That was better than the entire film, bravo!
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Wow, many thanks!
Nice - this movie has great opening animation
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You encapsulated the film perfectly!
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I was watching an old documentary about Rhodesia in 1979. I noticed the cinema playing Day of Anger:
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I also bought my copy 2018, but after not reading the “small print” carefully I until yesterday made the big mistake having watched, at least maybe 4-5 times, only the around half hour too short/cut version.
I had felt that it was very choppy, but this much longer version was rather smooth and probably made several details of the plot more clear.
(Maybe I should also study/rewatch my The Big Gundown Bluray more carefully also since I have so far only watched the shorter but still expanded American edition, irritaded and believing the longer italian version Director’s cut La resa dei conti only has English subtitles but not English audio at all)
Even if Scott Mary is a rather strange character for Gemma to play I think it is a plus without the usual (obvious) comedy component and that increases my appreciation of the film.
IMDb had some false filming location data on this SW, so I proposed some changes yesterday and they happen to be in line with the location data in Howard Hughes’ book Once Upon A Time in the Italian West.
I still rate Day Of Anger as a solid 7/10 and in my SW Top 20, just after Death Rides A Horse but just before The Grand Duel and Sabata, all with good Lee van Cleef performances.
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Day of Anger is one of my favourite SWs and is in my top 10 SWs. It has my favourite non-Morricone SW OST, has Lee Van Cleef playing one of his most morally ambiguous and intriguing characters ever, and has Gemma and LVC play off eachother well. It cleverly deconstructs some of the tropes that we see in SWs, such as vengeance being portrayed as ultimately undesirable and making you become a worse person as seen when Scott Mary’s understandable treatment of the townsfolk start leaking unto the few people that were truly his friends. The pacing is done very well, and it’s very rewatchable. Those who haven’t seen it need to ASAP.
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Day of Anger has always been a favourite of mine, its the first one I saw after being stunned by the dollars trilogy and I have a soft spot for it. Your trailer is brilliant, well done.
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In my top ten for sure…
Talby is my favourite Van Cleef character, so bad-ass in it
It was remade in Taiwan in 1980 as the kung fu classic Seven Commandments of Kung Fu with Li Yi Min (in the Scott Mary role) and Chang Yi (in place of Talby)
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@Divy wrote a new review
https://www.spaghetti-western.net/index.php/Day_of_Anger_review_by_Divy
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It’s cool to see how SWs influenced loads of Kung Fu films. The Avenging Eagle was based off Death Rides a Horse qswell!
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And how in turn movies from Asia, both Kung Fu and Samurai films, influenced the western genre.
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Just watched Day of Anger for the first time. Saw the 1:25 length version, and I understand there are two longer versions (1:55 and 1:51). Can anyone fill me in on what is included in the longer versions that is missing from the 1:25 version?
My mini-review: I liked it OK, but did not love it. The main issue for me is that Talby has too much of van Cleef’s inherent charm and gravitas, which, combined with his wronged guy out for revenge story arc, makes me root for him for almost the entire film. You realize very late in the film, and pretty suddenly, that the “hero” is really the thick-headed Scott, even though the signs are pretty much there all along that Talby is not a good guy. For me, Gemma has played Scott with so much stubborn dopeyness that, when compared with van Cleef’s Talby, I just cannot bring myself to root for him – he does not really shed that stubbornly stupid demeanor until Talby kills Murph, with maybe 7 minutes of film remaining.
Perhaps the extra 25-30 minutes that are not in the version I saw provide some middle development of Scott into a character that is less dopey and that I could identify with and care more about.
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Here’s a super in-depth comparison of the versions (maybe a bit too in-depth but oh well): Day of Anger (Comparison: International Version - Italian Version) - Movie-Censorship.com. I’ve only watched bits of the shorter cut but to my memory, I think most of the cuts were from the latter half of the movie where Talby and Scott are partners and it shows more of Talby’s descent into villainy. Day of Anger is my favourite Spag of all time so I’d really recommend giving the full version a watch some time via the Arrow blu ray.
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Thanks, that was helpful … to the extent I can piece the whole plot together from that comparison, I think I can see how the differences improve the clarity of Talby’s and Scott’s character arcs somewhat.
I still think Valerii and Gemma overdid how big a loser Scott was at the beginning of the film and how obtuse he is about Talby’s evil side until it is unmistakably hammered home when Talby kills Murph very late in the film. That may be a little bit on me though because I have little patience for stupidity in characters and Scott is overloaded with it … enough that I am just not sure I am capable of caring enough about him to root for him.
I will certainly try to watch the full version some time if I can.
BTW, you know who would have made a great Scott Mary? James Dean.
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I was going to say I understand you earlier. I think they was just trying to hone in the innocence and stupidity that comes with being young and naïve. Scott idolizes the gunslinging old west, but doesn’t take into account the carnage and the grimness. He is exposed to it, but Talby being that embodiment of what a gunslinger was in his head didn’t make things any better. Talby was his dream, you know? That’s why, in my personal opinion, I think it’s believable. Kids can be very stupid 
That would’ve been so cool 
[quote=“comebackinabt10minutes, post:258, topic:158”]
I think they was just trying to hone in the innocence and stupidity that comes with being young and naïve. [/quote]
I do not disagree with you, but the problem is Gemma was 30 years old and looked it … so he does not come off as young and naive, he just comes off as dopey. His plot line is similar to The Unforgiven’s Schofield Kid, but that actor was much younger (24 or so) and came off as genuinely embodying the naivete of youth (even though his character was actually far more worldly than Scott Mary).
More even than Scott idolizing the gunslinging old west or having that as his dream, I think he holds onto Talby and his way of life because everything he is and has, he owes to being Talby’s gunslinger.
Before Talby came along, he was a foul-smelling toilet-cleaning street sweeper reviled and denigrated by virtually everyone, so cowed that he was unable or unwilling to even lift a finger to stick up for his dignity … everywhere he walked he lived in fear and self-loathing. Then Talby took him under his wing and he became a feared gunslinger badass respected and esteemed by virtually everyone, so self-assured that the swagger gushed from every pore … everywhere he walked he was fearless, feared and self-possessed.
Whether it was his dream or not, the thing that brought him out of the gutter and gained him his self-respect was gunslinging, thanks to Talby. It would not be easy for anyone to give that up easily – he remembers all too well what it is like being a downtrodden loser.
But because he remembers that all too well, it seems to me though that along with all that newfound confidence should come empathy. He better than anyone knows how it feels to be cast aside and robbed of dignity, so to do the same to others at Talby’s bidding is just, well, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, dopey. And I do not have patience for dopey 
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the comparison to the Schofield kid made something click! I still like this movie a lot, but I get you. You make some good points
I agree that Scott’s short countenance with everyone after the Talby makeover was a little off. When I was watching, I took it as corruption - as charming as Talby is, but he stands for the wrong thing (that’s what Murph was trying to tell Scott I believe). I’ll also tell you what: I didn’t think Gemma was too old for the part! I thought he was weathered for Scott, but I thought it matched up because, like, all kids looked weathered back then (and continue to now, lol), always in the elements, and then what he does for a dollar, you know?
But I do understand how all of that, if not translated as well, can be irritating. You’re right that Unforgiven did that kind of thing a lot better
I have perhaps the disadvantage of never having seen Gemma in any other role. (I have seen about 20 Spaghetti-Westerns in the last year since I decided to delve into the genre, but have not yet reached the Ringo movies or any of the other films Gemma starred in. I expect to get to the Ringo movies pretty soon.) Being more familiar with him may have an effect on one’s view of his performance.
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I mentioned when viewing this for Spagvember Fest, and saying that every character, with the exception of Van Cleef, Gemma, Pepe Calvo, Al Mulock, and Yvonne Sanson, utterly despicable and hypocritical. I’ll explain a little more in depth here. Spoilers will pop up.
To me, Murph is the worst hypocrite of them all. He, more than anyone, knew that how the people of the town were treating Scott was wrong, and never once lifted a finger or a hand in helping Scott in any way shape or form when he needed it. Granted this is assuming Murph was around when Scott was little, and of course no info is given on this, but from Scott and Murph’s interactions, it’s a fair assumption.
Scott initially saw Murph as a father figure, and Murph it seems never once gave Scott any advice on how to stand up for himself, or even stick up for him when slime-balls like Abel Murray were using him as a whipping boy and punching bag. He is more of a coward than anyone else because he knew what was happening was wrong and did nothing at all to help this poor kid.
Murph, in my personal opinion, was in fact jealous of Talby for giving Scott the confidence and guidance to stand up to his attackers, something Murph seemingly wouldn’t do. Even if this education would lead Scott down a dangerous path, Talby did have a genuine liking for him, seeing Scott as the son he never had. Murph’s speech about his duty against guys like Talby may have been right years ago, but to me it now seems more like an embittered man who knew he failed a young man he could’ve helped long ago.
Talby I think would’ve let Scott go and lead his own life without the threat of having to face him in a duel; Murph, rather than admit to Scott he failed at helping him in the past, in fact makes Talby kill him knowing Scott will turn on Talby. You can tell in Van Cleef’s face at the showdown he doesn’t want to duel Scott, you see a pain like expression in his eyes, like a father facing a now a grown up son. Murph may have saved Scott from a kill or be killed life style, but to me he did it a clearly selfish way.
I do apologize if this sounds like a rant, but this is how the film played out to me, and I finally wanted to write down my thoughts to the best of my abilities.
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