Finaly got to see this one thanksto Romaine. Was very pleased with it. Didn’t even notice the slow pace and was never bored. Loved the shades of grey and I keep trying to figure out why Manuel goes on this quest. I have an idea but can’t bring it to words. Also found some possible french influence at the dinner scene where the family crosses itself. You usually don’t see crossing in spaghettis except from Mexicans. Brings a strange good quality to the film. I also noticed that Manuel doesn’t cross himself. Thought that was very cool. Shows his lack of interest in religion probably becuase of his life of violence. It seems that he wonts to go do all this for Maria because he wonts to make her happy. He still loves her but her hate for the Roger’s blinds her to his love and his extremely saddened face during the rape scene shows his disgust at her disregard for innocent life. The end shows his regret for ever going on this mission. Everything he has lived for is dead and gone and he now has nothing to live with except regret and depression. I was a little confued by the relationship between the twqo brothers and Maria. She regards them as cowards but ask them to stay with her for a while to keep her company. Also a tad bit confused as to why Manuel and Maria kill Lee Burton. I love that scene though.
Liked this one but need to re view it to identify further meaning in some scenes. Will also try and write an article on anti heroes including Manuel.
I gave this one another viewing last night, and I liked it a bit better than the first time. For me it has a bit of a soap-opera type feel and perhaps that’s what turns me off it a bit.
Still an above average film in my opinion but I wouldn’t give it a 4/5 just yet.
Hey all, this is one of my all time favorite spaghettis.
However I have a nagging question. Frayling, in his bio of Leone (pp.267-8; 509), explicitly rejects suggestions that anyone but a heavily disguised Leone played the hotel clerk. Furthermore Frayling even includes a non-referenced quote from Sergio Leone regarding his performance and a referenced quote from Carla Leone saying that Sergio played no part in the actual making (i.e directing) of the film.
Yet both these observations seem incorrect. Firstly the hotel clerk does not look like Leone at all - I checked the database here where it is suggested that Cris Huerta played the role and this is confirmed by imdb. Secondly, as Hossein points out on the interview on the German DVD, Leone did direct the dinner sequence - a photo of Leone directing is shown, and simply watching the scene shows it to be classic Leone at its purest; the scene is very reminiscent of the eating scenes on the stage coach at the beginning of “Duck You Sucker”.
[quote=“Novecento, post:99, topic:403”]Hey all, this is one of my all time favorite spaghettis.
However I have a nagging question. Frayling, in his bio of Leone (pp.267-8; 509), explicitly rejects suggestions that anyone but a heavily disguised Leone played the hotel clerk. Furthermore Frayling even includes a non-referenced quote from Sergio Leone regarding his performance and a referenced quote from Carla Leone saying that Sergio played no part in the actual making (i.e directing) of the film.
Yet both these observations seem incorrect. Firstly the hotel clerk does not look like Leone at all - I checked the database here where it is suggested that Cris Huerta played the role and this is confirmed by imdb. Secondly, as Hossein points out on the interview on the German DVD, Leone did direct the dinner sequence - a photo of Leone directing is shown, and simply watching the scene shows it to be classic Leone at its purest; the scene is very reminiscent of the eating scenes on the stage coach at the beginning of “Duck You Sucker”.
I guess Frayling just got this really wrong? [/quote]
I came across the same quote you site in Fraylings book a couple of months ago and was quite taken aback. In Western All’Italiana (Vol 2) the authors mention that Chris Huerta is the clerk in question and despite contrary claims it is NOT Leone.
I was quite put off by Fraying because this to me was a big mistake in his book. I Googled about it and forund some stuff (can’t remember where exactly) and found that Frayling somewhere admitted that he was wrong and attributed it to having viewed a very poor copy of the film. (I don’t know if Frayling really said that).
As you noted the quote in Frayling, attributed to Leone, is unsourced. That makes it impossible to understand what Leone could have possibley been thinking (if, indeed, he DID say it).
Also, as you note, Carla Leone claims to Frayling that it was Sergio. Quite odd.
When the preiminent director of the genre makes his only (supposed) acting appearance in the genre, you would think his biographer would be hyper aware of the circumstance involved.
I’ve never seen an adequate explanation for Fraylings mistake. (Which he documents with unsourced quotes!)
But anybody who watched it now can see it is cleary Huerta.
[quote=“Stanton, post:101, topic:403”]Leone was intended to play the clerk, but he obviously hadn’t.
So maybe Carla really thought he did, or simply forgot that he didn’t.
Or maybe Chris Huerta is a pseudonym hiding Leone’s acting career. I mean, what the hell did he all these years after OuTW? Apart from eating.[/quote]
Heehee.
Well, it is strange to say the least. I know peoples’ memories are often faulty. But whether not Leone acted in a film just seems too significant a thing to be so confused about. I hate errors like this because they call into question the seriousness of the research of the author. My inevitable question to myself after reading this was “what else is wrong in this biography if something so elemental is wrong”.
I’d like a satisfying answer. I’ll have to go back to Google when I get a moment.
[quote=“Stanton, post:101, topic:403”]Leone was intended to play the clerk, but he obviously hadn’t.[/quote]I remember reading that Leone and Hossein shot the scene but they weren’t pleased with it and afterwards made it again with Huerta. That would explain the confusion.
Yes it would - particularly as to why Frayling is able to quote Leone regarding how he played the role.
Nevertheless, in spite of the odd criticism, Frayling has done a huge amount for Sergio Leone and the Spaghetti Western genre in general and should be commended for it. Hey, nobody is perfect and that Leone biography is a big book so there are bound to be errors.
Actually at the front of the most recent edition of Frayling’s Spaghetti Western book, he openly acknowledges all the errors contained within.
Man I wish Hossein had made more movies like this one. He has the same love of using the camera to tell the story and capture the mood as Leone. It’s a great homage to Leone’s work while retaining its own distinctive style.
[quote=“Novecento, post:105, topic:403”]Yes it would - particularly as to why Frayling is able to quote Leone regarding how he played the role.
Nevertheless, in spite of the odd criticism, Frayling has done a huge amount for Sergio Leone and the Spaghetti Western genre in general and should be commended for it. Hey, nobody is perfect and that Leone biography is a big book so there are bound to be errors.
Actually at the front of the most recent edition of Frayling’s Spaghetti Western book, he openly acknowledges all the errors contained within.
Man I wish Hossein had made more movies like this one. He has the same love of using the camera to tell the story and capture the mood as Leone. It’s a great homage to Leone’s work while retaining its own distinctive style.[/quote]
Yes, I agree with you about Frayling. He is to be commended. The part of his other book that you mention (in which corrects previous editions) is quite a read in itself. I think he had to acknowledge those errors to retain credibility. (Tom Weisser he’s not!)
I enjoy his commentaries on the Leone DVDs. I wish I had made it to the museum exhibit that he helped to curate in LA a couple years ago. I live close enough where I could have gone.
The book that came out as a result of that exhibit is a gem too.
CWC is my favortie Spaghetti even above Leone’s.
Welcone to the fourm by the way.
Well, at least he did one similar intensive film called The Taste of Violence, which is not exactly a western, but close enough and rather close to several of the revolution westerns.
[quote=“Stanton, post:21, topic:403”]I’ve got now a copy of A Taste of Violence. There are western moments in it, and you can compare it with the more serious ones of the revolution spaghettis, but it’s not necessarily a SW.
It’s a bit slow in the first half, but then it’s also building up to very intense scenes, which clearly are showing similarities to Cemetery without Crosses.
I can’t understand why Hossein is such an unknown director, these 2 films clearly show a high cult potential.[/quote]
Stanton, where did you get hold of a copy of this? If, as you say, it’s anything like CWC, I would love to see it.
Unfortunately my German is not too good but if there are as few lines in this as Cemetery Without Crosses I guess that wouldn’t be such a problem. I wonder if the German company that released Cemetery Without Crosses would be interested in releasing A Taste of Violence also? Although the picture in their release of Cemetery Without Crosses wasn’t incredible it was still good and they provided a whole host of language options and extra features. Alternatively it would be a great one for Koch to resurrect.
