I still prefer the original soundtrack, not sure how the majority feels about that.
I think they could have reworked the original score a little bit, in the way Peckinpah uses music in his later films, instead of ordering a new one. Just using the original score a bit more decent.
The original score has its moments, it’s far from being a bad one, but it is used often in the way Hollywood scored big budget films in these days, that’s of course what Columbia tried to do with the whole film.
The most obvious thing would then be to remove the idiotic song in the credit sequence, and replacing it with a better fitting instrumental part.
For me it’s still the other way round, Major Dundee wins with every added minute. The only part of the longer cut which does not work is the apprehension of the escaped prisoners. This scene was so much shortened, that it only works with an explaining voice over, is ripped off everything for which it was concepted, so that the 135 min cut would be better without that one, just like it was done in the theatrical version.
Why does the 2nd half not work for you? For me it does, that the focus is shifting away from the Apaches to the quarrels with the French occupiers is for me part of the concept. It would have been even better when the Apaches would have disappeared completely in the 2nd half, which actually was the original idea.
Because the first half is pieced together really well, has enough conflict to keep you interested and suddenly, we are introduced to pointless characters (Senta Berger) and the film deviates into something else. It also doesn’t have enough time to develop into an epic. The scenes in the Mexican village should have been trimmed. It becomes extremely boring. Major Dundee’s obsession is supposed to be with catching Sierra and the battle with him is so quick. It’s rushed and anticlimactic. I used to like when I was a kid but now I find it atrocious. 2/5
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Ok, for me all these things work quite well.
One idea to the final battle with Chariba.
It is indeed anti-climactic, and I think it was intended to be so. It is not directed as a triumph, for which it is at that point already too late, but as a banal slaughter. Just compare it with the directing of the river ambush and of course the final battle against the French. Both are directed as big spectacle, but both are in the end Dundee’s downfalls. After the river ambush Dundee has already lost, and despite that Dundee survives at the end he does not return as a winner, his career must be destroyed after the battle with the French. Not to mention the fate of Tyreen, who is the 2nd archetypical Peckinpah protagonist.
The difference in the directing of the battles is that again Peckinpah celebrates the losers, the downfall.
One thing that Peckinpah said about his interest in the Dundee character is that he carries on after he has already lost, after the river ambush, instead of returning home.
Considering what I said above about “the focus is shifting away from the Apaches to the quarrels with the French occupiers is for me part of the concept”, the 2nd half makes for me as much sense as the first half.
Actually, I think Major Dundee could have become a masterpiece in a 3 hour version edited under Peckinpah’s supervision.
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I’ve been meaning to watch a spaghetti for quite some time now but everytime I try to pick one out I end up like “Naah I’m gonna wait for the Arrow box instead”.
I feel like like I have overdosed!
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Just watched Five Man Army over the weekend. A little disappointed with it, to be honest. There were some interesting moments, but to me it just felt like a weaker A Reason to Live, a Reason to Die.
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That’s pretty weak! 
… I like very much both films, though they’re not really going to stand up to much analysis … they’re just simple, throwaway action adventure films, that are quite entertaining but no way classics.
5 Man Army is nearly 3 years before ‘Reason’, but these ‘Dirty Dozen’ rip offs … which are actually ‘Guns of Navarone’ rip offs work well … it may not be an original concept, but so what! 
My one pet hate with ‘5 Man Army’ is Peter Graves … he’s just as corny and stiff as can be - the rest is fine . Best thing it has going for it, the Morricone soundtrack … I bet this was composed before the film was done, as it really kicks ass above and beyond the call of duty.
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I think you’re right, Aldo, about them both being simple actions films, but I still enjoyed A Reason to Live, A Reason to Die more in that regard. I suppose the latter is in my top twenty favorites list, so any film which follows a similar formula isn’t going to feel as strong.
I agree with you about Five Man Army’s soundtrack being superior, though. As usual, Morricone does an amazing job.
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A very good one! I
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Well, what can I say… I needed 2 sessions to watch this one… it was almost too much… But still an entertaining western.
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Just watched Keoma for the first time, and Take the Hard Ride a few days back.
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Welcome to the site, Johnny Mango… 
Yeah…‘Keoma’, in particular, is one of the best later day Spaghetti classics.
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Thanks. Yeah I enjoyed Keoma but he’s no Django, everyone ended up dead, and he left a newborn baby with an old women haha. He’s like the nuclear bomb of Spaghetti Western heroes. If you really want everyone to die, send in Keoma haha.
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Couldn’t sleep this morning so I finally got around to watching Yankee. To be honest, I am not a huge fan of Tinto Brass overall as his shock over substance style just isn’t my cup of tea. That being said, though it is a bit generic with the overall plot, I did find quite a bit to enjoy about this film.
Yankee - The Spaghetti Western Database (spaghetti-western.net)
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Last one watched was Killer Caliber 32 , from wild east productions. looks great also. that was early this morning.
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enjoyed this one also.
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I love Killer Caliber, it has such a cool opening and soundtrack
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With the wife out of town, I got up yesterday morning, took a ribeye out of the freezer, had breakfast, went to a dvd/blu-ray sell, then to the store for a bag of Red Robin steak fries and a pre-made salad, then home for a movie watching binge - stopping only long enough to grill my steak and my fries. It was a good day of western watching.
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