and i watched it :D, and then i´ve read the review
i liked it a lot - actually i always liked in movies this combination of comedy and drama and in this case it was worked out respectfully
but many action movies have this combination - for example Lethal Weapon series, those are great comedy/drama flicks
i don´t understand why Giusti called it “twilight western”???
Sounds like something I should watch. I like these more light hearted Spaghs. And the title is beautiful.
[quote=“tomas, post:41, topic:124”]and i watched it :D, and then i´ve read the review
i liked it a lot - actually i always liked in movies this combination of comedy and drama and in this case it was worked out respectfully
but many action movies have this combination - for example Lethal Weapon series, those are great comedy/drama flicks
i don´t understand why Giusti called it “twilight western”???[/quote]
I think he means that it has the feel and atmosphere of a twilight western
some scenes have some twilight feeling, but i don´t know - then a lot of spaghettis could have been called “twilight”
In this case the meaning of the adjective “crepuscolare” is tinged with a vague melancholy.
The term might have been invented by French critics: western crépusculaire.
Here’s a discussion on the term:
Can’t remember anything “twilight” like in this one.
In Germany they are called “Spätwestern” (Late western), because they often take place in a later time period, often after the turn of the century, after the closing of the frontier.
It might be called a sub-genre of the western and was started by Ride the High Country, which was as influential as FoD was for the SW.
The only SWs which are also Twilight westerns are probably OuTW and especially My Name Is Nobody.
[quote=“Stanton, post:47, topic:124”]Can’t remember anything “twilight” like in this one.
In Germany they are called “Spätwestern” (Late western), because they often take place in a later time period, often after the turn of the century, after the closing of the frontier.
It might be called a sub-genre of the western and was started by Ride the High Country, which was as influential as FoD was for the SW.
The only SWs which are also Twilight westerns are probably OuTW and especially My Name Is Nobody.[/quote]
but then this term “Late western” you mentioned is something different from “twilight SWs” as Mannaja and others
and For A Roof has some scenes (for instance opening scene and finale), which have this melancholy feeling as California for instance
but it is far from normal twilight western
The so called twilight SWs are only SWs which were made late in the cycle (Tired westerns is more appropriate imo 
). Calling them twilight westerns is misleading imo as the term is specifically used for those end-of-the-west films.
Giusti is not referring to the closing of the frontier or at the downward phase of the genre, he refers to the particular atmosphere evoked by the opening sequence.
As far as I know, the German term Spätwestern (Late western) may refer, just like Twilight Western, to both the period in which the movies were made (late in the process, when the genre was moribund), and the period in which they are set (the End of the West). It seems that in the case of Italian westerns, the term is basically used in the first sense: California, Mannaja and Keoma are Twilight westerns, but they are not set in this period which might be called ‘The End of the West’. In fact, instead of deploring the end of the West, they rather seem the deplore the end of the western genre (or more in general the end of genre cinema). For American westerns of the sixties and seventies that can be called twilight westerns, the opposite seems to be true: Liberty Valence, The Wild Bunch, Monte Walsh and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid rather deplore the end of the West than the end of the genre*. The only two Italian westerns I can think of which can be called twilight westerns in this sense, are indeed Once Upon a Time in the West and My Name is Nobody. The French term Western Crépusculaire may refer to both types of movies. I think Giusti uses the term in reference to the melancholic atmosphere of the Italian twilight westerns. And for a Roof… is not set in the ‘end of the West’ period, but it shares this melancholic feeling with California, Keoma and the likes.
- Apart from the ‘End of the West’ theme, American film makers also were concerned with ‘deconstructing the western myth’. Liberty Valence was set near the end of the West, but most other deconstructionist westerns were not: Little Big Man, Soldier Blue, Ulzana’s Raid, The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid etc. This is a different theme (although there might be some similarities), but I think the German term Spätwestern is also used for these type of movies.
Never been found of the term Twilight westerns, as I always think of The Twilight Zone. Results in me having the Twilight Zone music in my head, which is not good 
.
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Not seen this one, but as it’s made in 1968, I couldn’t really be considered Twilight, could it?
Well, it may contain some “twilight ingredients”, but it’s still too early to consider this one as a twilight SW IMO.
Still have to watch this. I’m waiting for La notte dei serpenti at the moment and I’m quite excited. Petroni’s westerns has that kind of spaghetti quality that I like.
Gritty, moody and atmospheric.
As regards And For A Roof A Skyfull of Stars, even though this one seems to be a bit lighthearted, it looks really nice.
A bit late, but I would disagree with your explanation of the phrase “the best laid plans of mice and men/Go often askew”. I would say the meaning was that the plans of men are ultimately as important as those of mice; in other words, futile and unimportant in the grand scheme of things. Then again, the very fact that this is open to debate means your interpretation could be right.
Gave this a rewatch.
Morricone´s score is the best thing about this film that, in the middle, seems to go nowhere. The comedy thing is not funny and the buddy movie approach, despite Gemma´s and Adorf´s chemistry, doesn´t work either. The opening scene and the last 30 minutes or so are pretty good though.
All in all above average, but it could have been much better.
And for a Roof, a Skyfull of Stars (1968) is a deeply contradictory film. It starts off with a pre-credits scene that despite not being groundbreaking is among the best directed sequences outside of the three Sergio’s canon. Giulio Petroni’s direction, Ennio Morricone’s score, the venal faces of the bandits, creates a stagecoach attack that is powerful in its cruelty. The shot where a man is literally thrown backwards by the power of a bullet hitting him is a detail worthy of Peckinpah. Yet, in the next scene we’ve forced to see a “funny” barroom brawl and then see Giuliano Gemma and Mario Adorf, two professionals, wonder where you put “it” in a mermaid. The film never fully finds a tone, scenes between Gemma and Adorf reduced to a buddy movie level of comedy, but when the villains enter the screen, we’re in a different film, a crueller world where a man will cut a woman’s arm to see if a knife is sharp enough or where another woman is beaten with a spiked piece of wood. Petroni is uncharacteristically uncertain what type of film he is making: a comedy or a revenge-driven, mean Spaghetti Western? To be fair, unlike some Western comedies, some parts meant to be funny are, such as Gemma’s seduction of a widow and the action is very well played; but the climax is disappointing although I have to admit I was finally strangely moved by Gemma’s and Adorf’s relationship that seemed almost an inversion of Laurel and Hardy (who were and remain to be extremely popular in Italy). If finally I can only give this a 3/5, that opening scenes is still really wonderful.
Hmm, but in Peckinpah’s films people are rarely (never?) thrown away by bullets.
This was made that way in Shane for maybe the first time, and was later very popular in US westerns of the late 60s like Hour of the Gun. But in Peckinpah films the bullets mostly slam through the body.
At the beginning of the final shootout in The Wild Bunch one of the Mexicans dressed in black (don’t remember if it’s Arau or the other guy) is thrown away (over the full length of the image).
I think it was indeed first done in Shane. If the bullet goes through the body or not, is not that important in this aspect; it’s more the impact of the bullet hitting the body, and it depends from calibre, sort of bullet and fire power of the weapon used. It is true that smaller bullets that not have been dumdummed go easier through the body (or any other object) and have a smaller impact, even if their speed is very high.
I have just re-watched TWB (bought me the Blu), and I don’t remember this. There is one who falls back from a small wall he is sitting on.
People fall in Peckinpah´s films after being hit, but they are not thrown away as in many US westerns in the 60s. Which I think is also not realistic.