Flick of The Day: A Fisftul of Dynamite /Giu La Testa

Sergio Leone is probably best known for his contribution to the spaghetti western genre, particularly the "Man With No Name" Trilogy starring Clint Eastwood and it would be easy to pigeon hole him as a director of Westerns, but that would be to overlook the rest of his films, for he was quite possibly one of the finest film-makers of all time. Today's film is Leone's take on the Mexican Revolution of 1913 which is alternatively titled as  "Duck You Sucker!" or "Once Upon a Time... The Revolution".

Duck, You Sucker (aka A Fistful of Dynamite) (2-Disc Collector's Edition)

Juan Miranda, a truly amazing performance from Rod Steiger, is a Mexican bandit who leads a family of bandits marauding along the highways and trails of Mexico and dreams of one day breaking into the Bank at Mesa Verde. He eventually meets Sean Mallory, in a typically strong performance from James Coburn, an Irish revolutionary on the run from the British and with a dark secret in his past. Sean and Juan become sucked into the revolution that is raging around them, Juan as a  peasant is an unwilling participant:

"I know what I am talking about when I am talking about the revolutions. The people who read the books go to the people who can't read the books, the poor people, and say, "We have to have a change." So, the poor people make the change, ah? And then, the people who read the books, they all sit around the big polished tables, and they talk and talk and talk and eat and eat and eat, eh? But what has happened to the poor people? They're dead! That's your revolution. Shhh... So, please, don't tell me about revolutions!"

This film very much represents Leone's disillusionment with the revolutions of the 1960's and the failure to lead to a better life for the poorer in society. It is a bitter message at its heart. In fact the film opens with a a particularly biting scene aboard a stagecoach but I couldn't possibly spoil it by describing it in any detail only to note that it involves the wealthy describing their opinions of the poor.

This is just one of a number of grandstanding scenes by Leone. The above is one such scene, a long tracking shot moving across a sugar refinery where a massacre is taking place, as the camera pans we see the true extent of the massacre. Apart from being a technically superb film, there is a great story at its heart as Sean ad Juan the reluctant revolutionaries gradually become more involved in the war effort and also develop a close friendship, both seeing something of themselves in the other.

We also eventually find out the secret of Sean's past in flashbacks to his life in Ireland, which were surprisingly actually filmed in Ireland. The ending when it comes is not unexpected but heartbreaking all the same aided by one of the best scores Ennio Morricone wrote for a Leone film.

While not a success upon its release in 1972, this film has been reappraised in recent years as the true gem which it is. You must see this film.