Compañeros (1970) User Reviews

Spaghetti heavyweights Franco Nero and Tomas Milian join forces in fantastic Mexican revolution escapade

[marc-366 · 8/10 · 28 July 2005]

With a dream cast of Franco Nero (as Swedish mercenary Yod Peterson aka "penguin") and Tomas Milian (Mexican rebel Vasco), a soundtrack by Ennio Morricone and Sergio Corbucci at the Directors helm, this film was always likely to deliver. And it delivers 100%.

The story centres around the town of San Bernardino, and a fight for power between General Mongo (Bodalo) and Professor Xantos (Fernando Rey). Xantos, a pacifist with a young and dedicated following, has been imprisoned at Fort Yuma by the Americans. His absence has left the town, and its safe, at the mercy of Mongo. However, without the combination for the lock, he is unable to access the wealth of the town.

Mongo enlists the help of Peterson to rescue Xantos, for both the combination code and probable execution. Vascos is sent to accompany him, having already suffered much humiliation as a result of an earlier confrontation with the Swede. This makes for a very uneasy relationship.

A brief fracas with Xantos' followers at a hold-up on a train enables Peterson to escape from Vacos' close watch. However, he is soon relying on his companion to rescue him, after he is captured by a former partner John (Jack Palance) - who he had previously betrayed some years ago to save his own skin. This betrayal had resulted in John being nailed to a tree, and relying on his faithful pet falcon, Marsha, to rescue him by biting off his hand. Not surprisingly, John holds a grudge (as well as a wooden hand!).

On escaping John's grasp, the two make an assault on Fort Yuma in an attempt to free Xantos from the Americans. As the adventure really heats up, they're paths will soon cross with the American army, General Mongo, Xantos' followers and, of course, John and Marsha.

The first third of the film is perhaps a little slow and episodic, but does successfully reveal the characters of Peterson and Vasco to the viewer (with fantastic character play by Nero and Milian respectively). Once the background is established, the film soon explodes into action with a series of exciting and highly effective chases and battle sequences. Corbucci at his best.

Probably the strongest element of this movie however is its subtle use of humour. Much of this is provided by the chemistry between the two leading roles, but the laughs really reach a crescendo with Peterson and Vasco's final liaison with Jack's falcon Marsha. Just one great scene in a film full of them.

It is no doubt a crime to have got so far into my review without mentioning Jack Palance's performance in much detail, because his performance as the unhinged, marijuana smoking John is scene stealing. Quite possibly one of the greatest villains of all the Spaghetti Westerns I have seen.

Music is provided by Morricone, and as always the score is a perfect accompaniment to the action - both memorable and rousing. In fact it always amazes me how the man could be so consistent! In summary, this is a must view film from the ever reliable Corbucci. And my mouth waters at the prospect of watching his other Mexican revolutionary movies ('A Professional Gun' and 'What Am I Doing in the Middle of a Revolution')..... very shortly, hopefully!

Funny Spaghetti-Western

[claudio_carvalho · 7/10 · 27 July 2010]

In times of revolution in Mexico, the ignorant Vasco (Tomas Milian) is promoted by the corrupt General Mongo (Francisco Bódalo) to lead his men in the invasion to San Bernardino. Meanwhile the arms trader Yolaf "Swedish" Peterson (Franco Nero) arrives in the village to deal with Mongo; however the money to buy the weapons is locked in a bank safe. The only man that knows the combination to open the safe that was not murdered by Mongo's men is the pacifist Professor Xantos (Fernando Rey) that is prisoner in Fort Yuma in the United States. Swedish offers to release Xantos but the suspicious Mongo asks Vasco to go with Yolaf. The twosome is chased by the followers of Xantos led by the beautiful Lola (Iris Berben) that want to convince the duo to join the revolution; and by the mercenary John (Jack Palance) that lost one of his hands in a betrayal of Yolaf to save his life and uses his smart hawk Marsha to get Xantos to deal with Mongo.

"Vamos a Matar, Compañeros" is a funny spaghetti-western of Sergio Corbutti that has a story very similar to Sergio Leone's "Duck, You Sucker" of 1971 and plays with "Blood for a Silver Dollar". Franco Nero, Tomas Milian and Jack Palance are hilarious, and I laughed a lot with the scene when Marsha becomes a toasted barbecue. The music of Ennio Morricone is excellent, as usual. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Compañeros"

Very cool western movie and the song stays in your head

[Lady_Targaryen · 7/10 · 7 October 2010]

In Mexico, during the revolution,the arms dealer Yodlaf "Swedish" Peterson is going to sell most of his weapons to the corrupt General Mongo. But there is a problem : The money Mongo is going to use to pay Yodlaf is locked in a bank safe almost impossible to break. Since Mongo and his men killed most men of the Village that could know the combination, the only man that is alive that knows the combination to open the safe is professor Santos,prisoner of the Americans in Fort Yuma.

Yodlaf agrees to bring Santos to Mongo, but he needs to go with Vasco to this mission, since Mongo suspects of the Swedish.

Besides most of the problems Vasco and Yodlaf need to deal with in their way to US, they even need to face Yodlaf's former business partner and now hater, John 'The Wooden Hand' and his Hawk, Marshall.

I watched "Vamos a Matar, Compañeros" because of my father's recommendation. I am not a western expert, so I cannot compare it to other movies of this genre, but I can say that this movie is very 'watchable' even for people who are not very familiar with the Spaghetti Western genre. I liked the character of Yodlaf Peterson, mostly because of his courage and his bad-ass -but-polite -gentleman actions. The clothes and the cinematography of this movie are also very good, as well some of the lines. I need to highlight two moments: First, when Yodlaf gives a dollar coin to Vasco, and the Second one when they transform Marshall (the hawk) into a barbecue! Priceless!

Great, wonderful "spaghetti-western"

[f.gimenez · 15 June 2000]

Yes, it is. "Vamos a matar, compañeros!" is to me one of the best "spaghetti-westerns" ever made. Starred by the best actors that a movie of this genre may have: Franco Nero, Tomas Milian, Jack Palance, Fernando Rey. Music by the master Morricone, one of his best compositions. And to boots, directed by the one and only Sergio Corbucci. This team just couldn´t make a bad movie... It´s most enjoyable from its beginning to the end. By the way, the last scene of the movie is what makes it even finer. Obviously I won´t tell you the end...because if you have the chance you must watch this movie.

Comparing "Companeros"...

[Samoan Bob · 7/10 · 7 March 2002]

Get ready for a run-on... A Spaghetti Western set in the Mexican Revolution about a foreign mercenary played by Franco Nero who makes an uneasy alliance with a Mexican bandito who unwittingly becomes a revolutionary while simultaneously falling in love with a freedom-fighter chick who is really hot, all while being tracked by an eccentric villain played by Jack Palance...directed by Sergio Corbucci, with a score by Ennio Morricone and a few machine gun massacres and at least one scene where someone is buried up to his neck while horses are about to trample on his head. Ummm...haven't I seen this before? Oh yeah, it was called "The Mercenary" and stands as one of the best Spaghetti Westerns of all time. "Companeros", on the other hand, is an entertaining piece chock full of humor and action (although, like the two protagonists, the alliance between humor and action is not always a smooth one). The pacing could use some work and there wasn't enough nudity (ok, I'm joking on the last one...could have used more nudity though)

Where was I? Oh yeah, "Companeros" is bad-ass fun with one of the greatest shootouts of all time (Nero + Machine Gun = Bad-assery at its best). Wow, what a terrible review.

Another fun to watch Spaghetti Western!!!

[astrofilms-1 · 9/10 · 19 October 2004]

Vamos a Matar Companeros! is an authentic, made in Italy, Spaghetti Western film classic and is a must see movie for anyone who wants to discover the very best of the Spaghetti Western film genre. This Western-Comedy film was directed by Sergio Corbucci, the number #2 Italian director of all time for Spaghetti Westerns, after of course Sergio Leone, for the entire Spaghetti Western genre, which is saying a lot because there were hundreds of films in that genre alone! This film is just plain fun and entertaining to watch! All the actors are charismatic, comical and professional. The all star cast in the film are Jack Palance, Franco Nero and Thomas Milian. The story is basically about the Mexican Revolution of 1910 where a mercenary (Nero) and rebels, lead by rebel leader (Milian), must rescue a idealist professor to lead the revolution who is held hostage in Texas. This film was made during the height of student protests to the Vietnam War in the late 1960's and early 1970's which may explain the political theme. There are many good scenes, too many to list here, but the best scenes and most surreal, in my opinion, are the ones with the pet falcon and the strange one wooden-handed and marijuana smoking villain (Palance).

The cinematography is beautifully filmed by cinematographer Alejandro Ulloa who also filmed other excellent Spaghetti Westerns. The music in the film is by the maestro of Spaghetti Western music and film music in general, Italian composer Ennio Morricone. Companeros includes a theme song and the beautiful classic acoustic and twangy electric guitar riffs invented by Morricone.

Good Zapata /Spaghetti Western with communist revolutionaries and mean bandits

[ma-cortes · 6/10 · 23 January 2010]

Fate brought them together, greed made them inseparable, violence made Compañeros¡ . Weapons dealer Peterson (Franco Nero) directs to do a sale to Guerilla commanded by general Mongo (Jose Bodalo), but the money is locked in a bank safe, and the combination is only known by commie Professor Xantos (Fernando Rey), a prisoner of the Americans in Fort Yuma , beyond Rio Grande. Xantos is a pacific revolutionary who advocates lookalike Gandhi non violence against the dictator Porfirio Diaz. Then Peterson agrees to free Xantos, accompanied by reluctant rebel named El Vasco (Tomas Milian). However a former business partner of Petersen named John (Jack Palance ), a slant-eyed mercenary with an artificial hand and a hawk pet has other ambitious plans.

It's an exciting western with breathtaking showdown between the protagonists Nero and Milian and the enemies Palance and Bodalo. The Cuban Tomas Milian, as usual, puts faces, grimaces, crying and overacting, but he plays splendidly. Enjoyable appearance of beauties as Iris Berben and Karin Schubert. Furthermore, appears usual secondaries Italian Western as Gino Pernice, Jose Canalejas, Gerard Tichy,Lorenzo Robledo, and of course Eduardo Fajardo, Corbucci's ordinary. The highlights of the film are the Franco Nero's burying edge neck , the confronting at the village and the Swedish gunrunner wielding a machine gun and shooting though with anachronism because is a 'Maxim model' that was made in 1880 and isn't utilized the usual 'Gatlin'. The film blends violence, blood, shootouts , humor and it's fast moving and quite entertaining. This film belongs to the numerous group that are set during the Mexican revolution, called ¨Zapata Western¨ , like are the Italians: ¨ Duck you sucker, The mercenary ,Tetepa, What am I doing in middle of the revolution¨ and the Americans : ¨The wild bunch and The professionals¨. There are many fine technicians and nice assistants as the cameraman Alejandro Ulloa who makes an excellent photography with barren outdoors, dirty landscapes under a glimmer sun shot on outskirts of Madrid and of course Almeria. The musician Ennio Morricone creates a good soundtrack and well conducted by his habitual collaborator Bruno Nicolai. Sergio Corbucci's direction is good ,he made several Spaghetti classics: ¨ Django¨, ¨The great silence¨, ¨Hellbenders¨ , ¨The specialist¨ and the ¨Mercenary¨ , the latter bears special resemblance to ¨ Compañeros¨ ; furthermore Sergio directed other inferior S.W. as ¨Far West story¨ ,¨Johnny Oro¨, ¨The white the yellow an the black¨, and ¨Navajo Joe¨.

Brilliant! Corbucci's Finest?

[Indio500 · 9/10 · 20 March 2004]

This is one of the most beautiful westerns you will ever see. It's a true masterpiece and arguably Corbucci's finest.

Sergio Leone will always be the name everyone associates with spaghetti westerns but Sergio Corbucci's contribution to the genre deserves great recognition. People usually always mention Django and The Great Silence when talking about Corbucci's westerns but Companeros is perhaps his best work.

Companeros is a much lighter film than the aforementioned. Like most Corbucci westerns there is a political undertone to the film and the plot revolves around the Mexican revolution (similar to A Professional Gun which Corbucci directed 2 years earlier). Che Guevara look-a-like Thomas Milian is superb as the comical revolutionary Vasco and Corbucci regular Franco Nero is excellent as his ultra-cool Swedish mercenary partner. Add to the mix a marijuana-smoking psychopath played by Jack Palance and you have one explosive concoction of a western. Pulling all this together is another masterful score by the legendary Ennio Morricone. I guarantee you will still be singing the theme tune a week later!

I rate this as one of the best Westerns of all time. It's a really fun film and an absolute must for fans of the Spaghetti genre.

Jack Palance is the standout in this whimsical spaghetti western

[westerner357 · 7/10 · 27 September 2004]

Not really a comedy western per-se, but it doesn't take itself too seriously, either.

Takes place in revolutionary Mexico during WWI. The Swede (Franco Nero) agrees to sell guns to guerrilla general Gen. Mongo but first they have to break into a safe in order for him to get paid and only the professor (Fernando Rey) knows the combination. Or so we are led to believe.

The professor also leads a rival rag-tag army of students who are fighting both the Mexican Army as well as Mongo's men with Lola (Iris Berben) as the professor's second in command.

It turns out the professor is being held by the Americans in Texas and the Swede and El Vasco (Tomas Milian), Mongo's right hand man, has to accompany him north to free him. However an ex-partner of the Swede's, John (Jack Palance) show up and has other plans for the Swede. The psychotic John like to smoke a lot of dope and has a pet falcon named Marsha (?) who lands on John's prosthetic hand after every scouting mission.

This is one of Corbucci's better westerns in spite of the ridiculous political overtones he gives it. The story is entertaining and moves swiftly along for 2hrs. without me getting bored by any of it. I don't rate it as highly as the Leone's similarly themed DUCK YOU SUCKER (1971), but it's well worth watching all the same.

The standout here for me is Jack Palance and I wish his part was bigger. He really does chew up the scenery and the part where he tortures Milian with a rat in a basket tied around his stomach, is a hoot. Ever notice how one of Palance's sidekick, the little oriental guy, has an old telephone receiver strapped onto his ear as a hearing aid? Nice touch. And the ending where Nero throws a large cross under the boxcar filled with explosives and a detonator, blowing up Palance in the process, is a welcome end to one of the main baddies of the film.

The lighthearted Morricone score fits this film very well and I like the musical cues that are sprinkled throughout that alternate between that familiar fuzz guitar and whistling banjo playing that happens while the action has quieted down.

Anchor Bay is up to it's usual standards using an excellent widescreen anamorphic print with nary a hair or scratch through it. It looks like it was made yesterday. Some of the dialog is in Italian with subtitles because it was taken from a Euro print and was never dubbed into English. However the transitions between Euro and American versions are seamless. There's also a fairly interesting 15 minute interview with Franco Nero, Tomas Milian and Ennio Morricone where they recount their experiences while they were involved in this film.

7 out of 10

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A wonderful film.

[washboard · 10/10 · 31 January 2006]

A year or so ago, i bought a large plasma TV and soon discovered Westerns look fantastic on these screens. I rediscovered spaghetti westerns and didn't realise there were so many. I have scoured the earth to find rarities and have seen most of them over the past year. In my opinion this is one of the best. It is beautifully shot, well acted and very pacy, and of course the music is the icing on the cake. The ending is brilliant. It is unusual to find a film with such inspired comedy and action having such a moving and stirring finale.

After the Leone westerns this is the best. The thing that struck me was that whether a film is well known is due to a product of marketing rather than quality, as I had never heard of this film. I presume it was never widely distributed in the states as it was looked down on as another 'eurowestern' as the dollars films were.

An epic Zapata Western with unnecessary slapstick elements

[kluseba · 7/10 · 18 July 2018]

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.

Corbucci's stupendously amazing masterpiece

[fertilecelluloid · 9/10 · 28 December 2005]

Oh, wow, this is simply amazing cinema...Energetic...Playful...Rousing...Engaging...There are not enough superlatives to throw at Corbucci's masterwork. I like it a little more than "The Great Silence" because of its eccentric style and storyline. It is never less than enthralling and manages to be extremely moving.

Morricone's score? Just brilliant. What a genius he is! May he live to compose forever... and always assisted by the great Bruno Nicolai, an accomplished composer in his own right.

Franco Nero is wonderful, as always, as The Swede, Jack Palance is charisma-plus as John, Tomas Milian is rough-edged and likable despite his total lack of morals as El Vasco. Too many great thespian turns to single out, but you get the point.

Terrific location work, stupendously good shoot-outs, stunts, explosions, poetic action... all lathered in baked, painfully evocative cinematography.

And that final image to red freeze frame...Bella! Corbucci was as worthy a Western director as Leone, but he never got the same recognition. One day he will.

Django meets Curly

[lee_eisenberg · 7/10 · 19 March 2013]

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.

A C-movie spaghetti western

[johnpierrepatrick · 4/10 · 21 July 2020]

As much as I can enjoy spaghetti western, I cannot understand the Imdb trend on this movie - even after reading the reviews.

Very weak story. Acting is clearly not at his best (Franco Nero still managing to cope and Palance seeing to have fun with its hawk). This is a western supposedly happening in Mexico but 100% european - actors included (a German actress to play a Mexican pasionara!). Even Morricone music was clearly not his best score and was in my opinion a quick job and may have been a break from his works more important to him.

Ok, some fun have been added with humor, but even there, there are way above spaghetti movies on that aspect too.

Corbucci may have been Leone assistant, but he did a whole lot of movies durig these years and quality was clearly not key in all in those movies. Some, like "il grande silenzio", are movies made with care but Companeros is not of these few. A to-pay-the-bill movie.

Excellent Italian Western

[tenco · 17 April 1999]

A great time-capsule of the kinds of mildly subversive escapism you could enjoy at the movies, back in 1970. Revolution was in the air, and (Cuban-born) Tomas Milian adds the necessary Castro/Che/Bob Dylan charisma as a peasant turned freedom fighter. Franco Nero is the super cool James Bond-like foreign agent. The two form a wary partnership to rescue the Professor (Fernando Rey) from the clutches of various bad guys, including Jack Palance at his twitchy best playing a cartoonish psycho, who feeds his beloved hawk the flesh of the peasants. A seriously attractive radicalized woman leads up her own gang of rebels. More a Mel Brooks, or Mad Magazine, spoof than a serious political tract, this Italian Western nonetheless has a lot of style, and much to recommend it. Morricone's music is like his Leone scores, but in comic overdrive...and satisfying. There's much inventive (mild/comedic) cruelty: Franco Nero maintaining his cool while buried up to his head and threatened by horses' hooves is both disturbing and very, very funny. And, director/writer Corbucci riffs expertly on Spaghetti Western conventions. You get the pleasure of a director who knows his genre, and knows that you do, too.

Italian Meets Mexican

[gavin6942 · 7/10 · 5 September 2017]

A Swedish arms dealer and a Mexican peon team up to rescue the intellectual leader of the Revolutionary cause, while taking part in numerous misadventures along the way.

"Compañeros" is one of Sergio Corbucci's best-known westerns, as well as one of the best-known spaghetti westerns altogether. The film has been compared to "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly", as it intertwines the paths of several characters in the middle of a conflict, but takes place during the Mexican Revolution instead of the American Civil War.

As well as being a solid spaghetti western, this also happens to be a good showcase for Jack Palance. Being of a younger generation, I am most associated with the older Palance of the 80s and 90s, but he made quite a name for himself in the western genre (as many people did in those days). This is a fine performance worth watching.

Spaghetti westerns rarely get more fun than this!

[TheLittleSongbird · 9/10 · 8 March 2015]

Not in any way is this meant to sound biased, because actually there are some truly great spaghetti westerns out there. Companeros may not be one of the absolute best of them, but to me it's among the most fun. It is a little of a slow-starter and a touch episodic at first and it's less than original, but when the rest of the film is so much fun and so well put together they don't seem to matter.

Companeros is a brilliantly made film, with gorgeously evocative scenery and costumes and stylish cinematography that give off a dream-like quality and harsh realism. Sergio Corbucci's direction as to be expected is exemplary, it's technically faultless while never getting in the way of the storytelling. Ennio Morricone's music score will not disappoint any fans of his and is one of the film's best assets, it's not quite one of his all-time greats but it's haunting and stirring and the theme song is one of the catchiest theme songs for any film. Like almost all his work, it really gives the film soul. Companeros is smartly scripted filled with subtle witty humour, it has blistering action especially one of the most suspenseful and entertaining shoot-out scenes I've ever seen for a film and the story is exciting, tense and fun-filled with a truly sensational and quite emotional ending.

The cast is a talented one and Companeros in no way wastes the actors. Particularly good is Jack Palance, here he has one of his most loathsome characters and Palance's performance is devilishly enjoyable, clearly looking like he was having a ball. While he is a scene-stealer, Franco Nero and Tomas Milian do wonderfully in the lead roles too, in performances filled with charisma and likability, and work like dynamite together in a film where their chemistry ties it together. Overall, a great film and a huge lot of fun to watch. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Effective picaresque Western with Franco Nero, Tomas Milian and Jack Palance

[Wuchakk · 7/10 · 19 December 2017]

RELEASED IN 1970 and directed by Sergio Corbucci, "Companeros" chronicles events during the Mexican Revolution in the 1910s when a Swedish arms supplier (Franco Nero) and a Mexican radical (Tomas Milian) agree to an uneasy alliance in order to rescue the highbrow leader of the counter-revolution, Prof. Xandos (Fernando Rey), who's a prisoner in Texas. Unfortunately for them, a former business partner of the Swede puts a wrench in their plans (Jack Palance). Jose Bodalo plays revolutionary leader General Mongo while Iris Berben is on hand as the babe of the counter-revolution. Karin Schubert has a support role as a sultry prostitute.

In the wake of the surprising success of Sergio Leone's "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" (1966) filmmakers in Europe and elsewhere tried to repeat the success using the same playbook. As such, "Companeros" is similar to "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" with Nero basically in the Eastwood role, Milian in the Wallach part and Palance in the Van Cleef role (generally speaking). Add a catchy score by Ennio Morricone and - voila - you have a new version of that classic Italian Western.

These types of Spaghetti Westerns melded the hysterically overdone Italo grand opera with Spanish picaresque convention. A Spanish term, 'picaro' means "rogue" or "rascal", and the picaresque yarn is usually sardonic, featuring the misadventures of roguish protagonists of low stature who live by their wits in a crooked world; and told with realistic and humorous detail. Here Yodlaf Peterson (Nero) and Vasco (Milian) are the two picaros with Palance as the wooden-handed foil.

While you can't beat Morricone's iconic score to "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly," I actually prefer this Western because it has better characters, a better story, WOMEN and superior mindfood. Concerning the latter, "The Good..." had no depth or moral, unless you count "lucre is the all and end all of life." Here there are serious deliberations on the rationalization for revolution and the justification (or not) of its proper or improper execution.

Those who favor picaresque Westerns (or stories in general) will appreciate "Companeros" more than me. I mostly don't like the occasional goofiness, but I can roll with it if I have to, which I did. Thankfully, the movie's mostly quasi-realistic, akin to "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly." It is well done for what it is with several highlights and novelties, including Marsha the hawk and some little turtles (you'll see what I mean).

THE MOVIE RUNS 118 minutes and was shot in Almera & Madrid, Spain, and (studio) Rome. WRITER: Too many to cite.

GRADE: B/B- (6.5/10)

9/10

[1966nm · 9/10 · 4 March 2004]

I believe that every film should be judged according to it's nature. For what this film is, it's almost excellent. I can still remember the first time I saw it as a child in a summer time cinema in my town and not only it left a mark in my subconsciousness about the kind of films I was watching at that time, but the music never left my memory and easily comes back without me ask for it. And I don't mind at all. But enough about me!!! Like so many other Italian western films, it actually is... a political film. Yes! And a very obvious one. The Mexican revolution as pictured here, has little in common with the real stuff. Also the basis of the Mexican food is corn! But that's not important. What matters is the hope that so many Europeans had in that time for some kind of revolution here also. So, Mexico is just an excuse.

The movie plays with the sentiments of the viewer, who slowly finds that he wants to be a part of it, even if he is a money loving European like Yolaf Peterson. In the (incredible) end, when everything about this wonderful, crazy song you hear all the time makes sense, you are so captivated that you would never forgive Yolaf for making any other choice than the one that you also would have made given the chance. When can I see this film again?

COMPANEROS (Sergio Corbucci, 1970) **1/2

[Bunuel1976 · 6/10 · 24 August 2006]

I had been disappointed by this tongue-in-cheek Spaghetti Western and a second look has only re-inforced that opinion! By this time, the genre was well on its way out and had started to lampoon itself; as such, it's enjoyable if needlessly inflated and given that it's also one of the most political examples of the genre, the two styles don't sit very well together!

Besides, the three stars seem to be attempting to outdo each other with their hammy portrayals: Franco Nero is even further away here from the stoic gunslinger of DJANGO (1966) than he was in A PROFESSIONAL GUN (1968), of which film COMPANEROS is a semi-remake!; it was interesting to watch the evolution of Tomas Milian's acting style through the course of five Spaghetti Westerns I watched this past week, but his performance here is certainly the least convincing (even if his foul-mouthed peasant/revolutionary is still a pleasant characterization); however, it's Jack Palance (in a relatively brief role) who steals the show with his dope-smoking and revenge-seeking mercenary, fitted with a wooden hand and having as his constant companion a hawk (which meets with a sticky end at the hands of our antagonistic heroes!).

The cast also features Fernando Rey as an old peace-loving Professor and a prospective political candidate, with a group of naïve students (led by the lovely Iris Berben) as followers; Eduardo Fajardo appears briefly at the beginning as a ruthless Colonel dispatched by Milian, turning the latter from an unassuming shoe-shine boy to a lieutenant of the bandit horde led by 'General' Mongo (Jose' Bodalo); and Karin Schubert as a lisping and bespectacled madam who helps Nero and Milian liberate Rey from the Army fort where he's being kept prisoner. The action set-pieces deliver the goods and, as ever, Ennio Morricone's rousing score is tops; it's only that the film pales in comparison to Corbucci's earlier work and, as I said, the stars are merely content to send-up their respective image...

Looks like you win the bet.

[lost-in-limbo · 9/10 · 10 July 2007]

A whimsically breezy surface makes way for a bang-up, ball-breaking and noisy spaghetti western by the talented Sergio Corbucci (the man also behind "The Great Silence" and "The Mercenary"). Actually I might still put those two films ahead of this one. Hell, there was an explosion of excitement ringing from this this highly competent and vivid outing. The cheeky style dripping from the fascinating material was well placed and delivered. Even from the action, the grand state of it feels like something out of a comic strip and how can't you love the flat-out, bloodthirsty machine gun activity towards the finale. What a sensational climax it builds up to!

The trio of Franco Nero, Tomas Milian and Jack Palance were nothing but marvellous, and the chemistry between the former two was a blast. But Palance's sophisticatedly leering menace was the real draw-card. Fernando Rey makes for a solid turn too. Ennio Morricone plucks in with a gleefully passionate and killer music score, which is one of his best and the rugged location was captured by Alejandro Ulloa's free-flowing and expressive cinematography that had plenty of poignant scope and detail. Corbucci stews up some inventive directorial flushes amongst the grit, chaos and exuberance. The atmospheric setting hit's the spot and sets up many potboiler and comedic scenes. It can lull at times, and might feel somewhat overlong.

The hard-boiled story sticks to something rather stable and less than flashy, but can be thoughtful in its wide arrange of antics and tactics. It's gusty political sub-text (on the treatment of the poor and use of violence to get your point across) can get a bit wishy-washy and preachy, however it definitely makes up for it in other areas like the chewy script with its constant wit and surprises.

Over-the-top entertainment equals a totally baroque and enjoyable Corbucci spaghetti western.

Not the best Corbucci movie ever

[TooKakkoiiforYou_321 · 6/10 · 25 July 2020]

But still worth of a watch nonetheless. The main problem I have is the use of curse words, that most of the times feels forced and contrived. I also am not a fan of prolonged uses of curse words Garth Ennis style in general, so...without those the movie would be a full 7/7,5, with those it's a 6,5.

A classic Italian western

[jlin · 9/10 · 17 October 1998]

Wonderfully extravagant political western with a lovely Morricone score. A classic of this particular sub-genre, and perhaps Corbucci's finest with Il Grande Silenzio.

Turnabout

[Apollo15AnnoPianoCatDogSnailAnt · 7/10 · 5 June 2020]

Lots of turnabouts just careful of a topless scene by the blonde, not too into the lyrics vocal tune 'companeros' preferring the instrumental of the prev series like the whistling tune , Emperor Nero more comical picaro than prev series, Palance great opponent Dracula-like which he would play.

"If I stayed, I'd have to take that dollar back."

[chaos-rampant · 13 April 2008]

By 1970 the initial gold rush of the spaghetti western was over and directors were seeking new ways to push the genre forward. Trinita opted for a satirical approach while Sabata brought James Bond sensibilities to the classic anti-hero. Others chose to use the Mexican revolution as the backdrop for the escapades of their heroes. That is the case for Sergio Corbucci's Companeros.

It is essentially a remake or a reimagining of Corbucci's The Mercenary, using much of the same cast, and swapping Tony Musante as the Mexican revolutionary for the great Thomas Milian. Franco Nero plays once again the European (this time a Swede) and Jack Palance returns to the fold as the ruthless if not semi-insane baddie. All of them hit all the right notes and Nero and Milian's interactions are a joy to behold. The story opens with a duel between the two in a dusty Mexican village and the whole movie is a flashback that leads us to the events at the start of the movie, again as in The Mercenary two years earlier. Nero and Milian are employed by corrupt Mexican General Mongo to travel to the US and free the Mexican professor Xantos that is held captive in Fort Yuma. Xantos is the leader of another small group of student revolutionaries, but General Mongo wants him for more practical reasons. Xantos knows the code to a safe that is impossible to open and with the gold General Mongo hopes to finance the revolution against Porfirio Diaz. Or does he? Each one has his own personal agenda of course. As they make their way back to Mexico, a semi-insane Jack Palance with a wooden hand (do I sense a small Son of Frankenstein tribute here?) and a hawk will hunt them down and the two companeros will slowly begin to take to the more noble attitude of the professor.

Here Corbucci goes for a more Leone-esquire approach, leaving the dark and brooding nature of his previous westerns (like Django and The Great Silence) behind. As Leone used to say, this is a "fairytale for grown ups". The story takes us from the Mexican revolution to the Fort Yuma prison to the Rio Grande to a spectacular showdown in the end, with comedic touches, wild shootouts, explosions, a typically great Morricone score and excellent performances and cinematography. This is more of an adventure spaghetti western in the Leone tradition. It's considerably light-hearted but fused with the same political undertones one could find in Sergio Sollima's work and brilliant pacing. Above all, this is A grade entertainment like only the Italians can deliver.

Sergio Corbucci is not considered only second to Leone in the spaghetti western realm for no reason. His attention to detail, from the sets, camera angles, props, costumes and cinematography is impeccable and he manages to convey that iconic aspect of the west only the Europeans were able to capture. Don't miss it.