Wow, Lee was such a cool guy even off the screen. A real classic actor.
The Big Gundown, Day of Anger, Death Rides A Horse, Sabata, For A Few Dollars More, GBU, all awesome classic movies, Lee Van Cleef is my favorite Spag-western actor of all time. I only wish he would have been in a Sam Peckinpah film, other than that, you canât beat being in that many awesome movies.
I wish he wouldâve played more villains in SWs.
I particularly enjoyed his portrayals of elder statesman gunslingers in Death Rides A Horse, Day Of Anger and, Grand Duel. Iâm looking forward to viewing a great many more of his films, I just picked up a pristine used copy of Sabata for $4 at a local video store and itâs next on my list
Lee Van Cleef died in my hometown, Oxnard CA. Unless there is another here from the NardcoreâŚI claim his spirit. I was 9 at the time but I claim it! Haha
And if any says , he shoulda never came to Oxnard because it killed himâŚwellâŚI say well played sir haha
Do not blame you for claiming his spirit 
I canât type anything or say anything im sure that hasnât already been said of lee van cleef.
I do however think Big Gundown is ergio Solimaâs masterpiece, and I think Van Cleef and Thomas Milan give jaw dropping performances. The shooting locations in Spain where this was filmed is jsut breathtaking. Especially the last fifteen minutes of the motion picture. For sure The big gunddown features Lee Van Cleef doing what he does very best, Again, its almost hard to rank them, their isnt a spaghetti western hes in that isnât classic of the genre.
- The Big Gundown
- For a few Dollars More
- Sabata
- Day of Anger
5.Death Rides a Horse - The good the bad the ugly
7.Beyond the law - Return of Sabata
What a quality wig !
I agree with your praise for The Big Gundown. Along with Leoneâs films Van Cleefâs greatest. After those I woild rank Day of Anger and Death Rides a Horse. The rest I think are lesser films, the best of them imo Il grande duello.
I forgot to put Grand Duel and Godâs Gun in there.Gods gun is my least favorite since it was made way past the genreâs prime, and but the cast is decent. My least faovrite though.
Here is an interesting piece that I heard on Irish radio (RTE 2FM) on the Dave Fanning show, sun 16 Sep 2018 - interview with Des Whelan (Irish Cameraman).
Hopefully the link below works - I could not add the audio file directly.
Click on the link and then scroll down the webpage to the Podcasts and play the one from sun 16th Sep (Dave Fanning: Des Whelan), scroll to 16:50 to 19:00 minutes of the 29 minute podcast, for the interesting bit.
Easily the MVP of the genre for me! The Big Gundown and Death Rides a Horse are probably my two favorite non-Leone spaghetti westerns, and Day of Anger and Sabata are both quite good. Plus Angel Eyes is for me the single most iconic villain in a western - he pulls off a truly amazing nickname, and his first (soup-eating) scene is ballsy, letting so much time pass in silence with nothing more than atmosphere and Van Cleefâs evil stare to sell the scene.
After Van Cleef I might go with Tomas Milian, who is also in so many great movies and really put effort into all of his performances. Some people think heâs a little broad as an actor, but I think it suits the movies heâs in. But no one can beef with Van Cleef.
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ââŚoh Jenny is back with more LVC contentâŚshockingâŚâ
yeah I know, I know! :'>
Iâm sorry everyone Itâs just the way it is~
(At least I have some sort of self awareness about it 
)
For the last couple of months Iâve been putting together a YouTube page with all the LVC scenes from all of his movies.
Purely as an archive, so they exist somewhere.
Due to copyright some of these clips are restricted in some countries and 5 of them had to be cut shorter.
But at least one can find them in one organized space ^^
Thatâs it! Just thought Iâd share it here if someone wants to watch any of it~
I might update it at some point with all the TV shows as well when I have them all.
Oh and White Lightning of course! The bane of my existence! 
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCH1q8ylhwv0OInZpDh_qiNQ/videos
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Nice work, Jenny - perhaps the site will be seen by someone willing to sell a copy of the illusive âWhite Lightningâ 
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One could dream 
Holy moly, this is incredible work Jenny. Van Cleef is lucky to have such a dedicated fan and archivist.
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Thank you! 
Oh I donât know about that~ feels to a certain degree self serving, I just made content that I myself wanted on YouTube :'3
Gasp!
I just realized I made a huge mistake! I donât need any of you guys to be any more familiar with LVC films, and therefore diminish my chances in the âThe Guess a Movie Screenshot Thread Version 2.0â!
Noob move on my part! 
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Awesome! Talk about the whole shebang. Bravo, Jenny.
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I posted this on my twitter but realized none of my friends cares about any of this :â>
(which is completely fine, neither does anyone here have to)
Even though its probably no new information to anyone here, I just thought Iâd post it here as well in case someone finds any of it interesting~
Iâve watched every single film starring Lee Van Cleef,
which including his TV-movies comes up to a total of 84 films.
Except White Lightning (1953) that has famously disappeared,
still working on getting my hands on this one!
This is my long post about my random observations:
He had an Anchor tattoo on his right forearm that he got after his 3 year long service in the US-Navy during WWII (Between the age of 17-20)
This tattoo is visible in 6 of his films, some by design, others by accident.
(I would assume that when it shows up in a spaghetti western it was by mistake)
Although the âSmoking Barrel Blowoutâ is a western trope, Lee only does it in 1 movie: The Lonely Man (1957)
Which is good, pointing a gun at your own face seems like a dumb idea.
Lee was in a serious car accident in 1958 during a drive back home from shooting Ride Lonesome.
Which resulted in the shattering of his left kneecap, an injury that caused him much pain for the rest of his life. He is visibly limping in 2 films shot around this time:
Lee was only a love interest (for genuine romantic reasons) in 3 films.
In âArenaâ he had a wife. In âThe Magnificent Seven Rideâ he gets a girlfriend.
Most notably he had a loving wife in âIt Conquered the Worldâ.
Who even goes on to risk her life with rifle in hand to save her husband from an alien from Venus 
Lee was known as âThe Best of the Badâ for his portrayal of mostly villainous characters. Lets put some statistics on it!
In how many films did he actually play a bad guy in vs good.
Good: 34
Bad: 50
Generally there was a switch after the dollar trilogy from âbadâ characters to more âgoodâ.
The films he had the most screen time in:
The Magnificent Seven Ride(1972): 56min 46sec
Captain Apache(1971): 52min 53sec
And least screen time:
Jack Slade(1953): 0min 44sec
Speed Zone(1989): 0min 30sec
In early 1960, Lee was doing some kind of construction at his home (allegedly a playhouse for his daughter) and accidentally cut off the top joint of his right-hand middle finger.
The first film this injury is visible in: For a Few Dollars More as Colonel Douglas Mortimer.
Actor Romano Puppo was Lee Van Cleefâs stuntman and good friend.
But they also played alongside each other in 9 films!:
In early 2000 an extended version of The Good the Bad and the Ugly was released that added previously cut scenes.
Actors such as Eastwood came back to record audio for those scenes.
Unfortunately, Lee Van Cleef who had already passed, had to be dubbed by someone else.
Speaking of dubbing.
âGods Gunâ entire main cast is dubbed by other actors (as well as Leeâs voice) since the cast walked off the film before its completion.
As Richard Boone stated in an 1976 interview: âIâm starring in the worst picture ever madeâ.
Random Observations:
Lee plays Twins in 2 films.
Lee wears sunglasses in 2 films.
Lee did something to his teeth in late 1970, they suddenly got very orderly,
straight and white in his films after âTake a hard rideâ.
After watching these films several times I found some âoopsiesâ.
For a Few Dollars More: Klaus Kinski has a bullethole in his head before Lee actually fires.
Vice Squad: Cameraman reflected in car window.
Bad Manâs River: Staff accidentally on screen (this room is supposed to be empty since Leeâs character is the only one locked in there)
huh! Lee switcheroo:
âThe Bravadosâ: Gunfighter tracks down outlaw gang who killed his wife. Holding a musical pocket-watch containing a picture of her.
âFor a Few Dollars Moreâ: Gunfighter tracks down outlaw gang who killed his sister. Holding a musical pocket-watch containing a picture of her.
Official Sleeping Pose apparentlyâŚ
Personal Favorites:
Favorite LVC Film: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Favorite LVC Character: Jaroo from âEl Condorâ
In the 1968 film Commandos, Romano Puppoâs character dies and Lee takes it upon himself to carry his friend away to burry him.
In 1989, Romano Puppo was an honorary pallbearer at Leeâs funeral, carrying his friend to his final resting place at Forest Lawn Memorial Park
So, am I trying to tell you that you should watch all 84 of these films because they are all fantastic?
No ^^
Though some of these films are sub-par, as an actor that took his career seriously, Lee Van Cleefs performances were always great.
He will forever be, the Best of the Bad
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