez to confiscate a case of jewels to fund the revolution. For this, Hallelujah will receive a percentage. But other parties are interested in the case and when they turn out to be fakes, it all deteriorates into a cat and mouse style game with Hallelujah, gunrunners, the French, and a Russian outlaw(!) all searching for the real jewels.

George Hilton: Smooth criminal

They Call Me Hallelujah is a indifferent yet entertaining Western with comedic elements. It stars George Hilton who is wonderful as the character named Allelujah. He plays it in the kind of way Harrison Fold plays Indiana Jones, always one step ahead of his enemies using all kinds of inventive ways to get one over people whilst in sticky situations. The violence is light-hearted in fun kind of way & never feels dangerous. The tone of the film suits Hilton's character very well & director Giuliano Carnimeo uses some unusual shots that keep the film visually appealing. Unfortunately the script probably lets the film down a little, there's too many twists & too many characters. A film which certainly would of benefited from a more simplified plot. 

Overall it is a mixed bag, yet the action scenes and Hilton alone are enough to make it worthwhile. Though Giuliano Carnimeo's A Bullet for a Stranger (which came out the same year & tonally is very similar) is probably worth seeking out before this.

Rating: ★★★

Django, Prepare a Coffin (1968)

Original Title: Preparati la bara!

AKA: Viva Django

Genre: Spaghetti Western
Director: Ferdinando Baldi

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062151/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

A mysterious gunfighter named Django is employed by a local crooked political boss as a hangman to execute innocent locals framed by the boss, who wants their land. What the boss doesn't know is that Django isn't hanging the men at all, just making it look like he is, and using the men he saves from the gallows to build up his own "gang" in order to take revenge on the boss, who, with Django's former best friend, caused the death of his wife years before. 

Terrance Hill is Django, or should I say, Terrance Hill is Franco Nero! The resemblance is uncanny and character wise Hill gets the Django near enough spot on making Viva Django (AKA Django Prepare A Coffin) a worthy unofficial sequel to the original classic. The plot is simple enough, the pacing tight & there are some really memorable scenes. Also the mighty George Eastman is here as the Villain named Lucas, Eastman always manages to elevate any film he's in even if it's a stinker. Don't expect the kind of comedy you'll find in your usual Terrance Hill western, this is a faithful take on the Django character that uses all the traits & trademarks of the original. 

Rating: ★★★½

And the winner of the Franco Nero impersonator is... Terrance Hill!