Giù la testa (1971)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

Sergio Leone

Writers:

Sergio Leone (story) and
Sergio Donati (story) ...

Release Date:

29 October 1971 (Italy)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama | War | Western

Tagline:

Rod Steiger and James Coburn will blow you apart in "A Fistful of Dynamite" ("Duck You Sucker") by the master of adventure Sergio Leone

Plot:

An IRA explosives expert on the run in Mexico meets an amoral Mexican bandit; together they get drawn into the Mexican revolution.

Plot Keywords:

Explosive | Mexico | Mexican | Revolutionary | Mexican Revolution

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Rod Steiger	...	Juan Miranda
James Coburn	...	John H. Mallory
Romolo Valli	...	Dr. Villega
Maria Monti	...	Adelita, woman in stagecoach
Rik Battaglia	...	Santerna (as Rick Battaglia)
Franco Graziosi	...	Governor Jaime
Antoine Saint-John	...	Gutierez / Col. Günther Reza (as Domingo Antoine)
Giulio Battiferri	...	Miguel
Poldo Bendandi	...	Executed Revolutionary
Omar Bonaro
Roy Bosier	...	Landowner
John Frederick	...	American
Amato Garbini
Michael Harvey	...	Yankee
Biagio La Rocca	...	Benito

Also Known As:

A Fistful of Dynamite (UK) (USA) (alternative title)
C'era una volta la rivoluzione (Italy)
Duck, You Sucker (USA)
Once Upon a Time... the Revolution

Runtime:

157 min | USA:120 min (initial US release) | USA:138 min | USA:154 min (Laserdisc version)

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian | Spanish

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Singapore:PG | Spain:18 | Brazil:14 | West Germany:16 (nf) (re-rating) | West Germany:18 (nf) (original rating) | South Korea:15 | Italy:T | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Ireland:15 (cut) | Norway:18 (1972) | Sweden:15 | UK:15 (video rating) (1988) | UK:AA (original rating) | USA:PG (original rating) | USA:R (laserdisc rating) (1996)

Filming Locations:

Almería Railway Station, Almería, Andalucía, Spain

Company:

Rafran Cinematografica

Trivia:

In the flashback scenes, Irish republicans can be seen selling a paper called "Freedom", written in an Irish Celtic script. This is probably a reference to Fenian newspaper "Saoirse", which is "Freedom" in Irish. The original "Saoirse" first appeared in November 1910 and continued as a monthly publication until December 1914, when it was suppressed by the British authorities. A separate newspaper of the same name, has been published by Republican Sinn Féin (a splinter group of the main party) since the 1980s.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Sean sets his machine gun back on its tripod after setting the charges, it is loaded with a section of belt with no more than (possibly) fifty cartridges; he is never seen to reload it, but fires many more shots than that. Also, when he stops shooting, it is because the gun has run out of ammunition - we can clearly see the bitter end of the belt go through the action, leaving empty links hanging on the right side, and no belt at all on the left side. But in later shots there is a belt with unfired cartridges visible on that side - though it seems to change length between shots.

Quotes:

Juan Miranda: What kinda work you do for the German? Listen, I asked you a question. What do you do for the German?
John H. Mallory: I've been looking for silver.
Juan Miranda: Silver? You know something? I don't understand you. I don't understand how you waste your time and your holy water looking for silver. To me, that's a sin.
John H. Mallory: Do you have any better ideas?
Juan Miranda: Si, I think gold is better than silver.
John H. Mallory: Ah, there isn't any gold in these hills.
Juan Miranda: Oh ho, yes there is! In Mesa Verde.
John H. Mallory: Mesa Verde? It's a city.
Juan Miranda: Of course it's a city! Who ever heard of having a bank in the country, huh?
John H. Mallory: Uh huh, a bank.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Red Dead Revolver (2004) (VG)

Kind of like The Odd Couple, with explosions

A Fistful of Dynamite is often seen as the black sheep of Sergio Leone's commercial releases; and there's a good reason for that, as despite the fact that it's still a spaghetti western; it's a completely different kettle of fish to both the Dollars Trilogy and Once Upon a Time in the West. A Fistful of Dollars features common western themes such as bandits, guns and bank robberies - but, as he did with The Good, The Bad and The Ugly; Sergio Leone has implanted war themes into the plot, and we've also got the bizarre idea of one of the major characters being an IRA bomber! All this stuff doesn't quite come together cleanly, and as the tone of the movie changes often; it seems obvious that Leone has bitten off a bit more than he can chew...but luckily enough, A Fistful of Dynamite remains a fun movie for most of its duration. The plot follows a bandit named Juan, who bumps into a dynamite-laded bomber one day in the desert. Spotting an opportunity for robbery, he manages to recruit the IRA man to his cause; but he doesn't count on being dragged into the revolution that's going on at the same time.

The first half of the movie features some very astute elements of tongue-in-cheek humour, and it seems obvious that the director isn't intending the plot to be completely serious. However, at around the halfway point; the movie turns in completely the opposite direction, and the fun and silly first half gives way to a more deep and serious finale. For me, this is the movie's main problem; I like a movie that's unpredictable, but this change in plot feels disjointed and doesn't go down well. The second half of the film isn't as enjoyable to watch either, which harms the fun. However, Sergio Leone's direction is as impressive as ever, with some lovely wide angle shots capturing the beautiful landscapes; while, of course, Leone enjoys giving full focus to his actors for some extreme close-ups. Like the movie, the cast is a mixed bag. James Coburn looks the part, but his silly put-on accent makes him feel like he's having a laugh at times; and similarly, Rod Steiger dons an arguably even sillier accent and doesn't quite get away with it. Overall, A Fistful of Dynamite is not a film to please all viewers. I found it to be enjoyable despite many niggles, but I can understand why a lot of people disagree.