Describe A “Spaghetti” Western? Ans-The Good The Bad & The Ugly(4 K -Kino) or Any Gun Can Play(a retrospect covering over 500 films)
Above — some traveling music as you explore the west according the “Spaghetti” Western…
Either answer or both can be applied as a description for a “spaghetti” western or Euro-western. And if you have never seen one you have no idea what you have been missing out on. They are a unique sub-genre of the Western. A genre unto it’s own one could say. One that takes the standard concept of the hero- a cowboy, lawman or gunfighter and dumps it on it’s head. Primarily we are talking about the ’30s — the ’50s where the good guy wore white or some light color or at least a white hat, walked a straight line, always courteous, never spit or said a bad word. And never drew first. These were what was expected of a Hollywood western. You were able to immediately tell the good guys from the bad guys. Well when it comes to the Euro version all bets are off!
A Euro Western by any other name-The GOOD The BAD The UGLY
The Good The Bad and The Ugly (1966) is both a fair description of just about any Euro-western but it is also one of the most iconic films within the genre itself. It has been affectionately homage’d -paid tribute to or even spoofed to a point over the last almost 60 years. It has been a subject of many a documentary and a go to when one is discussing “spaghetti” westerns.
Well Kino Lorber has recently released a remastered version in 4K. And it’s coming in loaded like a six shooter in the form of so many extras. They are just the icing on the cake to what would be a welcome even if it was a bare bones-but it’s not. The vistas are sporting more colors then ever before. The story seems even more epic. And it makes for a pleasurable view over and over. This has always been a film, that at least for me, that I seem to to discover something new with every screening.
The story as it goes concerns dastardly beady eyed-Angel Eyes( Lee Van Cleef) with a pointed- slightly hooked nose. Who happens to be a gun for hire who crosses paths with a unlikely pairing of a bounty hunter-Blondie and his “quarry” — a bandit named Tuco. Will Tuco hang for his offenses? Well he might feal the noose tighten around his neck. And that can make any “man” squirm. But I think not. You see Blondie and Tuco have an arrangement. A unique one at that. You see Blondie happens and just as the bottom is to dropout on the gallows. A shot rings out and off Tuco goes..running for his life. This happens to have an interesting change to the price on Tuco’s head. It goes up and up. Making this a very lucrative business.
But like all partnerships sometimes they get a little rocky or they just happen to dissolve all together. The only problem in a case like this one might be in serious trouble that could erupt and like we all know- anything can happen in a Euro-Western. And you never double cross Tuco. For he is relentless.
Oh what about Angel Eyes-where does he fit in to all this? Well this is another story revolving around “some” missing gold coins. And I use some loosely. We are talking about many coins. Hidden somewhere in a particular cemetery. The problem is it’s smack dab in the middle of the American Civil War. Angel knows part of the answer and the rest lies with Tuco and Blondie.
So who ends up with the gold and what transpires in between everyone trying trying to get one up on each other well that would be telling. You’ll just have to see this to believe this epic film that is loaded with some of the most iconic scenes and performances on film history — a film that transcends it’s own genre. And sets the standard for years and movies to come after.
Eye popping action and a score to make your ears water… crossing deserts, battles and one bridge that is a crucial part of the war and to our “heroes” getting their just desserts.
Directed by Sergio Leone(Once Upon A Time In The West)) music/score by Ennio Morricone(Danger Diabolik) and Cinematography by Tonino Delli Colli (Life is Beautiful*Three Academy Awards & Morgan The Pirate).
Trivia Break- Lee Van Cleef had two different colored eyes. At one time Lee was asked to have a nose job — he refused. The rest is history- his features is what helped keep him in demand. He was the absolute villain, cool calculating with those piercing eyes and the nose amplified his gaze.
- Charles Bronson turned Leone down three times for all three “dollar” films. He finally excepted for another iconic classic-Once Upon a Time in the West. That choice led to several key roles after that.
- Eastwood had to bring his outfit/costume back to the hotel each night during filming all three films because there were not duplicates/replacements of his garments. He also had to be extremely careful because of that during some of the action scenes.
The above aforementioned facts are why I say to always pay close attention to the extras and the audio commentaries provided on the Bluray releases including the one for our above film. For Kino Lorber’s 4K release is like a blazing six shooter. It is a great place to to study about film making. And why not learn from the experts. Lost of interviews and trailers. Info on location shooting especially when shooting in another country. The cinematography alone is captivating and it is nothing short of spectacular in this remastered edition.
The marketing-Already having two previous box-office hits fueling the fire for this 3rd part of Leone’s trilogy made promoting it much easier thanks to the built in audience.
It is almost impossible to tell the good from the bad in these deliciously sometimes “cheezy” films. They are full of action, blood and guts(sometimes literally)- more violent than what we as cinema goers had come to expect for a “cowboy” vs cattle baron, bank robber, cattle rustler or land grabber was portrayed back in my dads day. In fact we even had singing cowboy’s who some how found time to deliver justice out on the range.
The duel at the end let alone other scenes or characters have been parodied or paid tribute to as in Kelly’’s Heroes starring none other Clint Eastwood along with Donald Sutherland and Telly Savalas- a showdown with a Tiger Tank. Even the score for this scene reflects a Euro-Western.
In fact a another good example of this is 1967’s Any Gun Can Play-the film( a little later on we will be discussing the book). This movie happens to be one of my favorites. Starring a who’s who of Television and films actors representing several decades including Gilbert Roland(acting from 1923–1982) , a slightly older Edd “kookie” Byrnes(77 Sunset Strip) and genre actor-George Hilton(Euro-Westerns, Giallos & Action). The intro — a pre-title sequence takes a poke at three popular characters/actors in the “Spaghetti” genre. It opens with three gentlemen riding down the center of town and as the camera closes in on our would be heroes- Django? Sabata? & Stranger/Blondie. All dressed in the similar garb as the aforementioned characters- they continue on their journey.
***Extra — above -a Spaghetti Western -redo trailer for the Mandalorian-
Dedicated to my friend -the late George Hilton
He considered himself an eclectic actor-he was a genuinely nice guy…thanks George.
In Any Gun Can Play a cache of gold coins is central to the story and the one that all our protagonists have set their sights on. It starts with Montero the bandit (roguishly played by Gilbert Roland) steals a box of gold coins meant for the US soldiers along the border between the United States and Mexico from a moving train. And on that train is The Stranger( my buddy — the late George Hilton) and Clayton(Edd Byrnes), the banker. Not all is what it seems so one must keep their eyes and ears open in this adventure.
Take Clayton is super concerned about the the gold shipment so much so you would swear it was his gold… The Stranger a famous bounty hunter has been patiently working his way up to collecting the reward for bringing in Montero. And when I say waiting he has been waiting for the dollars being offered for his capture to reach a certain amount. And in deed Montero is captured but not by The Stranger.
The army feeling so confident in his capture and his soon to be firing squad — may have not been paying too close to attention. And this is brought to fruition when Montero escapes right during what was suppose to be his last day on this plane of existence. And as fate would have it our banker and the bounty hunter are brought together in “tracking” down our fugitive as he tries to stay one step ahead of the law again. But is it Montero or the gold that everyone is after?! …I’ll never tell you’ll just check out this clever twisting turning western while absorbing all the humor and fast paced action in Any Gun Can Play.
*Trivia- This film had several titles aka — For A Few Bullets More & Go Kill & Come Back.
Directed by Enzo G. Castellari(Escape From The Bronx)with style and and having an excellent eye for pairing actors together to bring out their potential all the while keeping the set in a state of camaraderie.
Below- Opening and ending including title credits.
Add a rousing soundtrack by Francesco De Masi(1978's original Inglorious Bastards) and superb cinematography filmed by Giovanni Bergamini.
This film does not disappoint on any level- Fun, Exciting, Twisting -Always Entertaining…
The Book-
Any Gun Can Play-The Essential Guide to Euro-Westerns
Published by FAB Press
Written by Kevin Grant
Weighing several lbs and over 490 pages.
Featuring a fore-ward by none other than Django himself-Franco Nero
If you had could have only one book regarding Euro-Westerns this would be the one. The title itself is not only appropriate it is the essential like it says in the title. Divided in to eight parts/chapters plus a who’s who within the Spaghetti genre(Directors, Composers, Actors, Cinematographers & more). Now on top of that-a filmography which I find extremely helpful for research.
Any Gun Can Play covers various sub-genres within the Euro West. The political, the avenger, comical, hybrids-combining the western with kung fu or samurais(Shanghai Joe /The Stranger and The Gunfighter), war(both revolutionary -Mexico, Civil War…), karma/ just rewards (Sartana — angel of “death” maybe) and bounty hunter(s). Keep in mind some films may be able to be classified as more than one or include elements of other of these sub-genres.
*Trivia- over 500 films were made within this genre-remember we are talking Euro-Westerns. in mostly a ten year period. Europe was putting out almost as many movies a year as Hollywood or more. But India has that beat.
One favorite of mine is a chapter entitled Beware of Fake Guns. For in this category not all is as it seems — in fact sometimes nothing at all is as it seems. The films discussed here include characters that carry trick or hidden weapons(guns, knives, rifles or explosives and more) or things that can be converted in to weapons-a la Jim West or the Bondish as in James-The Man With The Golden Gun. Derringers in the coat sleeve(Wild Wild West), a fast assembled rifle, knives/sheath in the jacket(Wild Wild West). And beware a coffin being lugged behind the stranger walking along the roadside/trail. Because if his name is Django — he might just be toting his best friend in there.. Good ol Bessie. They always did make a nice place to keep a Gattling Gun. Thank Corbucci(Sergio) for that.
Sporting names like Sabata, Sartana, Django, (The) Stranger (like the mystery of how many licks does it take to get to the center of Tootsie Roll Tootsie Pop?, The world may never know…), Trinity or …
Tagline-“Never Trust A Nun”
Often these films also had a sense of humor or at times tongue in cheek. For example The Stranger series that starred Tony Anthony talking to his horse- Pussy. Brandishing an pink umbrella as a sun shade out in the desert as he rode from town to town. Always arriving right in the middle of or placing himself in trouble. Figuring it would lead him to some potential get rich quick type scheme. The problem for him it was always more work than it was worth. But he was clever at times and you can not help but route for the underdog and he had a heart of gold or at least he wished he had. He would set up situations that would shift the odds in his favor. Plus carrying a 4 barreled shotgun can help.
Tony Anthony played the Stranger(as a man of the “street” with the same kind of savvy)officially 4 times. A Stranger In Town( a poor mans “Fistful of”), The Stranger Returns(a carriage made of Gold), The Silent Stranger(locating to Japan) and Get Mean(the most whacked plot- but with Anthony you don’t care) featuring barbarians, and bit of a mystic twist. They also featured excellent soundtracks composed by the likes of Stelvio Cipriani . Directors including Ferdinand Baldi and Luigi Vanzi(Alt-Vance Lewis).
- Trivia Break-
Anthony was one of the pioneers of the 3D boom in the ’80s. **Comin At Ya and Treasure of the Four Crowns.
He later invested in the Dental Appliance industry. Go figure. But he was one dude who you could say was smiling all the way to the bank.
- The first three Stranger films are available from Warner Archive(see link below).
Crazy characters like Cuchillo(translated-knife) played by Thomas Milan who is a cunning as the US Marshall assigned to bring him in-Lee Van Cleef. Another all is not as it seems cat and mouse action packed chase in The Big Gundown*featuring an Ennio Morricone score. You never know who you can trust be it the upstanding citizen, the well renowned rancher with clout and money or could it be the lady friend of the man you are after or even the very quarry that you seek. I’ll never tell… This one you need to see for yourself.
Actors- American Invasion- many of these delectable pieces of celluloid starred or co-starred actors/actresses from the US. Partnered with top International stars.
Charles Bronson, Henry Fonda, Clint Eastwood, Lee J Cobb, Robert Ryan, Alex Cord, Arthur Kennedy, James Garner, Vic Marrow. Tony Anthony, Chuck Connors, Peter Graves, Edd Byrnes, , Steve Reeves, Gordon Scott. Lee Van Cleef. James Coburn, Rod Steiger. Woody Strode. Fred Williamson. Lionel Stander. Richard Harrison. Gilbert Roland and Brad Harris. One time roles- William Shatner(White Comanche).
International Players-These are the Amercianized names.
The Men-Dan Vadis, Anthony Steffen, Horst Frank, William Berger, Bud Spencer, Terrence Hill, Glenn Saxon,Klaus Kinski(Hunchback from A Few Dollars More), George Hilton, Pierre Brice, Gianni (John)Garko, Jeff Cameron(Stuntman-Actor), Giuliano Gemma(Montgomery Wood) and Tomas Milan.
***Trivia — Klaus Kinski(Uncle of Natasha) was a charismatic actor who was able to in each and every role -no matter the length of screen time(he was famous for his short lived appearances in his films-usually “died” in less than 1/2 way thru the film) for being able to create incredible characters that were in many ways more memorable than the stars of the those films or to lift those films to a higher standing. Exceptions on those stars actors like Joachim Fuchsberger. They appeared in many films together with Joachim as a Scotland Yard Detective.(The German Krimi Films or “My Name Is Edgar Wallace”)
The Women-
Stefania Careddu(Kareen O’Hara), Evelyn Stewart,Gloria Milland, Marianne Koch,Loredana Nusciak,Simone Blondell, Femi Benussi, Elke Summer and Erika Blanc.
Europe was actually in love with the west-and at times I think even more than America. Although if you look at the how many Films and TV series were produced between the 1920's and 1960's far too many to even count. But I think for Europe it was something they could not touch, a dream. It was not a part of their history. It became almost a fantasy. In fact there several European writers/authors. One in particular even had his stories published internationally including here in the United States. Karl May.
Many of his stories were actually brought to life on the big screen. The Winnetou novels became a franchise for Rialto-a German based film company. And featuring Pierre Brice as the main character of Winnetou. Accompanied by Old Shatterhand(Lex Barker) or Old Surehand(Stewart Granger).
Now I could keep going but I would have to write my own book. I invite you all to watch and read up on these action packed tales of the old west-Spaghetti style. So til next time I leave you with this, a quote from The Stranger- “ I like places that smell of trouble-something good might turn up”.
Good night Mrs Bear wherever you are? This is Doc saying this is one student who still remembers all those words of wisdom.
*****COMING SOON*****
The Big Gundown -Review -Movie and the Special Edition Bluray from Severin includes the US expanded version, DVD , the longer Italian on Bluray Plus the soundtrack by Ennio Morricone on CD
Related material and links-
Kino Lorber-
Any Gun Can Play-Essential Guide to Euro-Westerns
By Kevin Grant,Published by FAB Press
Below — Back Cover
The Stranger Collection via Amazon
Now Streaming on Prime and elsewhere-
THE MAN WITH GUN SIGHT EYES-
Sabata- starring Lee Van Cleef, William Berger and Ignazio Spalla. Music-excellent score by Marcello Giombini Directed by Gianfranco Parolini
From Arrow Films and available via MVD Entertainment Group-
The Sartana Collection-
