The Big Gundown / La resa dei conti (Sergio Sollima, 1966)

Would a different player make any difference?

Letā€™s hope. I suppose it wouldnā€™t be the end of the world, but I would get the impression this may never get a definitive release if there really is an issue.

Probably not ā€¦ just thought Iā€™d try in case there was a problem with my first machine.

Itā€™s not a huge out of sync problem, but it is there - Opening scene: When LVC tells the 3rd bandit to unbuckle his gun belt ā€¦ on the US Expanded Version there is a cut immediately after ā€˜beltā€™ and the sync is perfect ā€¦ however there seems to be an extra second on the Italian version and LVCā€™s mouth is still moving, thereā€™s an extra ā€˜Buhā€™, ā€˜Bā€™ sound happening ā€¦ so the English was the same, but it was being fitted on to a slightly different vocal take.

Also ā€¦ watch out for the exchange with ā€˜Baron Von Schulenburgā€™ at the wedding ā€¦ thereā€™s a definite difference in the sync when he says ā€˜Texasā€™ ā€¦ as I say, itā€™s just a tiny bit off, and I hope others wonā€™t find it too annoying.

BTW I was much happier watching without the English subs ā€¦ not really necessary when youā€™ve seen the film zillions of times :wink:

Well worked outā€¦I havenā€™t watched it yet but hopefully it isnā€™t too annoying. How do you think it compares to the Explosive release? Would you say itā€™s better or worse if youā€™ve ever watched the Explosive one?

The Explosive was identical to the ā€˜Franco Cleefā€™ reconstruction, including a few errors from that dub ā€¦ so, this is an improvement, but not perfect ā€¦ I may sound like Iā€™m nit-picking, but I wanted this to be the ultimate release. If it were a less important film, I wouldnā€™t be that bothered.

Seems strange that all the so-so films are released without obvious issues ā€¦ but the biggies, like the Leone films, and now this, still need to be sorted out correctly.

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Donā€™t worry Iā€™m with you entirely. If it was one I liked but I thought was run-of-the-mill I wouldnā€™t be bothered either but because itā€™s Sollimaā€™s best I was hoping this release would be definitive as well. Itā€™s a bit disappointing because Iā€™m starting to doubt weā€™ll ever get a definitive release.

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Simply been flicking through favourite scenes, before heading for bed.

This easily joins the ranks of films that get better with each viewingā€¦ :cowboy_hat_face: :wine_glass:

Only downsideā€¦I probably wont get the main theme (by Christy) out of my head nowā€¦

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The chase scene in the cane fieldsā€¦ that track (La caccia) is my favourite. What a voice :ok_hand:

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So was this made by Milian after Django Kill?

I assume it was as Van Cleef was tied up with TGTBTU until July 1966 and this would have been made maybe Sept-Oct-Nov 1966 and released in March 1967.

Django Kill released in Jan 1967 so probably shot no later than Aug 66??

Anyone know - most filmographies of Milian put Big Gundown before Django Kill due to a typo in Wikipedia which has a November 1966 Spanish release date for BG (actually November 1967).

I enjoyed the Big Gundown on Tuesday night watching the Italian language full version. Really good plot which allows the characters to develop through their experiences. Cuchillo a great western character, always under grave threat but still able to think under pressure. Milian plays the desperation at times very well.

I liked the different scenes at the start with the bandits, the wedding (good disillusioned demeanor on Chetā€™s wife).
The poor village with the barbers was set up very well with the backgrounds, costumes and details.
The Mormons.
I actually like the ranch scenes very much.
The rattlesnake scene is great and Corbett is getting more obsessed as he heads into Mexico and starts to suffer.

The religious parade in the Mexican village again really well done.

Brokton, Chet and the Baron are good believable villains without any sadism but Brokton is ruthless in not stopping for anything that gets in his way. The Baron is portrayed very well as not being particularly ā€œevilā€ at any time but more of a social bore.

The end scenes are great with the chase through the canes and the final showdowns.
A special mention to the chase dogs! Looks like they were just big pet dogs they let out to run around. One of them needed a few good dinners. Iā€™d love to know if they hired the dogs, just rounded them up or if they asked the actors and crew to bring their pets in.

Great costumes.
Super soundtrack again

5 stars

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The baron is a great character. Obsessed with etiquette. I liked the scene where Corbett is thinking of stealing some food and he throws him a coin. It might have been a more interesting ending if heā€™d refused to fight Corbett at the end.

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Just out of curiosity, why do you think that? His behavior told you that he felt that he was far better with a gun than Corbettā€¦or anyone else for that matter. Since the two first met up, it was killing him not to face Corbett so that he could prove he was superior. For the baron to have backed down would have made absolutely no sense to me at all.

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Thatā€™s his total modus operandi in the movie, and his utter rigid arrogance make him a fascinating character and very much era accurate. I love the Baron!

:wink:

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And the Baron makes a great comeback in One More To Hell, where he shoots watermelons off peoples head for practice :smiley:

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There appears to be very little information on actor Gerhard Herter online.

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I just rewatched the 95-minute version of the film and I still think even in its cut form, itā€™s a top 10 spaghetti western easily.