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There is a hidden genius in this soundtrack. How fucking great is this? I mean come on… so epic and so emotional on so many levels. Just the arragement is a bit held back I thik but wow…
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Indeed, its been one of my favourite soundtracks for years.
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I watched Tepepa yesterday - I would like to see again a version with subtitles for the parts with Italian audio but I was able to follow what was going on.
There are a lot of great things about this one - great costumes and use of extras - it’s not chock a block with action but has a good plot about the main characters’ back stories which reveal in flashbacks and testimony. I liked the character of the English doctor, he was mainly unflappable and the actor played the part very well. Milian does a good job too without excessive histrionics. Wells might not have been putting in massive effort but the part could have been a very cynical officer (etc etc).
I really enjoyed some of the scenes, the execution scene, lots of great horses and large battalions, in the prison, (good shrine), the peasants saying rosary, the goats in the ambush, the hotel scenes - many more all done really well. The story did drag a small bit and maybe too much of Milian mumbling to himself but these are minor criticisms. Would like to see full version with English subs and will check out again but for now 3.5 /5
You can watch the uncut version with English subtitles on Plex (you can turn on subtitles in the player after it starts playing).
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Thanks a million for that @Winston
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No problem. There’s actually quite a few spaghetti’s on Plex. Many unusual titles hard to find elsewhere (for those who weren’t already aware of it).
I rewatched Tepepa this evening and enjoyed it more on this viewing. There still are imperfections and some plot coincidences that are a little cumbersome.
Spoilers to follow.
Just a few things from this viewing that stood out more.
Tepepa finds the photograph of the fiancé in the doctor’s wallet when his goons have roughed him up. It isn’t clear if he has recognised until the surgery scene - he must have realised the doctor had come onto the scene with a purpose or he was being reckless.
The wheels on the wagons when the villagers leave after the massacre are made of solid wood. They must have weighed a ton. Surely they had someone who could make proper wheels. I have never seen these type of wheels in a western.
Carrasco detains the doctor and goes straight into reading out testimony of the incidents at the fiancé’s family’s ranch. Another big coincidence or he had intelligence on who the doctor was and why he was in Mexico. Maybe I am overthinking all this.
The attack on the army in the canyon is good and some great action where the revolutionaries are lassoing soldiers off horse and dragging them up. Savage strength.
Upgraded to 4 stars.
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Also two other things
The way the peasants are presented is done well. They all stand around with big quiet sad heads. This contrasts with Tepepa and the other revolutionaries.
The shot of Doctor Price’s fiancé as Tepepa approaches her as the camera focusses deeply on her eyes is very well done.
Lastly here are the wagon and cart wheels I mentioned above. I don’t know if this is for authenticity or if it was that was all they could find at short notice for filming.
Sorry for the repeated posts!
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The use of solid wood wheels on wagons was a common practice on farms in Mexico (c.1910) and were usually hauled by oxen. It was presumably an attempt at authenticity as Petroni later classified ‘Tepepa’ as a historical film rather than a western, or at least he says so in the commentary track on the Koch blu-ray.
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This has been the number one spaghetti I’ve been dying to see for a while now, came onto this thread just to see if anyone knew where to find it…appreciate you sharing the link, can’t wait to finally watch later!
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Glad it still works. Enjoy!
This was a really interesting movie, I’m glad I was finally able to watch it. One of Morricone’s very best scores that I’ve heard, and a surprisingly restrained performance by Milian. I generally like him even when he’s chewing the scenery a bit too much, but I was really impressed by him in this one. Steiner (who I’m not very familiar with) was excellent as well.
Unfortunately, Welles seemed drunk and/or like he was phoning it in. There were brief moments where I felt like he was deliberately underplaying the character, but for the most part he just didn’t seem very interested. All that being said, his presence alone still added to the unique feel of the movie…maybe it was just the sheer novelty of Orson Welles in a spaghetti, but I really wasn’t overly bothered by his performance.
I have to talk about the bizarre scene where Steiner bribes the guard for a new cell, and ends up sharing the bed with the guard’s wife (not to mention the room with all their children). The way the scene played out felt almost Lynchian to me, and I mean that in a good way. What a strange scene. Loved the ending as well.
Still unpacking the rest of my thoughts but overall I was pretty impressed. Pacing felt a bit sluggish at times which was my only real complaint, but the good far outweighed the bad in this one. I’m really curious about the rest of Petroni’s work, I’ve only seen this one and Death Rides a Horse. Might have to give Night of the Serpent a go next.
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