Once Upon a Time in Italy

Has anybody else picked up this boxset collection ? I had my eye on it since it was released last year, but never talked myself into laying out the dough for 5 movies sight-unseen, despite knowing them (and the filmmakers) by reputation.

Last week I had a little unexpected financial windfall, and went for it (among a couple others on my backlogged wishlist). So I suppose this is a little late in asking opinions of the collection. Still, it hasn't arrived yet, and I am jonesing. I'm a big fan of the oat opera, and all I have in my DVD collection right now are Leone's Dollar Trilogy and "Once Upon...", Eastwood's "The Outlaw Josey Wales" and "Unforgiven," "Wild Bunch" and "Magnificent Seven." All greats, but just the tip of the sand dune. I have a feeling the "Once Upon a Time in Italy" set is going to spur a binge into the genre I might not escape from for months.

So, maybe I should ask for opinions from other Western fans not just on these oaters, but where I should go from here? And not necessarily of the Spaghetti (or Clint) milieu, but, like those in this set, they're probably less well-known. ...Oh, and "High Noon" and "The Searchers" are already in the queue. And I think I saw "Rio Bravo" for ten bucks up the street last week, so I can cross that one off as of lunch. In other words, I'd appreciate recommendations off the AFI listmakers' radar, if that makes sense. For example, I'm inches away from getting "Navajo Joe" on VHS (it's not on DVD), mostly out of curiosity about Morricone's score's reputation (used some in Kill Bill; the "NJ" CD is out of print and sometimes goes for $60-80).

So, backpedaling once again, maybe keep this thread on lesser-known Spaghetti Western recommendations. I would love you for it.

Man, amazon can't get this to me fast enough. WHY did I go for the free shipping!?

Edited to add, Holy smokes, had no idea there was a 2-disc treatment of Django . Ordered.

Far out, my own private Spaghetti Western thread! Just me and the dust and bullets. Hell, I didn't even shave today, perfect.

After an interminable wait, it all showed up last Friday (curse my cheap ass and free shipping). The set itself looks great. There's an outer cardboard sleeve (ah, love the "more stuff" I was just reading about in the Leak Letters) that arrived positively bludgeoned. Didn't help that it was made with cardstock the strength of your lesser cereal boxes. Call it the one weak element of Anchor Bay's set. Tossed it without remorse, as design-wise it didn't really add all that much. Inside, the sleeve that holds the disc cases survived in remarkably better condition.

The movies themselves are in these fantastic, ultra-thin clear plastic keepcases, and the insert designs are simple but great. No dross, no waste, excellent blurbing and captioning. The best part, for me, underneath the discs are full-color reproductions of the movies' original posters.

It's been frustrating, so far I've only had the chance to watch "A Bullet For The General." But jeebus, what a start. Starring Gian Maria Volonte in a role even better and meatier than his Dollars villains; Klaus Kinski in another fantastic is-he-mad-or-just-nuts role as Volonte's half-brother who, well, kicks ass for the Lord; and Lou Castel as the always-dapper, baby-faced gringo (always called "the gringo" or "nino" -- "boy," right?) that may be one of the best depictions of cool charismatic evil I've seen on film, much less a Western. No twirling mustache or maniacal screaming from this Baby Satan.

The American title of the film, coupled with the menu screen, probably gives too much away of the main underlying thread, and where the plot will be ending up. But to its credit, getting there is filled with much more to chew on, politically, morally, and with three-dimensional characters, than the obvious plot. (The action set-pieces are great too; the opening stand-off between Chucho's men and the train, with the colonel blocking the track, is absolutely iconic.) And even after the ostensible climax, the coda was one of the most surprising and refreshing caps I've come across in a Western. The meaning of the film's European title "Quien Sabe?" ("Who Knows?" er, according to babelfish) is finally revealed here in the final moments, in which the continual moral confusion of Volonte's character is finally clarified, now understanding what the right thing to do is even if he's not able to articulate just why.

The ending of this film was so great it finally spurred me (ha ha! er..) to slap a sig down in these parts. Great damn movie, bigger than its genre. Director Damiano Damiani gives Leone a run for his money, I'm surprised to say. I'm not so surprised that one of the cowriters, Franco Solinas, was an Oscar-nominee for cowriting "The Battle of Algiers." The same depth and breadth, and radical politics, is found here, smuggled into a "genre" picture.

Sound was nice and clear, but I can't be a great judge not having the best movie sound system. Picture quality was near pristine, astonishingly cleaned-up and sharp for a near-40-year-old (1967) movie of (I hate to say it) limited audience. Anchor Bay really knocked this out of the park, and if the whole collection's this good I can't wait to get to the rest.

Next up, Corbucci's "Companeros" starring spaghetti star Franco Nero. Hopefully before the weekend... God I hate my schedule these days.

VAMOS A MATAR, COMPANERO-O-O-O-OS!

Hot damn, Strax, thanks a million for the tips. I'm also itching to get Django in the player, been a decade or so for me, too. But I moved it to last in line behind the ones I've never seen. Only fair, I figure.

You're gong to love Companeros, but it's definitely a tonal shift from A Bullet For the General that I wasn't prepared for. So here's your warning. It's very much an action-comedy, fantastic but for the most part much lighter fare than Bullet. Once I got used to that (completely forgetting that the case itself describes the movie as an "action-packed comedy classic") and let it go its own rhythm and humor, man I dug the hell out of it. It's like a prototype for all the Mismatched-Buddy Action Comedies of the 80s-90s, only, of course, a hell of a lot better.

I forgot how damn good Franco Nero is. As the "suave Swedish arms dealer with a love of fast money" he is the smoothest rogue I've seen on film in years. I definitely had no idea he had such a talent for comedy, from deadpanning one-liners to broad mugging (in two near-death situations). I won't say who his Yodlaf reminded me as a character, so as not to spoil the last few moments of the film, but his final few minutes with Thomas Milian's Basco and the film's resolution are SO ____ and ___ at the end of ____ ____. Someone try and tell me I'm wrong.

Though I'd hesitate to say Basco is any ____, at least not for the first two thirds. He's even more rogueish than the Swede, but in the filthy ignorant sense. He definitely gets the lion's share of the comedic action, and had me laughing out loud more than once. The photograph scene is what finally cracked me up, and I caught on that Companeros wasn't the same animal as other Spaghettis I've known. Fucking hilarious. First time I can remember seeing Milian acting when a young man, and damn glad I finally discovered his stuff. Things he can do with just a re-position of his beret, or sucking his teeth.

Jack Damn Palance -- jesus christ. He's played his share of psycho menaces before, but this is the first time he made me genuinely uncomfortable. Constantly with spliff in hand, if his character's this fucking sadistic when stoned off his mind I'd hate to meet him when he's sober. Fucking Hell, when he puts the rat in the basket...

The action side of the action-comedy is gold as well. No holding back on the cruelty (fucking Palance!) and violence. Corbucci knows how to organize a massive action scene and make it both exciting and make sense. The big shoot out at the end was one of the best action set pieces I've ever scene.

Great damn movie. At first, not realizing what it was, I was thinking Companeros was turning out probably to be the weakest of the 5 movie set. By the end of it, I think I'll be putting it in the player more often than Bullet... in the future. My poster blurb: Fun across the board!

Again, the picture's superb, thank you Anchor Bay. Bullet... only had a trailer for an extra, so I was delighted to find a trailer, talent bios (which among other info have a shitload of other SWs to note and dig up), and 17 minutes of current interviews (21st century, at least) with Nero, Milian, and Ennio Fucking Morricone.

His score for Companeros is completely different from his Leone work (on purpose, as he says), but may be one of his catchiest I've ever heard. I'm singing it to myself all morning.

God, I love this box set.

Four of the Apocalypse up next.

Right -- wanted to add, 800 Balas, I've been looking forward to that since Knowles first wrote it up a couple years ago. Fantastic it got such a great R1 release, from what I understand. I think I'm going to put it off until I digest all its inspirations, though... Sort of save it for that perfect dessert.

This is a very tough confession to make on a board like CHUD, but... well, here goes. Four of the Apocalypse was my very first Fulci. I've finally been Fulcied.

And he is one sick fuck. [Zombie and The Beyond = ordered]

I'm only three into this box, and so far each movie is so completely different from what I expected. Probably comes from having the Leone movies practically memorized and calling that "well-versed in Spaghetti Westerns." But fucking hell, there's different and there's different and there's this.

Episodic in nature (cobbled from stories by Bret Harte), with each "episode" charted by a prog-rock song-score that recounts the Story So Far and, occasionally, one or more of the Four's emotional state (you go 1975!). That score and singing, some cross between the sound of "Obscured By Clouds"-era Floyd and the lyrical stylings of "The Hobbit"-era Glenn Yarbrough... Wow, that, uh, was jarring at first, and definitely took some getting used to. But, dammit, it somehow worked. Especially when it all starts going to hell in the second half.

The acting, by the principles, was excellent. Fabio Testi is still getting gasps from the females, I've just witnessed this. Michael J. Pollard, he's Michael Fucking J. Goddamn Pollard and enough said. But even appearing in less than a quarter of the film, Tomas Milian fucking steals the movie, again. His Chaco is an iconic monster, a truly sickening sadist that (owing much to Fulci I'm sure) becomes a genuinely fearful presence.

So, back to the sick fuck. Er, SPOILERS. Chests and limbs exploded into red chunks by bullets. Graphic torture with a knife -- watching a man get skinned, up close. Rape, of a drugged pregnant woman, no less. And, yes, who saw it coming, cannibalism. This can't all be from the pen of Bret Harte. (Can it?) I understand now why the case declares "Uncut, Uncensored, Unseen for over 25 years! .... Due to its graphic violence, Four... was banned or censored in many countries and never seen in America." Prudes!

So, this Western made me more uncomfortable than I was at all expecting. Score one for Fulci. Because along with all the sadism and insanity (literally, in Bud's case -- he saw dead people decades before Haley Joel!) Fulci had me genuinely giving a shit about Stubby, Clem, and poor Bunny. The Altaville "chapter" ("This is man's country!") had me cracking up and then quite literally gulping and blinking by its end. Of course, I'm an utter sap, an easy mark for that kinda stuff, so, there's that.

Another beautiful edition by Anchor Bay, picture and sound clear as a blue sky and a bell, respectively. Includes scenes (the nastier ones) that were cut from all previous English releases and so never dubbed, but the cuts (and transition to subtitle) are seamless. Another set of all new (~2001) interviews with Milian (hilariously frank, smart, and egotistical) and Testi (at 50-plus, still getting lustful looks from the females, I can, again, personally attest). Plus the trailer and extensive (and critically fair -- unusual) talent bios.

Excellent film, but one I probably won't revisit as much as the others. And will definitely know my audience before springing it on em. My bicep is bruised from all the punching.

Next up, at this rate some time in June (I really need to make time for me), Franco Nero returns in Keoma, directed by Enzo Castellari.

Who, Tarantino fans should note, also directed "Bastardi senza gloria", aka "Inglorious Bastards," aka "Deadly Mission," starring Bo Svenson and Fred Williamson as WWII soldiers being shipped off to prison who after a fateful turn of events find themselves to be Men on a Mission... Awesome.

Fucking A, guys, thanks for the response. Grofield, that stuff there's gold.

I know Mann from his noir work (a genre binge a couple of years ago; but just rentals at the time), yet somehow blanked out his later Western team-up with Stewart.

Well, I guess having your entire 2005 DVD budget mapped out by mid-April is a good thing...

Seeing as how I've sort of turned this thread into a review of the box set, if someone Up There notices and moves it to the proper forum, certainly no offense taken.

Keoma -- bad motherfucker. As it started out, this was much more along the lines of what I was expecting from these movies: wandering loner with a troubled past, coming to town to deal bloody death and clean things up.

Then at some point it became Shakespearean tragedy. Damn! Everything from royal usurpers to familial infighting to a damn Julius Caesar moment of demagoguery. Certainly the most symbolism-heavy movie so far, occasionally a little too heavy-handed with it (mother vs. witch, life vs. death; Keoma's pseudo-crucifixion) but effective nonetheless. I'll probably watch Keoma again with the commentary by Castellari and "journalist Waylon Wahl" (don't recognize the name) before getting to Texas Adios. Seeing as how they wrote the script daily during production (Nero and Castellari hated the original final draft) it'll be a treat hearing the man himself break down the work. Hopefully it's that kind of commentary track. Could rattle on for hours about the symbolism and allegorical elements.

Again, Nero is fucking amazing. After seeing him and Tomas Milian for the first time (well, in Nero's case, first time in 10 years, and then only Django) in Companeros (get to that yet, Strax?), it was interesting to realize I've now watched back to back movies with each of them completely transformed into very different characters underneath full, face-covering beards. ...I can't think of the last American film I've seen whose main character had a full shaggy set of facial hair like that. But damn if Nero's baby blues don't burn holes through steel, though. That helps. Has anyone seen the '93 Castellari and bearded-Nero re-teaming Jonathan of the Bears?

That soundtrack, man, you weren't kidding. Even more disturbing than ...Apocalypse. The trilling soprano through most of it was haunting and beautiful, but when the "Keoma voice" kicks in.... Jesus. I couldn't find a credit for the singer, but I just can't believe it's Franco Nero. The man played Lancelot on Broadway in "Camelot" fer cryin' out loud! And this guy couldn't sing if he had the third tenor stuck in his throat. Nero's said, "In Parma [big opera town], everybody sings!" Well, not this fellow. Yeesh. I like how in the talent bio and the Nero interview, they talk quite openly about the elements they stole from other films. "Enzo say, 'today we do Peckinpah.'" When it came time to work on the music, apparently Altman's McCabe and Mrs. Miller was the big inspiration, and Nero told the composer team "I want Leonard Cohen." Castellari even set the temp track on the first cut to Cohen and Dylan. That I'd love to hear.

Disturbing singing aside, the action in this one is some of the best so far in the box (although it's tough to top the finale in Companeros). Keoma's slow-mo run at and leap at Caldwell is the stuff of legends, and the beatdown he gives his three brothers earlier is one of the best street brawls in a Western, ever. I like how despite his skill at killing, he's no superman; each time he stands up from one half-brother to gesture for the next, he's sucking more wind and feeling more pain.

Like the other discs, Anchor Bay did a great job restoring the image and sound, although there were more flecks (and even the occasional vertical line, bleached out but still noticeable) here than in the others. Odd, seeing as how Keoma seems like the most popular and the youngest film of the bunch. Still, nothing to complain about; the crazy amount of wind and dust feel like they're blowing right into the living room. And the commentary track is a nice surprise that I'm really looking forward to; makes up for any picture shortcomings.

As for better than the original Django, not sure about that, but Keoma is definitely up there. I'm gonna keep saying this, damn do I love this box set.

Speaking of Django, looks like Blue Underground (who put out the Django 2-disc set) also did good-looking releases of Run, Man, Run! , Mannaja -- A Man Called Blade , and Django Kill -- If You Live, Shoot! ...you know, just to really fuck with my budget. Godammit.

"Sorry, George, I didn't mean it." Look in Strode's eyes that says, "Yeah, uh huh, whatever. Half-breed." Never seen Woody play such a beaten-down, lost character like that before. Great to see him back in bad-ass form by the end. Him and that fucking bow were beautiful. George was such a great character, pulled off with minimal writing and great acting.

Man, I was really expecting that one ex-soldier guy to get it much worse than he did. You don't call Woody Strode a nigger that's stinking up the joint, fucking piss on his boot, and expect to live too long. My one big disappointment with the movie is that that motherfucker's death wasn't more grisly and violent, or (especially!) at George's hand. That shitheel deserved a Fulci end, long and drawn out.

And so finally, with Texas, Adios, I finish the Once Upon A Time In Italy cycle.

Get this set.

Whoever told you Texas, Adios is boring couldn't be further off. It's by far the least complicated movie in the box character- and plot-wise, in fact it's almost simplistic, but at 92 minutes and a shootout or fistfight every ten minutes or so, it doesn't have time to be boring.

Like Nero says in the short interview in the extras, this is definitely the most "American" of these Spaghettis. Even the score, especially toward the beginning when they're still in Texas, sounds like clips from an episode of "Maverick." Very traditional, not like the places Morricone takes the Western. ...But it's not without its own ambiguities. In fact, simplistic may be unfair, really, except perhaps in comparison to the others in this set.

It's also the earliest in this set, made in 1966, and almost back-to-back-to-back with Django and Massacre Time (and literally the day after wrapping "Texas, Adios" Nero was on a plane to LA to shoot "Camelot"). Nero's Burt Sullivan may be driven by vengeance, but his aim is justice, not murder. Though we see in the opening scene that he's not exactly sparkly clean himself, badge or no. Cherry-picking a bounty after the bounty hunter does the hard work, that's just cold. The bad man he's hunting in Mexico has a cruel streak (branding men after letting them dangle from a noose for a second) and is power hungry (has innocents gunned down firing-squad style for resisting him). But when the "shocking family secret" mentioned on the DVD case is revealed, Cisco Delgado reveals his own regretful and shamed side, trapped in a present made by his murderous past, too far gone to change his ways now, but perhaps hopeful for some kind of redemption.

This is probably horribly and unforgivably SPOILERISH of me, but if Yodlaf in Companeros is a proto-Han Solo, Cisco Delgado is a proto-Darth Vader. (And now my geek circle is complete.) To a point. Still, plot-wise there's only that one major complication; Burt Sullivan's overarching story never changes: bring the man who murdered his father to justice in Texas. (If you think you figured out the "family secret" from my spoilerized yet bumbling film comparison, you're probably at least half wrong.)

The shootouts are excellent throughout. May not always be the most realistic (as in sensible), but I love the constant running for different angles and cover in the opening credits (and those freezes!), in the rifle fight in the rocks soon later, and in Delgado's courtyard at the end. Enzo Barboni's cinematography, especially the exteriors, are some of the most beautiful in this box. Especially that shootout on the boulder-strewn hillside. Baldi's direction in these is great as well, giving a solid sense of the geography and movements. Although there is at least one funny bit of bad editing, when three men in a tavern fly up and spin away from a table before Nero can get off all three shots. Otherwise the stuntwork in this is fantastic as expected, especially the big platoon-size gunfights and horsework as the revolution gets moving.

I only have two knocks on Texas, Adios. First, that the English dub uses a voice other than Nero's. Though that's understandable; he said on the Comapneros interviews that he tried to play "foreigners" in his westerns to explain his accent. Playing a straight-on Texan, they needed bland Americano. But after Companeros and Keoma it's weird hearing a different voice coming from Nero. Anyway, there's always the Italian language track, I'll definitely give it a go. On the whole, the dub syincing isn't too shabby. Second, I wish baby brother Jimmy Sullivan was fleshed out better, especially in the first half. Would have made the second half that much more poignant. As it is, I only really get in his head after he's put through some major changes. It's not a dealbreaker, but it certainly makes the movie more about Burt vs. Delgado, than the three of them.

Although Jimmy does have one of the best scenes, a simple, small moment where he's simply walking away from Delgado back to his cell. Ignoring Delgado yelling his name, then firing warning shots around him. BAM! off his feet. No pause. BAM! by his head. Keeps walking. Loved that.

Like the others in the set, an amazingly crisp picture, beautiful full colors, the image is sharp down into the pores of their skin. This interview with Nero is the shortest at 6 minutes, but there's probably just not that much to discuss with this movie. He mentions how he'd go riding with Eastwood, who was shooting one of Leone's in the area. And he also shares two tips he got from John Wayne himself. One, be careful which horse you ride. "If the horse is too big, the audience will only be watching the horse, not you." And two, joking (..?), there's only two expressions in Westerns: "One with the hat, one without the hat." Nice'un, Duke.

Buy this box set. Seriously. Link is at the top, first post, first line. Click and get it.

...This thread can probably die now, I feel an overdue sense of closure with it. Still, I'm putting on Django this weekend and this seems as likely a place as any to gush some more. Same with the other Spaghettis I have my eye on (and a few American ones, gracias Grofield), most listed somewhere up there. And I'd really like to get more impressions and/or suggestions from others, on these or other oaters, good or bad.

Dust and bullets forever.