Duck, You Sucker (1971) Giù la testa (original title)

Director:

Sergio Leone

Writers:

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

Release Date:

20 October 1971 (Italy)

Genre:

Adventure | 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 | Mexican | Mexico | Dynamite | 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 on stagecoach
John Frederick	...	American on stagecoach
Amato Garbini
Michael Harvey	...	Yankee
Biagio La Rocca	...	Benito
Furio Meniconi	...	Executed Revolutionary
Nazzareno Natale	...	Train engineer
Vincenzo Norvese	...	Pancho
Stefano Oppedisano	...	Revolutionary
Memè Perlini	...	Peon (as Amelio Perlini)
Goffredo Pistoni	...	Nino
Renato Pontecchi	...	Pepe
Jean Rougeul	...	Priest
Corrado Solari	...	Sebastian
Benito Stefanelli
Franco Tocci
Rosita Torosh
Antonio Casale	...	Notary on Stagecoach (as Anthony Vernon)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Edmondo Tieghi
David Warbeck	...	John's friend Sean Nolan (flashback)
Florencio Amarilla	...	Man (uncredited)
Sergio Calderón	...	(uncredited)
Vivienne Chandler	...	John's girlfriend (flashback) (uncredited)
Franco Collace	...	Napoleon Miranda (uncredited)
Simon van Collem	...	Conductor (uncredited)
Luis Morris	...	Man who spits at poster (uncredited)
Aldo Sambrell	...	Member of firing squad (uncredited)
Conrado San Martín	...	Stagecoach driver (uncredited)

Directed by
Sergio Leone

Writing credits
Sergio Leone		(story) and
Sergio Donati		(story)
Luciano Vincenzoni		(screenplay) &
Sergio Donati		(screenplay) &
Sergio Leone		(screenplay)
Roberto De Leonardis		(dialogue adaptation) &
Carlo Tritto		(dialogue adaptation)

Produced by
Claudio Mancini	....	associate producer
Fulvio Morsella	....	producer
Ugo Tucci	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Ennio Morricone

Cinematography by
Giuseppe Ruzzolini		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Nino Baragli

Art Direction by
Andrea Crisanti

Set Decoration by
Dario Micheli

Costume Design by
Franco Carretti

Makeup Department
Paolo Borselli	....	hair stylist (as Paolo Borzelli)
Amato Garbini	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Claudio Mancini	....	production supervisor
Camillo Teti	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Tony Brandt	....	assistant director
Alberto De Martino	....	second unit director (as Martin Herbert)

Art Department
Giovanni Corridori	....	construction coordinator
Ezio Di Monte	....	assistant art director
Tonino Palombi	....	construction coordinator
Franco Velchi	....	assistant art director
Robert McGinnis	....	poster artist (uncredited)

Sound Department
Fausto Ancillai	....	sound mixer
Michael Billingsley	....	sound editor

Special Effects by
Antonio Margheriti	....	special effects
Giovanni Corridori	....	special effects (uncredited)

Stunts
Benito Stefanelli	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Franco Delli Colli	....	director of photography: second unit
Roberto Forges Davanzati	....	assistant camera
Massimo Massimi	....	gaffer
Angelo Novi	....	still photographer
Alessandro Ruzzolini	....	assistant camera
Idelmo Simonelli	....	camera operator
Franco Tocci	....	key grip
Claudio Sabatini	....	assistant camera (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Luisa Buratti	....	key costumer

Editorial Department
Gino Bartolini	....	assistant editor
Rossana Maiuri	....	first assistant editor
Olga Sarra	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Ennio Morricone	....	conductor
Federico Savina	....	music editor
Federico Savina	....	music recordist
Ennio Morricone	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
Serena Canevari	....	script supervisor
Raffaello Forti	....	production accountant
Vasco Mafera	....	production secretary
Giuseppe Rinaldi	....	dubbing director
Benito Stefanelli	....	master of arms
Luciano De Ambrosis	....	voice dubbing: John Frederick (uncredited)
Pino Locchi	....	voice dubbing: Rik Battaglia (uncredited)
Anna Miserocchi	....	voice dubbing: Maria Monti (uncredited)
Bruno Persa	....	voice dubbing: Jean Rougeul (uncredited)
Cesare Polacco	....	voice dubbing (uncredited)
Giuseppe Rinaldi	....	voice dubbing: James Coburn (uncredited)
Carlo Romano	....	voice dubbing: Rod Steiger (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Rafran Cinematografica
• Euro International Film (EIA) (as Euro International Films)
• San Miura (uncredited)

Distributors

• Euro International Film (EIA) (1971) (Italy) (theatrical)
• United Artists (1972) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• United Artists (1972) (France) (theatrical)
• United Artists (1972) (USA) (theatrical) (dubbed)
• United Artists Corporation (1972) (UK) (theatrical) (dubbed)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1980) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere) (pan/scan)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1996) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (2004) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2005) (Germany) (DVD)
• Chapel Distribution (1997) (Australia) (theatrical) (new 35mm print reconstructed version)
• Image Entertainment (????) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Mondo Home Entertainment (2007) (Italy) (DVD)
• Opção (????) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2003) (Germany) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Tirelli Costumi  costumes and footwear (as Tirelli)
• Ditta Pompei  costumes and footwear (as Pompei)
• Western Costume Company  costumes and footwear (as Western Costume)
• Nino Lembo  jewels
• Cimino  props
• Ditta Rancati  props (as Rancati)
• Rocchetti  wigs
• E. & G. Bacciucchi  guns and explosives (as Baciucchi)
• Nis Film  sound synchronization
• Edizioni Bixio S.A.M.  music editing and recording (as Bixio-SAM)
• International Recordings  music re-recording
• Orchestra Sinfonica della U.M.R.  orchestra
• Cinevox Records  original soundtrack published by (as Cinevox-Record)

Also Known As:

"Giù la testa" - Italy (original title)
"A Fistful of Dynamite" - Australia (imdb display title), UK, USA (alternative title)

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:

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) | 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

Filming Locations:

Almería Railway Station, Almería, Andalucía, Spain

Company:

Rafran Cinematografica

Trivia:

The character of John Malloy was written for Jason Robards while Eli Wallach was first choice for Juan Miranda but the studio wanted bigger names for the two leads so Rod Steiger and James Coburn were recruited.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Although the action takes place circa 1914, when Mallory's possessions are rifled by Miranda's family, a flag with the legend "IRA" is pulled out. The IRA was not formed until 1919.

Quotes:

Dr. Villega:Not *everybody* can fight. There are those who must organize, coordinate.
Sean Mallory:Yes, yes. Of course!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Fallout: New Vegas (2010) (VG)

One of the best westerns/war films made in the 70's: brutal, violent, funny, poetically tragic, etc...

With Fistful of Dyanmite (a.k.a. 'Duck, You Sucker', a.k.a. 'Once Upon a Time in the Revolution', the second part of a 'trilogy'), legendary Sergio Leone puts together something experimental, even more so than the other films in his catalog. Here he now deals with war, but he still has the crime elements of his 'dollars' films; it somehow makes a very clear cut balance between bits of comedy within the tragedy worked in the story; it isn't very brutal, but it is graphic in the genre sense of the time. It's also one of his best films, if you happen to see it within its full running time (like most of Leone's films, this suffered drastic cuts in American versions, reducing critical character points and other Leone surprises).

A Leone film, however, can only be as strong as the leads pushing it up, as in the dozens and dozens of westerns and other films that inspired Leone. Here he uses two character actors (for the most part of their careers), but indeed very good and astute ones at playing their parts. Rod Steiger, who has been in classic films like On the Waterfront and The Pawnbroker, here is slightly like a maturer version of Tuco from The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: he's still a bandit, with pillaging and beating and raping his way across the countryside, but he's also got a family to look after, who within his anti-hero heart are the most important things to him. Steiger's Juan is usually either surprised, quietly delighted, or agitated off to certain degrees. He plays this for all it's worth, but he also finds the best notes in the moments when he brings out laughs, and in the more sorrowful moments later on in the film.

There's also James Coburn, veteran of many, many films, given one of the great themes of any character in a Leone film by composer Ennio Morricone (there's some sort of instrument or distortion of one in his theme that calls for complete, unusual attention on the viewer). Coburn's Sean (err, John, depending) is a character with some ghosts, perhaps, in his past, and who unlike Juan is more interested in 'other' interests. Although Juan tries not to notice it until the sequence at Mesa Verde (which I won't reveal), Sean has been through a revolution in Ireland, and understand more or less what happens with it. He brings in Juan, after a rather strange yet hilarious encounter, into his web of revolutionary fighters, which doesn't go over to well with him at first. As their story unravels, Coburn still plays it like a pro, being the straight character to Steiger's very theatrical-like performance. He doesn't quite have the mystery an Eastwood or Bronson had in the other Leone films, but he does carry a certain quality about him that puts him in a needed place in the Leone cannon.

Speaking of which, one must not over-look how complex a film like this is in some ways. Leone was not originally the director (it went through the hands of Peter Bogdanovich and Sam Peckinpah before coming to him, coincidentally the opening scene with Juan is a cool homage to the Wild Bunch opening). Yet somehow he puts his stamp, and wonderful mark, on Fistful of Dynamite. This time more history is worked into the film- unlike the civil war acting like a harsh backdrop to the more 'fun' elements of the adventure in The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, the war in this film affects the main character, and adds a serious tone to an otherwise standard genre picture.

The Steiger character, along with the audience, gets a look at a massive amount of death, or rather the images of the dead: a tower filled with soldiers blown at night, the powerful pans and camera moves across the bodies, real combat, and the suggestions of what goes into the revolution. But its not just the violence of battles that get into the film, its also the personal attitudes during the revolution- the bourgeois vs the peasants (one of Leone's masterstrokes at close-ups in montage is displayed when Juan is on the train with the near monstrous American wealthy early in the film). Leone manages to work in various and cinematic explosions, in-depth or testing close-ups, and sweeping long shots of soldiers, landscapes, and struggle.

Coming back to Ennio Morricone's score- this time, Morricone experiments with some styles of his talents. As when Leone uses a funny, almost cartoon-like, image above Sean from Juans' eyes of a 'Banco' sign (akin the a 'dollar' sign above cartoon characters), Morricone adds a church organ and choir to go along with it. There are also the uses of themes throughout the film, as in Leone's other films, that act like striking, beautiful calling cards. The opening theme is pounding; Sean's flashbacks are given the sumptuous qualities that go with the best (and worst) nostalgia; the scenes with action and suspense, though almost a little standard, still work far better than many standard score of today.

Fistful of Dynamite is entertainment on an epic scale, with a broader and somewhat deeper sub-text, and it comes out with flying colors. Some may not take to it; it could be argued that Steiger, much like Eli Wallach, isn't very convincing as a Mexican bandit, or that the shifting in tones is a little much, even conventional in a weird sense. But it's hard to argue the sense of control that Leone has over his environment in the film, the assuredness of style, and that at the least the parts are greater than the whole. For me, it's a film I've seen twice in one week (once to soak in and get more of the enjoyment, the second time to get even more out of it, and to notice the visual details), and I hope it gets better the next time around.