[quote=āNovecento, post:179, topic:243ā]I had heard this did not do so well in Italy, but I had not realized that Corbucci even urged people not to go and see it there given the cuts imposed by the Italian distributor:
The original rating, dated 21 November '69, was VM18 (with no cuts) because of violence and bad language: an appeal was immediately made but the rating was confirmed on 2 December.
So a few days later the production, provoking the wrath of Corbucci, submitted a second, significantly shortened version (from 2850 to 2520 meters or, if you prefer, from 104 to 92 minutes) which was rated VM14 on 18 December*.
Later another appeal was made, this time to obtain a T rating (all ages admitted, wish Iāve seen the directorās face), but the VM14 was confirmed on 20 November 1970.
Damn good film but like I said before on Corbucciās scale itās a mediocre film in his filmography. Film has a very distinct, beautiful look because of the Alps landscape. Too bad that this landscape makes the mexican bandits look really out of place. But then again so are the hippies, so film has this weird alternative West feeling. Corbucci makes once again stunning looking action scenes, the shoot out in the end is probably his best: very fast, chaotic violence.
Some have complained about the bullet proof armor being laughable but Iāve read that some people actually wore some sort of armors and vests in the Wild West. So, even though ring mail seen in the film wouldnāt really protect from bullets Iād say itās plausible at least in a movie world.
Music is good, maybe bit too upbeat for the film though. Too bad Morricone wasnāt available for this film, he did all the other Corbucci westerns from Navajo Joe to What Am I Doing in the Middle of the Revolution so Iād imagine he would have been the first choice here too.
Anybody got any idea what the castle in one of the last shots is about?? I find it more ludicrous than the presence of the hippies (or anything from any Corbucci movie for that matter) and would love to know what he was trying to say with the inclusion of it.
No, I donāt think it has a special meaning. Itās the Castel SantāAngelo, a towering building in Rome, near the Vatican. Its high position makes it very dominant in the skyline of the City. Thereās no connection whatsoever with the hippy culture
Leone would have avoided such a thing, but Corbucci didnāt care. In virtually every Corbucci movie there are things that any other director (not only a Leone) wouldāve avoided, itās part of his special art.
The thing about Corbucci is that he clearly did care quite a lot, but he gave across this nonchalance that made people believe otherwise. Perhaps there wasnāt much thought behind it apart from simply thinking that it wasnāt doing any harm since they already had all this other crazy stuff, but I donāt think he would have not bothered to avoid it out of sheer laziness.
Wow cheers loads Scherp, thatās pretty cool. I always assumed it was part of a set, never realised it was real. I definitely think Corbucci wanted it there, if you look closely itās in the first shot after the opening credits although only slightly, but when it crops up at the end the shot begins with a close-up before zooming out, itās not like itās just a goof or laziness if you ask me.
Itās weird, the whole film has some kind of medieval undertone going on (to me anyway); the chain mail armour, lack of guns, snowy mountains and of course the castle. If you think about it from a point of view that itās set in the west, it has the past (medieval connotations), the present (the west), and the future ( the hippy movement), all in one film. It seems a bit acidic truthfully, but for a man who openly despised hippies and drugs, and spent the majority of this very film ridiculing them that seems like a stretch. Itās baffling thatās all I know.
Interesting view. Never looked at it this way.
Iām rewatching a lot of old favorites (and oldies that werenāt real favorites), so I think itās time for a rewatch. iāll try to keep this theory in mind.
I think you nailed it. (Id love to read more of your thoughts on it). The castle at the end is what did it for me and reassessing the film right after , Hud is a knight. Corbucci is playing with a lot of things in this film and I do believe it has just jumped into my top 15 (who to bump out?!) I just watched for first time today, favorite film so far this year for me. Gli Specialisti (2016- dir. Corbucci)
I havenāt seen this one before but I just got myself a fandub of the French DVD. Iām happy Iāll be able to watch it in English and in widescreen.
(now we have 14 lille fuckers, still too much, cause there was a simple question, and the simple answer is āyesā, or should I have used the ālike buttonā instead?) (notes from a confused member)
Itās a bit muffled now and then but it was fine most of the time. It seems like there was parts of it that had to be cut due to sound problems, so it goes into French for very brief moments and then back to English.