1967
Italy
Director: Giuseppe Vari
Cast: George Eastman , Dragomir Bojanic, Dana Ghia, Mirko Ellis, Gianni Medici, Daniele Vargas, Giuseppe Addobbati, Fabio Coplan, Paolo Figlia, Valentino Macchi, Giuseppe Castilian, Anton de Cortes, John Matthews, Paul Reale, Max Fraser
Photo: Angelo Filippini
Music: Roberto Pregadio
Spaghetti, 1967 produced by a small company , Castor Film, directed by Giuseppe Vari under pseudonym usual for this genre of Joseph Warren, director and screenwriter from 1966 to 1971 he specialized in this subgenre rolling seven westerns, all low budget but with some interest, among them: " Deguello" (his debut spaghetti), "A hole in the front" (discussed in this blog), "A poker di gun" or "Pray for the dead and kill the living" .
Ramon is a Mexican settler who will suffer in their own flesh the confrontation between farmers and ranchers in their region and who, after being assaulted and robbed his father is killed and his farm burned down by the men of Barret, the tycoon owner of a major local livestock. Wounded in a clash with one of the men in it, will be cared for by a gunman who had saved his life involuntarily called Rezza, so that once healed will ask you to instruct in the use of weapons with the sole purpose of revenge Barrett. Between the two solitary men emerge a sincere friendship that fate is responsible for testing.
The spaghetti, therefore, through a curious script Augusto Caminito (a regular contributor Vari Westerns as well as having signed the original and unusual for this subgenus booklet "The professional gold ), which favors developing the story and the relationships between the characters against mechanical action and dialogue which has some more care than usual , raises two subplots treated extensively in the western (both American and European) across, basically, the relations established between two pairs of men:
for me the least achieved and more mainstream on the confrontation between farmers, supporters of the great outdoors, and the settlers to till the land and turn to fence bounding elements of the property, with the particularity that in this case and in the words of Ramon's father, were the farmers who arrived first and turned a wasteland into a productive area ; confrontation symbolized in the fight, almost personal, held by Barret (cattle) and Stevens (settler) which ultimately are two sides of the same coin, men who use violence, either directly or through other to annihilate their opponents and impose their lifestyle.
The more interesting and, I believe, achieved on the typical history student teacher represented Rezza for the gunman and the Mexican Ramon, a truly authentic and uplifting for my taste, the film above the genre average. Thus we find two lonely people, where the first of his profession (he even told Ramon that he and the society there is a wall and "people will respect you, you will be afraid but do not want. You on this side of the wall. Solo ") and in the case of the second for being a Mexican (though not deepens, the script makes continual references to the marginalization of the Mexican population and racism of the Yankees, so for example when Ramon initially refuses to take up arms along with the other settlers, one of them check their status in Mexican side, after being wounded in the confrontation with the owner of the saloon farmer asks Rezza to take him for if not to be Mexican cast the blame on him him, besides presenting the Mexicans as peaceful people who suffer the violence of the Americans, whose culture is more attached to guns) that will establish strong links without knowing that their destiny as a shock will compelled to confront in order to fulfill their respective obligations of a professional nature in the case of the gunman (fulfill his contract) and moral character by Ramón (avenge his father). Even for the first time, just before meeting, Rezza preface their friendship to their professionalism and give you the opportunity to Ramon to escape with his horse, but both know it's an impossible choice.
is in this subplot, which Rezza will teach you the tricks of his trade to Ramon ( "shoot first and then talk", "shot five times and loads, and always have a ball available "" advantage if you have the sun at your back "," mathematics are everything, you have always needed: step, shots, minutes ", etc) where we can find certain parallels with two rolled spaghetti that year: "Man to man" and, above all, "The day of wrath" , but the truth is that, from what I've read The film premiered at hand several months before the last-mentioned. In any case, as in these two, and even more sharply, it tends to demystify the figure of the gunman that has nothing to do with the classic westerns. So Rezza appears as a cool professional who does not care who is going to kill and the reasons for going to die that man, his job is that and only charge is concerned, is more not even given a chance at his future victim daring her to a duel but he will kill in cold blood with a rifle scope, is therefore a murderer. He himself is aware of the person he has become and so he acknowledges Ramón: "You forget you're a man. You feel like an animal. If you refuse to do so to survive you have trouble ". His office, therefore, no nobility in it as important as speed are a number of tricks that allow you to preserve life. Besides lifestyle lacks the glamor reflected in other features: living in a kind of shack and dress contrasts sharply with that of Barret, a character who hired him, and even with that of Stevens, individual who has to kill.
With respect to the work of Giuseppe Vari direction I think is right with the slow pace that required the film and gets much of the same convey the drama of the story he is telling, though from the negative point can bring the abuse of zoom, a quick transition between scenes and the final part seems a bit hasty, as if missing some string and collide with the pace of most of the film, actually I do not know whether because the version I've seen is not complete or that a scene would stay in the editing room for the possibility that the film was stretching too much.
As for the soundtrack, was composed by Roberto Pregadio, author of the extraordinary music of "Land of Giants" and that he would work with his stupendous Vari compositions "A hole in the front" . In this case features a large main theme, which begins with the melancholy sound of a guitar that you are gradually adding other instruments, most suitable for the story being told. The only downside is that the theme with variations (with role of the harmonica or trumpet) tends to run in excess throughout the film.
Finally on the actors, in front of the cast and to give life to the two main characters, plus profiles of what was common in this subgenre, with many nuances (especially the figure of the gunman ), we find Anthony Ghidra, artist whose real name was Yugoslavia Dragomir Bojanic, and George Eastman, Luigi Montefiore born. Both are another asset of the film.
The first memorably embodies a Rezza (I think his performance is almost the height of the greats of spaghetti), transmitting with a remarkable economy of means all the tiredness and weariness of his character, a loner who just wants to retire to start a family. For his performance gets his gunman disgusts us and draw us together. Before him a great Eastman as Ramon, a man who, because of the injustices that will endure, evolve significantly over the film becoming a gunslinger cold (his gaze is menacing) whose only goal will end even if it means Barret meet the one true friend who has had or even his own death (moral and physical), proving, as he told his father, who "revenge is easy and useless. Leaves your mouth as the fruit bitter green . Together with them we find a convincing Daniele Vargas as the sibilant Barret and Mirko Ellis in the role of violent and unintelligent Stevens, Dana Ghia and the role of the owner of the saloon, the least successful character and quite difficult to understand since Ramón sincerely seems to care but also reveals his plans to Barret causing all the drama later.
Ultimately I found a remarkable spaghetti, despite some flaws in the script (I think it was written in two or three days), an imbalance and the lack of a higher budget, but nevertheless highly recommended.
SCORE:
HISTORY: 7
AMBIENTE: 6
ADDRESS: 6
ACTORS: 8
MUSIC: 7
MEDIA: 6.8
SCORE:
HISTORY: 7
AMBIENTE: 6
ADDRESS: 6
ACTORS: 8
MUSIC: 7
MEDIA: 6.8
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