The Big Gundown

If it weren’t for Leone, Sollima would have gone down in cinema history as the director of the best ever spaghetti western. A stylish gunslinger, a bounty hunter and living legend who nobody wants any problems with; even if he really did have a problem with him. And he is on the trail of an insignificant Mexican troublemaker from nowhere. It begins in classic spaghetti western style, a light-hearted, who-can-outdo-the-other chase recital by an incongruous duo, but then more happens here. Much more. And so during the scene in prison, the movie naturally develops into a much more ambitious and dramatically serious affair. And although here and there one could have some valid objection, they become irrelevant during the incredible escalation to the climax in the last twenty minutes, which would have worked alone, even without Morricone’s music, which is by the way some of his very best (and here is a taste). P.S.: The above applies to the full, 110 minute cut and not about the abridged version made for the US. (01/21/2011)

“If you don’t kill me right now…it’ll be the last mistake you ever make.” In the same year, the Bad becomes the Good, the Ugly Mexican is played by someone else, the name of the cemetery is Freedom, and the tombstone reads Justice. The fact that the Bad will go down hasn’t changed. The director’s cut may be a bit too trimmed, but when it shows where to originally place the knife before the shootout and Morricone teams up with Beethoven, there’s nothing more to discuss. “But to kill you is a big mistake. If I kill you, they’ll just send another man after me who’s much smarter, much…” (03/28/2022)

I actually liked this movie on TV despite the crappy dubbing and cropped image, but it wasn't until I saw it in its original form (even with 16 extra minutes) that I realized how great it really is. The straightforward story is driven forward by the races of the super-sympathetic Lee Van Cleef and the all-greased Thomas Milian, Ennio Morricone's foot-stomping score and Sollima's direction, which does its own thing. The final chase culminating in a triple fight is one of the best I've ever seen in spaghetti westerns. (07/28/2016)