If I were that girl, I would choose Tomas and not that gringoā¦ ;D ;D ;D
you like the badboy type or just dislike blond skinny guys???
But tepepa is great and its the best role of thomas that i saw so far. did not see his sollima flicks though.
I like bad boys, especially mexicans. (Iām a great Indio fan too.)
And I donāt like blondies with a typical āaryanā look. :o But this gringo was antipathetic. I thought at the very beginning he would not be a good guy. Ok, Tepepa wasnāt an angel, but heās cool and nice. I was shocked whenā¦ :ā(
If they had a duel and gringo would win, that would be ok. But he was infamous. >:(
I just posted a new review of this one on the database.
http://www.spaghetti-western.net/index.php/Tepepa_film_review_by_Phil_H
Another topnotch review, Phil. Appreciate it.
Thanks Fella.
A great review, Phil, one of your very best
Luckily Iām not the only one who really loves this movie
Since you understand Italian a little, it wouldnāt be a bad idea to watch the film again some day with the Italian DD 5.1 on, itās a very good audio track
Petroni has become one of my favourite directors, thanks to this film and Death rides a Horse
He also made And for a roof a sky full of stars, an interesting, but rather uneven movie, but according to some his La Notte dei Serpenti (Night of Serpents/Vipers) is his third masterpiece. That is a bit hard to find, though
(There is a South-African DVD called Ringo Kill)
[quote=āscherpschutter, post:27, topic:532ā]Petroni has become one of my favourite directors, thanks to this film and Death rides a Horse
He also made And for a roof a sky full of stars, an interesting, but rather uneven movie, but according to some his La Notte dei Serpenti (Night of Serpents/Vipers) is his third masterpiece. That is a bit hard to find, though
(There is a South-African DVD called Ringo Kill)[/quote]
Yes, I like Petroni too and would like to see Night of the Serpents too but have balked at the $20 pricetag from Global. Maybe one day.
I must admit I am a sucker for these revolutionary westerns. Iām an old leftie from way back so they probably appeal to my political sensibilities. Throw a nice āover actorā in for good measure (Milian, Volonte or preferably both) and Iām sold. Having said that, Tepepa is a really well crafted story I think. Almost literary in its construction. Definitely one on my list of films that deserves a better international release.
Well, I wouldnāt go so far as to say I understand much italian. My vocabulary only extends to words which appear frequently in spaghetti film titles. This means I can converse like a native as long as Iām not required to say anything other than Death, Kill, Massacre and Shoot. Other than that Iām relying on bad spanish to piece together what is being said.
Well, I saw on Son of Django that Kevin put you on the trail of a version with a complete English soundtrack
I found a DVD of Night of the serpent too, but the price some 23 ā¬, which is quite a lot
yes, one day ā¦
[quote=āscherpschutter, post:27, topic:532ā]A great review, Phil, one of your very best
Petroni has become one of my favourite directors, thanks to this film and Death rides a Horse
He also made And for a roof a sky full of stars, an interesting, but rather uneven movie, but according to some his La Notte dei Serpenti (Night of Serpents/Vipers) is his third masterpiece. That is a bit hard to find, though
(There is a South-African DVD called Ringo Kill)[/quote]
Amen to all of this - great film and a great review Phil. I too have this version with the dropouts - itās due another viewing any day now.
The Gobal release of Ringo Kill/ Nest of Vipers/ Night of the Serpent is stunning quality - and I really rate this althoā iām sure there will be some who hate it. Itās pretty slow moving for quite a while - but I like its pace and moodiness. I reckon it could be Petroniās best, but the others are due those revisits.
Petroniās best? Against Tepepa and Death Rides a Horse that is high praise. Maybe itās worth the price tag.
Oh, and nice to see you using an actual picture of yourself as an avatar now. Although I suspect it was taken a while ago. You are looking a bit younger than I remember.
[quote=āPhil H, post:31, topic:532ā]Petroniās best? Against Tepepa and Death Rides a Horse that is high praise. Maybe itās worth the price tag.
Oh, and nice to see you using an actual picture of yourself as an avatar now. Although I suspect it was taken a while ago. You are looking a bit younger than I remember.[/quote]
I mentioned this on ālast westernā thread - but a repeated watching of DRAH was pretty good - but itās a very simple plot (nothin wrong with that of course). Tepepa would, for me, have more to keep me riveted to the screen on repeated viewings because there is so much more going on.
NotS remains my favorite, because althoā simple of plot (complete with holes), it is wonderfully filled with magnificently mad and bizarre characters, and just looks brilliant. It grows on me more and more - 3 viewings so far and I could watch it again any time (and probably will). good music as well!
The avatar - yep - thought with such a handsome phisog. as mine, I shouldnāt remain anonymous any longer. Itās the cider that keeps me so wrinkle free and young looking - you cheeky young whipper-snapper! ;D
I think i mentioned this before, this would be my Staff favourite if i was on the staff. A movie that is not even close to this boardĀ“s top 20 (in position 32), which I just donĀ“t understand, but is okay. Maybe it really is the lack of english friendly DVD.
I think it is one of the best revolution westerns.
And to Welles, I recently saw the anti-war satire catch 22. There he is more or less playing the exact role as in Tepepa. General without pity or any positive emotions at all.
What i like about this movie is that it has no good character, probably the closest it can get to the reality of revolutions. Unlike Basco in vamos a matar, Tepepa is a real bastard raping girls, Il Basco is good at heart but Tepepa is an oportunist at best.
I think this film deconstructs the myth of the mexican revolution much better that LeoneĀ“s Fistfull of Dynamite, which is a good film though.
But Tepepa might be my favourite revolutionary western, less comedy than Vamos a matar companeros and even gritier than a bullet for the general. There the revolution is betrayed by the american imperialists. In Tepepa it is the people from their own country.
Politically much better than most one-sided movies like bullet for a general, in my eyes.
1 Like
I still think that Petroni is a rather pedestrian director, not bad of course, but he lacks a deeper inspiration to get something more than solidity out of the material he is working with.
And the material of his 5 SWs is astonishingly disparate, as is his style (or the absence of it).
In the case of Tepepa the film is more moulded by leftist screenplay writer Franco Solinas, which also means that the political discurs is often not developed out of the story, but established simply by didactic dialogues. Aesthetically not so exciting.
These intellectual talking are also the parts which were cut out for shorter versions.
Nevertheless is the long version of the italian DVD a definite improvement, because the shorter versions suffer from massive rhytmic problems, the film simply does not work in the 100 min versions, which were released internationally.
A good SW, but Quien sabe! is the better directed one, and Damiani would have been the better choice for Tepepa.
Nevertheless for me this is Petroniās best. More light than shadows in this one.
(Should watch it again)
A movie that I can watch over and over again, it transcends the genre. Itās simply a great movie regardless of the setting or politics. I donāt even mind Orson Wellesā usually disparaged performance: The look on his face when heās told that the kid got the money after selling out his old man is priceless. I also adore Thomas Millianās monologues when he is reciting the letters to the Presidente and the choreography of the action to fit Morriconeās score. I think itās at least as good of a movie as DEATH RIDES A HORSE and perhaps a bit more lyrical. If you note also, John Steinerās first and last words of dialog are exactly the same, bookending the film. Somebody was thinking when they wrote this screenplay, itās too bad that it doesnāt get the recognition that is deserved.
Tepepa wil get a better reputation when the long version is everywhere available.
There were plans by Koch Media to release it several years ago, but the usual licensing problems prevented a release.
I had 1st seen a 98 min version, which was sort of a mess, just an ok western.
Then I got the italian DVD and stopped watching it after 30 min, because in the new scenes there was endless talking in italian, useless to go on.
Luckily meanwhile I have a version where the missing scenes are subtitled.
Havenāt seen that one so far, but all that talking of Orson Welles inspired me to post this:
[url]Orson Welles Drunk Outtake - YouTube
;D
Iāve got one of the English language Greek tapes of BLOOD & GUNS and Iāll never part with it! LOL.
I found this movie fascinating. Itās a sad and very complex one. Itās also probably the most inteligent italo-western iāve seen. Comparing this one to āA bullet for a generalā also co-scripted by Sollinas, i see a definite progress. Quien sabe was a good movie, but i never felt engaged when watching it, it felt kinda distant and it was good mostly thanks to some nice action scenes and great cast. I think āTepepaā is underrated and it deserves its spot in top20 instead of Quien sabe. Millian is great in title role, even if his character is hard to like, because he is simply a bastard. Orson Welles like some have already said atcs indifferent but the role called for it. Pay attention how he comes to life in few scenes that demanded it. In my opinion this performance gets bashed because of tendency to analyze role without considering how the character should act like. If the character was indifferent why he should act otherwise? Anyway, the one who steals movie in my opinion is John Steiner. He brilliantly shows his emotions and i couldnāt help but to feel for him. Morriocne score is top-notch. The whole movie is more about story that action and it may scare some viewers off. But what a script it is! It covers many topics: the importance of revolution and its relation to the personal life, the difference between the way person really is and the way other see it, the resposibility for someoneās own actions and many, many more. Yet it never feels too preachy. Great movie! 9/10
This was probably quite a hidden gem some years ago, for example Frayling doesnāt mention it at all in his SW book from the early 80s, but he gave lots of praise to Quien Sabe in that book!