Companeros is one of the most popular Spaghetti Westerns, directed by Sergio Corbucci who was responsible for popular genre movies like Django, The Mercenary and The Great Silence. The starring roles belong to Italian actor Franco Nero of Django and The Day of the Owl fame and Cuban American actor Tomas Milian who appeared in The Ugly Ones and The Big Gundown. The film is often compared to Sergio Leone's The Good, the Bad and the Ugly as both movies focus on two lonesome outlaws who are trying to make money in the middle of a conflict. There are some important differences between the two films however. Sergio Leone's film takes place during the American Civil War while Companeros is a so-called Zapata Western which takes places during the Mexican Revolution. While Sergio Leone's film features distinguishable cinematography, a memorable soundtrack and multiple tense build-ups, Sergio Corbucci's movie focuses less on cinematography, features a very good but not excellent score by Ennio Morricone and has a more fluid pace instead of multiple climaxes.
On the positive side, Companeros convinces with charismatic characters in form of a chaotic rebel leader played by Tomas Milian who teams up with a womanizing tongue-in-cheek Swedish arms dealer portrayed by Franco Nero. The two characters have an entertainingly ambivalent relationship. Things are spiced up with a psychopathic antagonist with a wooden arm and a dangerous pet hawk played by American actor Jack Palance. The movie also features German actress Iris Berben as idealistic rebel leader who is briefly romantically involved with the two protagonists. Another positive element of the film is the epic journey that takes the two protagonists from Mexico to the United States of America and back again. The landscapes and settings are beautiful and at times memorable. The historical context is an important part of the movie which portrays the downsides of the Mexican Revolution in a dry and sarcastic manner. Instead of offering a heroic Image of the rebels, they are shown drinking, fighting and swearing all the time while intellectual minds are mistreated for egoistic purposes.
Companeros also has a few downsides which explain why it is a good Spaghetti Western but not among the very best of its kind. The film overstays its welcome with a length of two hours and especially the dragging middle section could have been shortened by at least fifteen to twenty minutes. Moreover, the movie focuses too much on slapstick comedy centered around Tomas Milian's character that takes away from an already quite simplistic story line. The conclusion feels somewhat random and one would have liked to witness a final showdown.
In the end, fans of Spaghetti Westerns like The Good, the Bad and the Ugly should definitely give this film a try. The great actors, stunning landscapes and epic settings pardon for a shallow story line with a few too many slapstick scenes. Companeros is authentic and entertaining but just not a quite memorable and unique film.
On the positive side, Companeros convinces with charismatic characters in form of a chaotic rebel leader played by Tomas Milian who teams up with a womanizing tongue-in-cheek Swedish arms dealer portrayed by Franco Nero. The two characters have an entertainingly ambivalent relationship. Things are spiced up with a psychopathic antagonist with a wooden arm and a dangerous pet hawk played by American actor Jack Palance. The movie also features German actress Iris Berben as idealistic rebel leader who is briefly romantically involved with the two protagonists. Another positive element of the film is the epic journey that takes the two protagonists from Mexico to the United States of America and back again. The landscapes and settings are beautiful and at times memorable. The historical context is an important part of the movie which portrays the downsides of the Mexican Revolution in a dry and sarcastic manner. Instead of offering a heroic Image of the rebels, they are shown drinking, fighting and swearing all the time while intellectual minds are mistreated for egoistic purposes.
Companeros also has a few downsides which explain why it is a good Spaghetti Western but not among the very best of its kind. The film overstays its welcome with a length of two hours and especially the dragging middle section could have been shortened by at least fifteen to twenty minutes. Moreover, the movie focuses too much on slapstick comedy centered around Tomas Milian's character that takes away from an already quite simplistic story line. The conclusion feels somewhat random and one would have liked to witness a final showdown.
In the end, fans of Spaghetti Westerns like The Good, the Bad and the Ugly should definitely give this film a try. The great actors, stunning landscapes and epic settings pardon for a shallow story line with a few too many slapstick scenes. Companeros is authentic and entertaining but just not a quite memorable and unique film.