Italian actor Franco Nero gained some new fame recently thanks to the release of Quentin Tarantino's "Django Unchained", based on Sergio Corbucci's 1966 spaghetti western starring Nero as a gunfighter. Nero had a bit part in Tarantino's movie as the man who knows that the D is silent. Corbucci's "Vamos a matar, compañeros" (simply called "Companeros" in English) casts Nero as a Swedish mercenary who comes to revolutionary Mexico to sell guns to a general, only then finds himself having to rescue a professor, with peasant El Vasco (Tomás Milián) accompanying him. Definitely a feeling of Django Freeman and King Schultz.
It's a very fun movie, as can be expected. There's something energizing about Django's and El Vasco's trip across the border. One of the most surprising cast members is Jack Palance as Nero's former business partner out for revenge. I'm not sure whether his character's wooden hand recalls Dr. No or Han (from "Enter the Dragon") more, but his pet hawk has a cool personality. Also starring is Fernando Rey. Basically, the movie has the original Django co-starring with Curly Washburn and the "French Connection" villain! And Tomás Milián? Born in Cuba, he spent a number of years starring in Italian movies. Since returning to the US, he's worked with Sydney Pollack (in "Havana"), Oliver Stone (in "JFK"), Steven Spielberg (in "Amistad") and Steven Soderbergh (in "Traffic"). What a combination. It's a movie that you're sure to love.
PS: Franco Nero also co-starred in "Camelot" with Vanessa Redgrave. He and Redgrave had a son who directed her in an adaptation of Wallace Shawn's politically charged play "The Fever", co-starring Michael Moore and Angelina Jolie.
It's a very fun movie, as can be expected. There's something energizing about Django's and El Vasco's trip across the border. One of the most surprising cast members is Jack Palance as Nero's former business partner out for revenge. I'm not sure whether his character's wooden hand recalls Dr. No or Han (from "Enter the Dragon") more, but his pet hawk has a cool personality. Also starring is Fernando Rey. Basically, the movie has the original Django co-starring with Curly Washburn and the "French Connection" villain! And Tomás Milián? Born in Cuba, he spent a number of years starring in Italian movies. Since returning to the US, he's worked with Sydney Pollack (in "Havana"), Oliver Stone (in "JFK"), Steven Spielberg (in "Amistad") and Steven Soderbergh (in "Traffic"). What a combination. It's a movie that you're sure to love.
PS: Franco Nero also co-starred in "Camelot" with Vanessa Redgrave. He and Redgrave had a son who directed her in an adaptation of Wallace Shawn's politically charged play "The Fever", co-starring Michael Moore and Angelina Jolie.